DATE: Saturday, November 1, 1997            TAG: 9711010053

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E7   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY JEFF MAISEY, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   43 lines

APPLE CAPTIVATES WITH FINE VOICE AND DYNAMIC STAGE PRESENCE

IT DOESN'T TAKE a Sir Isaac Newton to conclude that Fiona Apple has a great voice. She does. As her performance came to fruition Thursday night, the capacity Boathouse audience got a taste of her puissance.

She immediately captivated the crowd with her sauntering stage presence; girls and guys alike jockeyed desperately for the best vantage points. They hung on every note and cheered every flip of her long brown hair. As always, Apple's attire managed to show off plenty of belly button.

Continuing to reap the harvest of her successful debut disc, ``Tidal,'' she touched on most of its tunes, throwing in a Jimmy Cliff cover and, for the encore, Rod Stewart's ``My Sweet Angel.'' But the songs everyone came to hear were ``Shadowboxer'' and ``Criminal.'' Both were played flawlessly.

Although at 20 she's not yet old enough to legally drink, Apple's songs are sobering. At the core of her work are the seeds of unhappiness that play out on stage. The audience repeatedly came to her emotional rescue.

Whether planned or spontaneous, she often indulged in between-song commentary. These moments of intellectual fondue certainly spiced things up when some of the slower, melancholy tunes began to lose the audience's attention.

Overall, Apple's performance was pleasing but not outstanding. Those with great expectations may have felt a little hum-drum after the initial euphoria wore off.

But give her credit for riding ``Tidal'' as far as she has. With a distinct voice, Apple was a big splash with her loyal fans.

Hooverphonic brought their big ``New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular'' to the stage. Liesje Sadonius' soft, airy voice gave the Belgian quartet a Portishead-meets-The Cardigans feel. The crowd seemed impressed with the repetitive songs, which were enlivened with a plethora of sounds programmed by Alex Callier and Frank Duchene. The set-ending ``Barabas'' was their finest. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

BETH BERGMAN NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot

Fiona Apple accepts a rose from a fan Thursday night at the

Boathouse.

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