Last night, Michelle, Anna, and I joined Wendy and Brent, and dearest darlingest Susan (plus pigeon Sam) at the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary, NC, to see the Indigo Girls. We set up our chairs under some trees at the outdoor event, and I for one enjoyed the whole night. Lots of stuff from the IG’s most recent CD, Poseidon & the Bitter Bug, which is a pretty good CD if you listen only to the acoustic versions of each song. BTW, Amy and Emily, please don’t bother in the future doing these overly produced studio versions when your real elegance and power come in the two-girls-plus-two-guitars (or mandolins) formula. You don’t need additional instruments; your voices are fabulous all by themselves!
Which I was reminded of again listening to the Girls in concert. The best part of the night may have been when they returned to the second CD and performed “Kid Fears” using Matt Nathanson (who opened for them) in the Michael Stipe role. Fantastic … Matt even gesticulated a bit like Michael, so I found him a pleasing, if imperfect, stand in.
Listening to the Indigo Girls remains, for me, a bit like snuggling under a familiar and favorite quilt: there’s something of the hand-made quality about it, something early and real; there’s a familiar smell (lesbian jokes not needed here) that evokes home and comfort (or in my case, college undergrad years and comfort); and there’s a moment of peace that can feel “like every war’s behind us” … that’s not bad for a night under the stars.
From their most recent CD, here’s “Salty South” …
I’d love to see the Girls perform with the Avett Brothers …
It begins fairly slowly, the first morning walking the dogs and the humidity has been dialed back a bit, and even though it’s still in the mid-70s, you can feel that this 75 is different from the one you got at 6:00 a.m. a few weeks ago. And turning a corner, as you click the lock on the retractable leash, which provides all the instruction they’ll need to take off and perform their own morning rituals, you get just the faintest crisp-chill smell that says, unmistakably, “Autumn is coming …”
