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Speaking of Wootyness....
As I mentioned, I spent last night in large room of women in comfortable
shoes. Yes, folks, I went to see Indigo Girls in concert. And I say unto
thee: run, don't walk! You aren't in heels! (Unless your heels are really
comfy, of course.)
I got in free (WOOOOOOT!) but I believe the price was only $20, anyhow.
It was just the two of them with their racks and racks of beautiful, fine
acoustic guitars. Their guitar tech, Sully, is with them again/still (as
is their sound guy-- and only those two, I think), and she came out after
every song to hand them different guitars. Since I didn't see any ads for
the show beforehand (thus my surprise and last-minute scrambling), I
didn't know it was billed as a short, two-woman acoustic show. If I'd
known, I probably would have somehow managed to be even MORE excited, if
that's possible. My first IG show, years ago in Florida, for the Swamp
Ophelia tour, was the same deal: just Amy and Emily and racks of gleaming
guitars. I went with a dear friend who's also an acoustic
singer/songwriter, and she was practically foaming at the mouth over the
instruments. "Look at that one! Oh, man, it's gotta be worth at least
$12,000. Oh, it's so beautiful...." She also got to go backstage after
the show. She didn't touch the ground for days.
Anyway, it was indeed a short set-- only about an hour and a quarter, and
the girls encouraged much singing from the audience. They told us how
much they liked Philly, and reminisced about playing J.C Dobbs, and
Haverford College, the latter memory stimulated by a bunch of
cheerleaders in the audience who let out their school cheer between
songs. Amy was totally psyched, and encouraged them to have their school
call their (IG's) booking agent.
Though they did Ozilline (Amy: "I used to sing this to my grandmother to
cheer her up when she was alive, and I sing it now to cheer her...well,
she's out there still."), Land of Canaan, Hammer and A Nail, Power of
Two, Galileo, (maybe Reunion?) and, of course, Closer to Fine, much of
the set was from their new album, Become You, which arrives March 12th.
It sounds like it's going to be more stripped-down trip than, say,
Shaming of the Sun or Come On Now Social. It usually takes me a few
listens to start grooving on Amy's songs, but I loved everything I heard
last night. Emily's songs I usually love right off the bat, and I was
totally enraptured. Tight harmonies, elegant, clean swirls through minor
chords, tunes that beg to be sung along with. (Doesn't hurt that I have a
similar range to Emily's.) And, of course, simple but thought-provoking
lyrics.
They only did one encore, and came out and admitted they didn't know what
they were going to do, which provoked much screaming from the audience.
My friend Kim asked me what I'd pick, and I immediately said, "Ghost."
She cupped her hands and yelled it at ear-shattering decibels (Aw, yeah,
woman!), but they went for something else. Amy wanted to dedicate it to
someone whose name I didn't quite catch, but laughed and said, "But y'all
wouldn't know who he is, so we'll just dedicate this to Michael Stipe,"
at which point I started screaming, cos "Kid Fears" is another of my
absolute favourites. And of course, the amazingly in-tune audience sang
his part perfectly. And I do mean amazingly in-tune. It was almost
weird-- I could hear Amy's or Emily's (or Michael's) inflections and tone
coming back from the single voice of the several hundred people in the
crowd. Very cool.
This is only a preview tour for the new album. They'll be back around
with a full band in the summer, and now that I've finally discovered
their e-list (and Duran Duran's, which you'd think I'd've been on YEARS
ago), I'll actually KNOW about it this time. And I'll be SO there!
Basking in the glow,
Ysoie
ps-- Yeah, I finally have to admit it: Amy's a hottie. She has long hair
now. Woot!
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