Concert review: Indigo Girls at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Full disclosure: “Closer to Fine” is one of my all-time favorite comfort songs, and its lyrics about casting away a “source for some definitive” to fully understand life hit harder the older I get.
I can only imagine this sentiment was shared by the packed house of Indigo Girls fans at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium on April 27, as what felt like the whole crowd immediately lifted to its feet within seconds of the song’s opening chords.
Pulling the song out just before the encore, and joined onstage by opener Danielle Howle, the Atlanta-based duo (and Asheville frequenters) of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers stomped through the well-worn track without missing a beat. Indicative of their down-to-earth appeal, the band left certain lyrics up to the audience, resulting in rousing sing-a-long moments that could only be fostered in such an inclusive environment.
Touring in support of their latest release, 2020’s Look Long, the group traversed a setlist spanning decades of songs that have become classics to a certain set of music fans, not least of which included Saliers’ own father, Don, who was in attendance that night. This knowledge was brought to my attention about midway through the show, when Emily pointed out the fact to the entire auditorium. Lo and behold, just a few seats down my row sat Dr. Saliers, and I managed to catch up with him for a few seconds as the night came to an end, during which he dropped quite the personal anecdote:
“When we do concerts, Emily and I, she allows me to play the piano on ‘Power of Two,’ so I have to say that’s probably my favorite,” he reminisced, beaming as he did during that night’s rendition of the tune.
With minimal lighting and a sparse backing band consisting of fiddle, pedal steel, and upright bass alongside the duo’s array of acoustic and electric guitars, Ray and Saliers eschewed theatricality and allowed themselves to fully zero in squarely on the songs. Captivated audience members still found time to carve out their own space during numbers such as “Galileo” and “Woodsong,” standing up during a given song or simply swaying in their seats, depending on the person.
Ray and Saliers kept investment at a high throughout the show with casual stage banter between each other and the crowd, with all involved responding enthusiastically. During one of these interactions, a sudden shout-out by Ray found its way into the mix: Never afraid to get political, the Indigo Girls decided to dedicate “Muster,” a track from their newest album, to “Madison” after likening the current political state of affairs to “a toolbox they send out to everybody — to try to mess everything up.”
The song’s lyrics reflect on a divided landscape, how one gets to such a place, and how the song’s narrator will “make it up” to future generations. It’s a pointed statement from an act that was birthed out of the Southern alternative scene of the ’80s that saw bands such as R.E.M. and the B-52’s lay the groundwork for a type of rock music that would take hold in the ensuing decade — one that would eventually open up avenues for queerness and intellectualism to enter the mainstream.
Though over 30 years have passed since those breakthroughs, that hasn’t stopped the Indigo Girls from reflecting on the world around them, and if the duo’s sheer dedication to their craft is any indication, they won’t be stopping any time soon.
(Photo by Niko Gonzalez)
