Buzzsaw Haircut

Mood Indigo: The Indigo Girls at State Theater

by Bora Yoon

The sight of huge silver tour busses lined up against the marquis of Ithaca's State Theater, ran a sympathetic hum from the bus engines down the coiled line of fans clutching their tickets to the sold out show on Tuesday.

On tour with their eighth full-length album released on Epic this past March, the Indigo Girls hit the open road once again to feed the ears of their long-awaited fans with songs off their new album "Become You."

Set against the gorgeous intricate baroque backdrop of the recently reopened State Theater, the dynamic duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers faced up in full vibrancy, stronger than ever Tuesday night, with maturity and passion, calmness and an incredible sense of balance and polarity.

Despite ticket doubles and snafus, every fan was validated with a seat or an open spot at the foot of the stage when they decided to liberate themselves from the seat they fought so hard to obtain. Saliers exclaiming with a smile and warm Southern drawl between songs, "y'all done bum-rush the show! I see you've all found your places."

Opening for the headliner was K's Choice, a Belgian rock duo comprised of brother and sister Sarah (lead vocals guitar) and Bert Gettens (vocals guitar). A great opener, they set the stage with mellow acoustic-electric rock, as well as their individual reprise performances later in the show in guest cameos in 'Closer to Fine' and 'Kid Fears.'

The Indigo Girls took the floor with characteristic grace and amiability, kicking off the two hour set with songs off their newer releases such as the album's single 'Moment of Forgiveness' and 'Become You' while integrating old familiar favorites dating back to 1987 off their debut release such as 'Closer to Fine' and 'Love's Recovery.' Varying their set like skilled performers know to do, they paint an ever-broadening scope of their music as well as their abilities and instrumentation--Ray on vocals, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and harmonica, and Saliers on vocals, 6 & 12 string guitar, classical guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, banjo, and mandolin.

To round out their sound, the "band" backing up the IG was indeed a band in the body of one woman that they "stole from Sinead O'Connor." The impressive range of Carol Isaacs was indeed a subtle but dynamic presence visually as well as aurally, filling in songs on Hammond B-3, Wurlitzer, piano, accordion, penny whistle, recorder, percussion and a third voice on harmonies. Placed perfectly center stage behind the Ray and Saliers, this trinity created the perfect visual and harmonic balance of people onstage that was as intimate as a coffeehouse atmosphere of acoustic honesty, as well as loud enough to fill out the large venue.

Both Ray and Saliers being strong singers, songwriters, instrumentalists and performers, created an incredible display of complementary balance and beauty with their contrasting voices, styles of songs, and personalities they brought to the stage. Amy's hard heavy acoustic grooves were dimensionalized perfectly with Emily's confident and effortless classical guitar chops, developing verses and filling in instrumental solos. In turn, Salier's own slower songs full of poetic prose and insights such as 'Collecting You' echoed with the undertone edge and intensity of Amy's voice, giving more depth and breadth to the sound.
All too often there is an imbalance in solo singer/songwriters because the material is all coming from a single source which can cause a lot of their material to sound monotonous--but the talents pooled between Saliers and Ray created a fine tuned equilibrium of pitch perfect harmony and delivery. Amy's rogue raw voice against Emily's sailing sustained cry drink you in, taking you on the backseat of their songs to enjoy the golden sunsets and burnt familiarity of journal entries past, kicking up the dust of nostalgia as if reeling the soundtrack of your life.

There was great pacing and synergy in the show with breathtaking solo performances by each Ray and Saliers as well as a powerhouse solo in 'Chickenman' where Saliers single-handedly took on the strength of a whole band hammering rhythms on her bottom two strings, a glass slide, a slight smile on her lips and a neck groove. Audience banter was at an entertaining high with stories of their Under 21/fake ID days, jostling lesbian humor and a callout for a laundry protest after Amy Ray realized her proud moment of actually getting laundry done at Collegetown's Club Sudz was sheer exploitation. "$1.75/load? They're exploiting you! I think it's time for a protest, guys."

Audience participation was actually encouraged and welcome: "Y'all want a sing-along?" lauding the audience on Ithaca's fine vocal skills while giving us the chance to become collective voices of harmony--a microcosm of society which they believe can be realized.
Looking at the Indigo Girls, one begins to see what a political paradox they embody in such songs like title track, 'Become You' and their opener 'It's Alright' where they struggle to hear how their personal philosophies and sexual identities match up with the racism and issues of their Southern identities. But as they share these issues of struggle, positions of weakness transform into platforms of strength as a result of encompassing multiple identities, so they can speak out and coerce insights out of situations for peace rather than outright defiance and anger.

Concluding the show with a haunting three part a cappella song, sung by the trinity of Ray, Saliers, and Isaacs, Ray's eyes remained closed and Salier's eyes open and looking up, as they sang." "O God of all nations/ Hear my song/ My song of peace/ for their land/ and for mine." Alongside their semantics of identity and activism, they are inherently incredible performers, musicians, as well as people, which has proven many times to be the strongest form of activism there is--actually embodying what one hopes to see in the world. There is a realness and sincerity behind them that rings true beyond performer image because they remain firmly rooted in being a voice of the people, while still remaining part of the people, leaving one replenished with the faith, poetry and spirit of humankind.

Bora Yoon is senior Music major. byoon1@ithaca.edu