lifeblood: listlogs: 2001v04n147-news

ig-news-digest tuesday, august 28 2001 volume 04 : number 147

today's subjects:
-----------------
  [ig-news] ar article in in step mag.  ["barbara & lia basaj-gima" <barband]
  [ig-news] atlanta ballet/ig tix                         [clairelbs@aol.com]
  [ig-news] echo show                [dee yellowlees <tomboy1969@excite.com>]
  [ig-news] in step article                 [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@fl.net.au>]
  [ig-news] live at the fillmore on us cable  [sherlyn koo <sherlyn@fl.net.a]

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date: sun, 26 aug 2001 17:21:16 -0500
from: "barbara & lia basaj-gima" <barbandlia@msn.com>
subject: [ig-news] ar article in in step mag.

here's a link to an article on amy ray and stag in in step, a wisconsin gay
newspaper. unfortunately, the picture on the web site is much smaller than
the full-page cover of the paper copy, but the article is positive.

http://www.instepnews.com/amyray.html

peace,
barb

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date: sun, 26 aug 2001 19:52:08 edt
from: clairelbs@aol.com
subject: [ig-news] atlanta ballet/ig tix

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

something horrendous has occurred. out of my group of 4 people, 2 of us
purchased tickets to the atlanta ballet/indigo girls project. so i now
have 4
extra tickets for the sat oct 20th 2pm show. they are $40 and i'll just
eat
the service charges. this is a deal you can't miss. orchestra level and
only
$40!! let me know privately. thanks
*claire*
clairelbs@aol.com

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date: mon, 27 aug 2001 10:57:07 -0700
from: dee yellowlees <tomboy1969@excite.com>
subject: [ig-news] echo show

[sherlyn's note: this message was originally sent to the indigo
girls mailing list at netspace.org.]

quick review...

amy was in a great mood...

opened the show with a new song solo..."rebel song" or something like
that...she played it on democracy now a while back...

rose p. played a short set, the 1945 (amy came out and did "late bloom" w/
them...

the motlita played and then rose p. again! and then the butchies...who
rocked!

then amy's set w/ the butchies!
mostly the usual stuff...all of stag except "lazyboy", "refugee" and "ever
fall in love"

highlights... tanner rocking out with amy on "mtns. of glory" , amy doing
"sts" w/the butchies and emily jumping up on stage for an amazing version of
"cortez the killer" emily just wailed on the guitar...

then since they didn't know any more songs amy did "late bloom" again...this
time w/the butchies for an enocre...

d:)

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date: tue, 28 aug 2001 06:59:34 +1000 (est)
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@fl.net.au>
subject: [ig-news] in step article

hey folks,

here's the article from in step that barb mentioned...

(that url again - http://www.instepnews.com/amyray.html)

- -sherlyn

- ---begin forwarded article---
amy ray goes "stag"

the photograph of amy ray featured on the cover of her
recently-released album "stag" is credited to the
performer herself. this photographic self-portrait is a
fitting metaphor for the first solo recording by the
rougher, tougher half of the well-seasoned duo indigo
girls.

not only does "stag" feature ray's own gutsy lyrics and
guitar: it was produced by ray herself and released on
her own independent label, daemon records. after assuming
myriad voices with remarkable success on the latest
indigo girls album "come on now social," ray demonstrates
a profound eagerness to speak for herself again -- a task
she takes up with confidence and an honesty that is
sometimes painful.

rather than transcend the well-known indigo girls
aesthetic, ray's musical style unleashes an edgy
intensity that has become increasingly apparent on the
duo's more recent albums.

although her opening track "johnny rottentail" could pass
for an appalachian folk anthem, ray quickly settles into
a beat that is propelled by percussion, bass, and a heavy
dose of electric guitar. this instrumentation, coupled
with ray's decision to adopt the more primitive studio
technology of the indigo girls' early recordings, helps
her to achieve a raw, slightly unpolished sound that is
characteristic of many independent-label releases. this
effect is emphasized by her collaboration with the
butchies and the rock*a*teens, independent-label bands
who, along with joan jett, back her up on a number of
tracks.

the gutsy, hard-driving style of up-tempo cuts like
"lucystoners" and "mtns of glory" demonstrates clearly
that ray has not been oblivious to recent trends on the
alternative rock and punk music scene. nonetheless, it is
her down-tempo tracks like "laramie" and "lazyboy" that
give the album its tour de force. rather than settle into
the acoustic singer-songwriter style of earlier indigo
girls' ballads, ray's down-tempo style highlights her
mature lyricism and low, raspy voice without sacrificing
the album's edgy, percussive momentum.

as such, ray's ballads assume their place alongside her
more up-tempo tracks to produce a stylistic integration
that has sometimes been lacking on indigo girls albums.

ray's lyrics are often enigmatic and always challenging.
when, on the album's most straight-forward cut "black
heart today," ray offers up the bitter supplication "take
this meanness out of me," she carries forward the
time-honored indigo girls' tradition of bare-your-soul
honesty that has made the duo's lyrics so compelling.

and indigo girls fans who are expecting a dose of biting
social commentary will not come away disappointed.

ray is at her best, in fact, when searching out an
explanation for our myriad social ills--be they violence,
sexism, or homophobia.

on a track called "laramie," ray recalls the brutal murder
of gay student matthew shepard with the following lines:
"poor man do the biddin' for the rich man. those red necks
just doin' what the class of other's thinkin'. and
tolerance, it ain't acceptance. i know you wanted it to
be."

this is not to imply, however, that ray's lyrics do not
break new ground. in fact, a majority of the tracks on her
album explore the related themes of gender and
sexuality--issues that, for whatever reason, have never
featured prominently on indigo girls' albums. on ray's
hardest-driving cut "hey castrator," for example, she
explores the difficulties of coming to terms with her own
sexuality as an adolescent. and on the track "measure of
me," ray hints at the self-loathing from which many gay and
lesbian youth still suffer: "the boy, he thinks i'm damaged
goods. i know he does and i guess he should .... the lion
lays down with the lamb. but i can't do it, so i ain't
worth a damn."

clearly, ray's collection of tracks offers up its share of
torment. taken as a whole, however, ray's album is neither
sullen nor defeatist. a confident track like "lucystoners,"
for example, provides a healthy counterpoint to "measure of
me." the cut's oft-repeated line "lucystoners don't need
boners" pretty much speaks for itself. and the track "late
bloom" sounds a decidedly optimistic note. to the adversity
of the past and of the moment, she responds with confidence:
"i know we grow when it's over."

fans of the indigo girls need not worry about the duo's
impending demise, as i did when learning of ray's first
solo release: although "stag" unleashes an intensity that
might initially catch listeners off guard, the album will
fit nicely into any indigo girls collection. admittedly,
ray pushes the indigo girls' aesthetic to the breaking
point; but she does so with one eye on--and one arm
around--emily saliers, the duo's kinder, gentler half. after
all, it is only when listening to stag that fans can finally
discover where that enigmatic indigo girls title come on now
social originated.

and who is that woman with ray on the album's cover photo,
anyway?

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date: tue, 28 aug 2001 07:03:51 +1000 (est)
from: sherlyn koo <sherlyn@fl.net.au>
subject: [ig-news] live at the fillmore on us cable

hey folks,

just a heads-up to let you know that live at the fillmore
is showing on various us cable stations over the next few
days - http://www.thefillmore.com/showlistings.html for
more details...

- -sherlyn
=-=-=-=-= sherlyn koo - sherlyn@fl.net.au =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"so i promise to grab my soul
and leave my ego at the door,
i'm gonna open up my eyes..." - melissa ferrick

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end of ig-news-digest v4 #147
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