How appropriate

Or, breast, breasts everywhere.

The opening band for the Indigo Girls (IG) was...Girlyman. I love it!! They, of course, had their very own girlyman, a manlygirl, and a hippie Asian chick. Everything one would need to create "gender pop." (Not my phrase!!!) I actually liked them a lot. Chipper, folksy, bluegrassish (why does everybody think that inclusion of a banjo = bluegrass?!), easy-listening early IG-ish tunes. Fun.

Lots of fascinating people watching at an IG concert, especially for a DC Metro-ite accustomed to yuppie prep conservative boring. Saw more cunning wine contraption thingies in a night than in a whole lifetime beforehand - neon glass stems, stick-in-the-ground cup holders, every shape and size of wine caddy...At first glance, the crowd is about 95% female. After a quick scan, however, many of the "girls" are revealed to be actual girlymen, so the count must be revised down to 90% female. Then another look finds that some of the boyish "men" are actually women. Back up to 95%! This is hard!! One must pay attention!!

I always wonder about the sign language people. This is my third IG concert and there is always a set of ASL (I assume) interpreters on the side of the stage. Now, I find this admirable, but puzzling. Since this isn't a razzle-my-dazzle show - in fact, it's quite the opposite of sequins and FIRE! and dancing animals! and costume changes, with two casual women in jeans and pajama? pants, a LOT of instruments, and...that's it. The set is stripped down to the minimum, actually, as the instruments aren't even kept on stage. As far as I know, the Girls aren't really known for frolic or antics. So what's in it for the deaf folks? There isn't much of a spectacle and the music doesn't have much bass, so you can't feel the vibrations through your body. I understand wanting to picnic on the lawn with friends and family, but you can do that at a more interactive venue where the whole point is not listening to music. So really, I don't get it. Why go if you can't hear the music? Which, I must point out, is SO GOOD.