2/15/19 Indigo Girls with the Minnesota Orchestra
I have lost track of how many times I've seen the Indigo Girls, in what venues and what configurations, all I know is that every time has been amazing, uplifting and mind-blowing, and this time was no exception. The Indigo Girls recently released an album of live material performed with the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and came to Minneapolis to play with our own Minnesota Orchestra, rocking out in Orchestra Hall. Songs went back in time as far 1989 with "Kid Fears" up to their latest studio album One Lost Day, the old favorites bringing out the crowd's best singing voices, like "The Power of Two", "Galileo" (see video), "Ghost" (with its mention of the Mississippi River and Minnesota bringing the house down) and the classic singalong "Closer to Fine". The Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, traded between acoustic and electric guitars with their guitar tech, Stanley, who is a Scorpio, in case you were wondering. And someone was wondering, as she yelled out between songs, bringing the show to a slow roll, as Emily and Amy seemed amused as they had never been asked that question before. Amy and Emily have always been wonderful about interacting with their audiences, sharing stories about their songs, like what inspired "Go", originally released in 1999, and which was dedicated to the Parkland students and is in a new video. They have never shied away from politics or causes, whether its the rights of indigenous people, voting rights, civil rights, but they both also write story songs about love or growing up (Emily introduced either "Mystery" or "Ghost" as a song you knew she wrote because it's a love song written by a Cancer). The Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks, and they were up to the task of these pop/folk/rock songs. I have seen them in different concerts over the years, and they are also very beloved by the people here in Minnesota. The arrangements are so complementary to the originals, powerful strings, clever use of different percussion (I think I heard a timpani?) and dynamic brass. I'm off to go listen to that album again, and if you haven't heard it yet, you really should; I'm also in search of my next Indigo Girls concert.
