From: spencer@cgrg.ohio-state.edu (Stephen N. Spencer)
Subject: Indigo Girls, Palace Theatre, Cleveland Ohio, 15 Dec 1992
Organization: OSU Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 14:46:24 GMT

What a whirlwind... First I didn't think I was going to this show, since I
heard about it too late to get any sort of decent seats.  Then a friend 
calls me two nights before the show and says "I've got this extra 8th
row seat and the person I wanted to take can't go, how about you?"  Well,
you can guess what my answer was to *that* question.  

So, two-and-a-half hours up the interstate from Columbus to Cleveland we go.
The parking garage is full, so we hit a surface lot behind the theatre.
The theatre, Cleveland's Palace Theatre in Playhouse Square, is a beautiful
theatre holding approximately 1500 people.  Built in the early 20th century.
Ornate and gorgeous.  We've got one just like it down here in Columbus.
Our seats were stage right, in front of the speakers.  Not a problem -- we
still had a great view of the stage (though my friend couldn't see much of
Scarlet Rivera when she was on stage).

Emily came on stage right at 7:30 (a very pleasant change from the usual
'show-starts-at-X-but-we'll-wait-until-X-plus-twenty-minutes-to-start' 
concert procedure) with a "hey y'all" and introduces Ferron.  Ferron was
wonderful, playing for approximately forty-five minutes and charming a very
appreciative audience.  She had us singing, clapping, and snapping our
fingers to her infective lyrics and music.  Emily returned to perform a
song with her, and Scarlet Rivera and Jane Scarpantoni hit the stage for
one or two songs.

Fifteen or so minutes intermission then ensued.  Kristen Hall's "Fact And
Fiction" filled the hall with sound while people talked, stretched, and 
headed for the lobby.  (What did I do?  Stayed in my seat and sang along.)

Just before 9:00, the lights go down, and Indigo Girls take the stage.  
At first, it's just Emily, Amy, and Sara Lee on bass.  Later, Budgie (from
Siouxsie and the Banshees), Jane Scarpantoni and Scarlet Rivera would join
them, as well as Siouxsie herself.  But for the first four songs of the 
show, it's just Amy, Emily, and Sara.  A wonderful experience.

This was the last concert of this part of the "Rites of Passage" tour.
Amy noted that they will take January and February off, playing a few
benefits but nothing else.  In the spring they will return to the road,
playing "rock 'n roll clubs" as Amy put it.

The players:

	Amy Ray: guitar, vocals
	Emily Saliers: guitar, vocals
	Scarlet Rivera: violin
	Jane Scarpantoni: cello
	Budgie: percussion
	Sara Lee: electric and acoustic bass
	Ferron: guitar, vocals (opening act)
	Siouxsie Sioux: vocals

The set list:

	Strange Fire				Jonas And Ezekial
	Hammer And A Nail			Tangled Up In Blue
	Welcome Me				Struggle (?)
	Love's Recovery				Strange Fruit
	Joking					Secure Yourself
	Galileo					Prince Of Darkness
	Three Hits				Chickenman
	Ghost					------- (encore) -------
	Pushing The Needle Too Far		Cedar Tree
	Let It Be Me				Down By The River
	Virginia Woolf				Closer To Fine

The rendition of "Virginia Woolf" was great.  I thought it worked better
than when I heard it performed back in June.  "Chickenman," as usual, 
kicked butt.

"Struggle" and "Strange Fruit" were performed by Siouxsie, with backup
instrumentation and vocals by Amy and Emily and the band.  Sara Lee used
a wonderful-sounding acoustic bass guitar on "Strange Fruit."

"Tangled Up In Blue", an old Bob Dylan song, was marvelous.  Emily gets
bluesy in the break before the last verse, and just wails.  They've recorded
this song, with Michelle Malone's old backup band Drag The River, on a
Bob Dylan tribute album released in 1991 on Sister Ruby Records, and Russell 
Carter sings that particular section.  Emily does a great job on it, a bit 
different than Russell's rendition.

Amy introduced "Cedar Tree" by stating that yes, she's written a love song.
(Amy, you write *wonderful* love songs.)  They didn't perform this one when 
I saw them in June, and it was well worth the wait.  "Down By The River," 
a Neil Young song, brought down the house.  A great jam.  Ferron and 
Siouxsie returned to the stage, along with two young men from the audience 
who won some sort of contest, for "Closer To Fine."  Lots of hand-held 
percussion by the band members on this one, with the audience singing and 
clapping right along.  (And I'd like to know what this contest was all about.
Where do I sign up!)

A good time was had by all.  The Cleveland audience was very appreciative
and very supportive, singing along and dancing where they could, and being
quiet and listening when they should.  It impressed me that the audience was
quite varied -- there were lots of college-age folks, but a good number of 
younger (high school) and older (post-college) people in attendance as well.
While it's not quite as varied as, say, a Jimmy Buffett concert crowd, where
you're likely to see people ranging in age from five to fifty, it's nice to
see their music reaching out to a wider audience.

Happy holidays, one and all!

Stephen Spencer
(yes, i'm the administrator of the Indigo Girls mailing list.  for more
 information, send email to "indigo-girls-request@cgrg.ohio-state.edu".)
-- 
Stephen N. Spencer, Graphics Research Specialist           ,__o      ,__o
spencer@cgrg.ohio-state.edu  (or spencer@siggraph.org)   _-\_<,    _-\_<, 
(614) 292-3416                                          (*)/'(*)  (*)/'(*)