Elizabeth and I went to see the Indigo Girls last night. They performed at the Bob Carr, an intimate venue that seats maybe 500 - 600 people. We enjoyed the opening band, Three5Human, who were so good in a Lenny Kravitz/funk-rock way that I bought their album at iTunes. Three young women got up to dance more often than was polite, waving their wide asses in our faces a little too frequently. But since the three knew all of the words to the songs [and thus qualified as real fans], it was hard to stay annoyed for long.I had seen the Indigo Girls in concert years ago, after the release of their third or fourth album. That show had been wild, so I tried to prepare Elizabeth for more of the same. They had performed at the Peabody Hotel, in a basement banquet room. Although the stage was slightly raised, the floor was level and the seats were rows and rows of dining room chairs. For a better view, everyone started to stand on the chairs, dancing and clapping. As it was the only way to see, I remember getting up on a chair as well, an act of balance I would never attempt today. Back then, the Indigo Girls were younger and leaner, as was their audience. And what now seems dangerous, uncomfortable, and inconvenient seating was, at the time, just an opportunity for a bunch of young people to have fun.
The audience last night was, as Elizabeth put it, Chablis-sipping yuppies, what those foolish young people from 15 - 20 years ago have become. The chatter around us was middle-age talk about professional jobs, mortgages, and the like. The clothing, the drink choices, the behavior all smacked of maturity, not abandon and folly. Most of us would have happily stood for "Closer to Fine" but preferred sitting in the comfortable chairs, tapping out the beat with a palm to the knee or a heel to the floor, not dancing in the aisles. For god's sake, Elizabeth and I paid $25 for valet parking at the downtown Marriott, a luxury and expense that I could not have afforded on top of the ticket cost 20 years ago.I did enjoy going to the concert, even though the performance fell on a school night. Listening to an album is enjoyable, but seeing artists create the music live is inspiring. I really need to schedule more things out in the future. But, boy, have I aged, a fact that the concert communicated in clear ways.
