Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #263 - Indigo Girls Concert

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #263 - Indigo Girls Concert

Hi Mom, I went to see an Indigo Girls concert last night with my good friend Chris Dilley. It was fantastic. It was so uplifting, filling me with such joy, that I would love to be able to add an event like this to my life once a month or at least four times a year. Just long enough in between so I have time to look forward to it, but not too long in between that I lack the joy such an experience provides.

Joy is important. The ancient Egyptians believed that when they reached the gate to the after life the god Osiris (formerly a position held by Anubis) would ask them two questions: "have you found joy and did you bring joy?" If they could answer "yes" to both, they could enter the afterlife. I would like to think I have given others joy, but I know I have found joy. Not that an Indigo Girls concert is as important as the love shared with family and friends as a vehicle of joy, but it's part of life's joy tapestry, at least it is for me.

Amy Ray rocks

HIGHLIGHT: So here's my highlight of the show. I told my friend Chris that there are certain songs that might make me cry if they were to play them, one such song is "The Wood Song" from the 1994 album Swamp Ophelia. I had already written about this song in my seven songs in seven days feature (requested by Glenn Codere): Hey Mom #114 - Seven Songs - "Wood Song".

So, the Indigo Girls played "The Wood Song" and because the crowd was well behaved and mostly older, once the applause died off after the song there's a silent lull, into which I said, in a loud voice, "that song has meant so much to me." Since I was only about twenty feet away in the second row, they heard me and thanked me and tried to get a look at me through the lights.

I am so happy that I was able to share that comment with Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, but especially Emily Saliers who wrote the song.

I was so thrilled to be able to share my comment and be heard by these two artists who I respect so much. Given how much I love music, this comment is the one thing I wish to say to my favorite artists. When we love music, we let the music into our lives, and it becomes part of our lives. The music becomes a companion. It's a shoulder to cry on in tough times. It's a pep talk, a reminder to have courage and fortitude. It's a reminder that we are loved, that there is love, that there are good times and bad times. The music becomes a good friend.

As I wrote back in Hey Mom #114 - Seven Songs - "Wood Song", this song originally meant certain things to me, which evolved as years passed and as other events in my life caused me to turn to this song for support. It really helped me during the weeks as my mother lay dying and then for the weeks just after her death. Now, every time I listen to it, I am re-invigorated with courage and strength.

"love weighs the hull down with its weight..."

and

"what it takes to cross the great divide seems more than all the courage i can muster up inside but we get to have some answers when we reach the other side the prize is always worth the rocky ride..."

This is how close we sat!
second row - Orchestra Pit

I won't share the same video that I shared in Hey Mom #114...

"The Wood Song" - The Indigo Girls



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Emily Saliers

As for the rest of the concert, it was wonderful, as I wrote. A great set list with many of the new songs and many older favorite and sing-a-longs. They ended the main set with "Galileo," in which they requested a us all to sing, and then the encore concluded with "Closer to Fine."

It's not possible for them to play all the songs I want to hear. I have 178 songs of theirs in my i-Tunes from 18 albums, including the live one. They did play some songs I love including "Pendulum Swinger" (see below), "Share the Moon," "Gone Again," "Able to Sing," "Learned it on Me," "Damo," "Happy in the Sorrow Key," "Get Out the Map," and especially "Power of Two." Oh, and by special request by someone with a birthday "I Believe in Love" (see below). I know I am missing some, but that's a pretty good list.

The concert was held at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center, which is a great venue over in Grand Rapids where I would like to see more shows. Beautiful facility.

Lucy Wainwright Roche opened and then song back up for Indigo Girls, including accompaniment on "Able to Sing," from 2011's Beauty Queen Sister, the recording for which she also sang.  They were also joined on stage by an amazing musician, mostly on violin, Lyris Hung, who will be producing Emily's first solo album, which may be recorded later this year. The one song Emily and Lyris played from the as yet in progress solo album was very good.

Amy Ray - picture by Chris Dilley

Back to Lucy. I had not listened to any music or through of Lucy's parents in some time. She is the daughter of Loudon Wainwright III and Suzzy Roche of the Roches. I love the Roches, even though I have not listened to any of their music in a long time. But it's still in deep memory, and when Indigo Girls played "Hammond Song" with Lucy from the 1979 debut the Roches, produced by Robert Fripp, all the lyrics came flooding back and I was in Heaven (not Hammond). I did not know that the Roches were a big influence on the Indigo Girls, but I am not surprised.

Lucy Wainwright Roche is a warm and hilarious performer with great talent. I loved her set and will have to get her solo work, including an album she made with her sister Martha Wainwright of dark lullabies. She closed her set with a sing-a-long of Springsteen's "Hungry Heart," which is apparently a thing with her.

I will include a Lucy song farther below.

After I made my little incomplete list of songs above, I found that the Indigo Girls post the set list to their Facebook page. So here it is... :-) But examining it, they dropped "Let It Be Me" for the request for "I Believe in Love." I am surprised. I expected them to play "Let It Be Me" as it's an election year and the song is about political action. I would have preferred them to drop another song than "Let It Be Me," which is a favorite of mine.

The sound on this video is not great, but you get the idea of how funny she is and how warm plus this video is from just a month ago on the current tour. Our show last night was the last show of the tour.

LUCY WAINWRIGHT ROCHE - "Seek and Hide" - 2006


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Just a couple more from the current tour...







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Reflect and connect.

Have someone give you a kiss, and tell you that I love you.

Talk to you tomorrow, Mom.

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- Days ago = 265 days ago

- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1603.26 - 10:10


NOTE on time: When I post late, I had been posting at 7:10 a.m. because Google is on Pacific Time, and so this is really 10:10 EDT. However, it still shows up on the blog in Pacific time. So, I am going to start posting at 10:10 a.m. Pacific time, intending this to be 10:10 Eastern time. I know this only matters to me, and to you, Mom. But I am not going back and changing all the 7:10 a.m. times. But I will run this note for a while. Mom, you know that I am posting at 10:10 a.m. often because this is the time of your death.