I’ve been a fan of The Indigo Girls since 1989, when their first single, ”Closer to Fine” hit the radio. Although the song was quite catchy and fun to hear, the main thing that grabbed me were their harmonies… their beautiful, beautiful harmonies. For 1989, their sound was so distinct and really unlike anything else in the mainstream:
Madonna was showing us how she was ”Like A Prayer,” Richard Marx explained how he was ”Right Here Waiting,” Phil Collins was living ”Another Day in Paradise,” and The New Kids on the Block were still ”Hangin’ Tough.”
The Indigo Girls stuck out like a sore thumb wrapped in a fluorescent yellow band-aid.: two girls, two guitars, and that’s it.
Their sound was massive, though, and I think that was the thing that set them apart from other female singer-songwriters at the time. Let’s face it, Tracy Chapman is great, but her songs don’t have the “epic” quality… Suzanne Vega is also an excellent songsmith, but none of her songs have the same “hugeness”… at the time, nobody compared to The Indigo Girls. Nobody compares to them now, either. Their songs are some of the most INTENSE songs to come out in the last twenty years, and this bootleg showcases this quality well.
Check out ”Chickenman”, and you’ll get an idea of what I mean. The furious strumming, the fire in their vocals… it all adds up to a resounding ”Wow.” Another example of this intensity can be found in ”Kid Fears.” The end of this tune is classic Indigo Girls… overlapping vocals, each with a separate vocal line, but ending up together as if they’d been singing the same thing the whole time. I LOVE this song!
But there’s plenty of beauty in this collection as well. I’ve posted ”Southland in the Springtime” before… it’s truly one of the most gorgeous songs about the South that I’ve ever heard (I only wish that blasted harmonica player weren’t there). Take a listen to the chorus… the melody for the line “Where the waters flow with confidence and reason” builds so nicely… truly a non-grotesque moment. ”Least Complicated” may be a cute little song, but it’s their intricate harmony work that really brings out the elegance within the lyric and melody.
I am guessing that this show was from either 1999 or 2000, as it appears to be in support of their Come On Now Social record. The four songs performed from the album, ”Go,” “Peace Tonight,” “Ozilline,” and ”Compromise” all sound GREAT here, and in many ways I prefer these acoustic versions to their full-band album counterparts.
My favorite track off this bootleg, though, has to be the last number, ”Shame On You.” I have no idea what this song is about… come to think of it, I rarely know what Amy Ray is singing about, but her songs are always so catchy that I don’t care. This three-chord ditty is such a blast to hear acoustically… totally dig it!
If you’re not familiar with The Indigo Girls, this is a good introduction to their music. The quality of this bootleg is excellent, and the song selection is a nice cross section of their catalog at the time. If you ARE familiar with them, then sit back and enjoy a show from, in my humble opinion, one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century.
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Your Dig-It Downloads:
Download: Closer to Fine
Download: Go
Download: Peace Tonight
Download: I Don’t Wanna Know
Download: The Power of Two
Download: Ozilline
Download: Least Complicated
Download: Chickenman
Download: Southland in the Springtime
Download: Compromise
Download: Get Out the Map
Download: Kid Fears
Download: Galileo
Download: Shame on You
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February 5th 2000 was the date for this show….it’s one of my all-time favorite boots
http://addictedtovinyl.com/blog/2008/05/28/good-listening-indigo-girls-in-cold-storage/
love love LOVE the version of Least Complicated on this show!
There’s a great site of Indigo Girls live stuff etc at http://www.lifeblood.net that seems to be down….hopefully temporarily….it was even linked on the official IG site…..hope it comes back around!
Thanks for the info on this bootleg! I never knew where it came from or anything about it… thank you for the links!
I love how these boots get passed on and on and on…
This is AWESOME!! “Closer To Fine” has been the song I listen to that brings me down from whatever emotional ride I’m on…it’s one of the greatest songs ever written, in my opinion – the whole package, lyrics, music, vocals.
I’ve been to many concerts in my day – growing up in Chicago had its benefits! – and I have to say seeing the Indigo Girls at the Chicago Theater is something I wish I could do every year. Even with just the two of them with their guitars, I agree with you – their sound is so big.
Thanks for posting this – I know I’m gonna be diggin’ this show for a long time!
One other thing, I think “Shame On You” is in general about the hypocrasy of racism in this country. Plus it’s just a cool song (and Steve Earle sang backup on the album version!)
I love harmonies in general, but yes, there is just something about the harmonies of these two that is so unique and beautiful. Thanks to you and that chick above me I’ve gotten a chance to explore more Indigo Girls songs over the past couple years, and I’m very grateful for that.
I love “Shame on You”. And “Galileo”. And yay, love the audience singing the “Closer I am to fine” part in “Closer to Fine” :) This is a great show. I’d love to see them play sometime…I bet it’d be an awesome time.
Great write-up!
I’ve seen them three times at Lilith Fair, and even though there were other headliners, these ladies were the ones that stole the show every. single. time. Peace Tonight, I Don’t Wanna Know and The Power of Two are some of my favorites from them…and there they are, all right in a row!
They always make me smile when I listen, and they always make me think about that Jackie chick too. Which also makes me smile. :-) Thanks for the AWESOME download (whole show, yay!).