The Indigo Girls Captivate The Crowd At The Fillmore Charlotte

A Passionate Performance Proves Simple Is Sometimes Better

Even the superstitions of Friday the Thirteenth couldn’t keep a near capacity crowd away from the Fillmore this past weekend as the Indigo Girls made a stop in the Queen City.  The folk rock duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers are on the road for a summer tour that is selling out across the country.  Since they hail from nearby Atlanta, Georgia, just a short drive down Interstate 85, there was a strong contingent of fans in attendance that made the trip to see their favorite band play live.  Their latest album, Indigo Girls Live With The University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra,  was released only a few weeks ago, and if their live show is anything like the record the crowd would be in for a magical night.  

As the club was beginning to fill up, I had the chance to check out the merchandise table as well as chat with a few long time Indigo Girls fans. Since it was my first time seeing them live, everyone assured me I was going to be blown away, so I was excited and anxious for the show to get started.

Kicking things off was the husband and wife team of Michael and Tanya Trotter who make up the folk duo The War and Treaty.  Michael was decked out in a red suit center stage behind his keyboard and Tanya was a vision in a beautiful chiffon dress.  From the very first notes, I knew that I was about to experience something special. Michael reminded me a little of Otis Redding as he had a rich, soulful voice that resonated across the venue.  With all the soul of Aretha Franklin and the strong jazzy vibe of Ella Fitzgerald, Tanya Trotter is a vocal powerhouse. When she sang she literally gave me the chills. As if that wasn’t enough, they brought a team of top notch musicians to back them up.

About midway through their short, but oh so sweet, set, Michael took a moment to address the crowd. Asking everyone to share the love and bring the healing, he bade the crowd to turn and hug the person next to them.  Some fans were a little hesitant, but Michael tried to reassure them stating that what they just did wasa form of suicide prevention and a rare opportunity to show acceptance to those around them who may be different than them. It was a poignant moment and a great introduction to the song “Healing Tide.” That wasn’t the only show of love in the set though as Michael and Tanya embraced and slow danced on the stage.

The War and Treaty put on an exceptional performance that had a mix of a little folk, a little blues, with a whole lot of soul, making a fan out of myself and many others that night.

After the required break and stage change over, the Indigo Girls made their appearance. Both Amy and Emily took their place behind their microphones and strapped on an acoustic electric guitar.  Little else was on stage except an amplifier and a few foot pedals as Emily announced they were keeping it simple, “It’s just myself and Amy tonight.

I hope that’s okay.” Indeed it was as the audience roared their approval and the two started things off with “Hammer and Nail” getting the crowd pumped up right from the start.

Both Emily and Amy are gifted guitarists, and their guitars jingled and jangled all evening. They are also both stellar vocalists and the stripped down performance gave them a wonderful opportunity to showcase their beautiful, contrasting harmonies. It was, at times, simply breathtaking.

In today’s age of technology, it isn’t often that audiences get a chance to see an artist bare bones, putting it all out there for the world to see, flaws and all. Yet, that’s exactly what the Indigo Girls did and they did it with both style and substance.

It was a raw, emotion filled performance that embraced the fans and filled them with overwhelming joy at the pure beauty and power of the music.  It was a fantastic feeling to experience getting lost in the moment and to share that with a nearly sold out venue was unbelievable.

Emily chatted a little about struggles and her own personal struggle as a gay woman before Amy began the opening of “Power of Two.” It was the highlight of the night for me as it truly encompassed what attending a live show can be.

When Emily got to the lyrics “So we’re okay. We’re fine,” I looked around at the couples embracing, people dancing, and realized that yes, we are all okay. In this moment together everything was right with the world, if only for a brief moment in time.

The duo will be touring here in the US through the fall.  Be sure to check them out if you can.

See full gallery of the night!

Catch the tour:

www.indigogirls.com

www.thewarandtreaty.com