7/17/15 The Indigo Girls at the Minnesota Zoo, One Lost Day
I usually combine my reviews of concerts and movies, but I feel like this music review should be a standalone. I saw
The Indigo Girls almost two years ago, and it while it seems like yesterday, it has been way too long. This time around they are promoting their new CD,
One Lost Day, and as excited as I was to hear the new music, it took me a few listens before I could say I liked it, and now I love it. The Indigo Girls have a great way with lyrical storytelling, songs of the American landscape (new songs like "Texas was Clean", "Fishtails" by Amy Ray and "Findlay, Ohio 1968 by Emily Saliers) as well as relationship songs, usually lost opportunities ("California is Your Girlfriend", "Learned it on Me" by Emily and "Spread the Pain Around" by Amy). I have seen the Indigo Girls at least seven times, maybe more, and I have never been disappointed, except that eventually the concert has to end. There is something about just
being at an IG show that brings out a feeling of community, and not being in the minority. It's kind of like a family reunion, I inevitably see someone I know (okay, it's usually the same person I see, but it's still fun), and this time was no different; people spent as much time waving at one another as watching the concert. I have mixed feelings about concerts at the zoo; usually it's a feeling of numbness in my ass from sitting on those ridiculous benches (it's an amphitheater, which was great for the Greeks) but almost every seat has a fabulous view of the stage, and where else do you get to see bats flying around the stage? It was a warm, humid Minnesota night, one which I'll miss when it's -20 in six months. Michelle Malone opened the show with her band, and they were tight; Michelle has toured with the Indigo Girls for years. Michelle has a combination of styles, kind of rocking, but a little flavor of country (she is from Georgia and has played with Kristian Bush of Sugarland). Her new album is
Stronger Than You Think and she played a couple songs from that; she has quite a lengthy discography and obviously couldn't play everything, but there are some songs from her older albums that would have been nice to hear. She is an amazing guitarist and ripped it out a couple of times, and I was hoping she would come out and exchange some licks with Emily later.
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It was around 8:02 when the Indigo Girls took the stage and opened with "Least Complicated" from
Swamp Ophelia (one of my favorites), and the hootenanny began. I think they played it very smart by opening with a few old, familiar and much loved songs before dropping in some new ones, usually one by Amy and then one by Emily. I had done my homework by listening to the new CD nonstop in my car, so I was able to sing it out (yes, I was
that person whom I mocked from the
Billy Joel concert), but I wasn't alone. Of course, I was sitting in front of the five woman who knew
nothing, and carried on conversations during the concert, mentioning several times that they didn't know the words. Then GO HOME and drink your chardonnay from the box and let me listen. Good grief. Everyone has their favorite songs and people weren't shy about shouting them out, from "Romeo and Juliet" (
Rites of Passage by Mark Knopfler) to "Watershed" to pretty much everything in the catalog. The cool thing about being in such an intimate venue is the performers can usually hear everything you yell at them, and they may even respond, as Amy did when someone yelled out "Romeo and Juliet" and Amy took a break from getting her guitar plugged in to address the yellee by saying (paraphrasing) " I hear you, but I don't even know that one right now, and I don't want you to think I'm ignoring you", and someone else yelled (I think) '"We know it" because Amy said, "I know you do". Anyway, back to the songs. Amy did "Happy in the Sorrow Key" which is a fast paced song that I really love; and then Emily did "Learned it on Me" which is the song you sing to your ex a few years after you break up and aren't so much bitter as reflective. It must be hard for an artist to bring out new material when the fans want the tried and true material, and you have so much of it, so they were both so appreciative when the audience sat and listened to the new stuff; Emily specifically mentioned that after finishing "Findlay, Ohio 1968"; prior to the song, she introduced her dad who was in the audience that night. I was really happy that they did "Yield" from
Become You which is another fast paced song from Amy with some pointed lyrics. Emily did "Southern California is your Girlfriend" from
One Lost Day and it's really not one of my favorites from the album, but like many of their songs that don't grab me on an album, when done live, I usually grow to like it a little more; Amy then did "Fishtails" which is another one I really like, she definitely sets a mood of kids running around in a Georgia evening in their hoodies, it's not ominous, though. When the chords of "Joking" (
Rites of Passage) started, the crowd was even more electrified, on their feet singing. The whole set list can be found
here, but they finished the night with "Rise of the Black Messiah" from the new album which is another one of my favorite songs because it is taken from the true story of the
Angola Three and a letter that Amy received from one of the men and because it is musically so driving and grabs you; and of course "Closer to Fine" is probably one song they have to do, and that's where Michelle Malone came out to sing with them.
They had the same band from a couple of years ago, Jaron Pearlman on drums, Ben Williams on bass, Carol Isaacs on keyboards, accordion and whistle (not sure if she was here in 2013) and the amazing Lyris Hung on violin. The IG has a knack of find wonderful musicians who seem to get their fans and understand their music. Amy and Emily are no slouches in the musicianship department and Emily does not get the credit she deserves for being an incredible guitarist who can shred it when necessary, but she doesn't overplay and she's not flashy. But what the Indigo Girls are known for is their harmonies and the way their vocals are intertwined, and that is beautifully presented on the new album, and they do it live, but I think sometimes it's hard to really get the sonic clarity live in the mix.
The Indigo Girls have been making records for almost thirty years, which is pretty astounding when you think about it, and they continue to grow and change while staying true to what is important to them (Honor the Earth as an example); they have grown a fan base that could probably sing every sing at any time. Whenever a crowd sings with them or back to them, they always seem humbled and sincerely thankful for their fans.It's part of what makes me love them. Another thing is, who else would wear animal hats onstage (check the last picture)? You cannot walk away from an Indigo Girls concert feeling anything less than uplifted.
