the world is your acorn

For my birthday back in August The Little Red Haired Girl bought me tickets to see the Indigo Girls, and last night was the night. I used to be an Indigo Girls fanatic– I traded boot tapes, bought rare posters and tshirts on ebay, and maintained websites for fan groups. I don’t really know how the obsession died away, but it happened soon after Shaming of the Sun came out. Anyway, I’ve been getting back into their stuff (and music in general) lately, so it was great to get to a live show again.

As expected they played mainly songs from the new album, Despite Our Differences. I counted just 4 songs pre-Shaming of the Sun: Land of Canaan, Galileo, Power of Two, and Closer to Fine. That was a little disappointing, but I guess it’s hard to play a lot of old stuff when they’ve been so immersed in the newer albums. Some highlights for me:

• Amy unplugging herself by accident and sheepishly putting herself back together
• Amy singing harmony with her pick in her mouth
• Mindy Smith’s surprise guest appearance – she sang “Tennessee” from her new album, Long Island Shores. Amazing. The Little Red Haired Girl did note, however, that she wants to feed Mindy a potato or something.
• The audience: it’s been a while since I’ve seen so many lesbians in one place. I was surprised at how many empty seats there were though.
• The quiet in the auditorium during “Dirt and Dead Ends”(can you tell I’m an Amy fan yet?)

The Girls were not as chatty as I remember and they kept futzing with the sound, but overall it was a great show and a fun time. I’m digging out the old albums this morning for a quick listen.