As always, Newport was filled with special thrills and surprises, some of
which we shared in common (like an IG setlist which transcended all others)
and some which only each as an individual could appreciate.  Here is a brief
list of mine:

*  Working my way through the crowd at the chutes to meet my partner at the
front of one of the lines and having a guy ask me what I thought I was doing
to which I reply (indulging my self-destructive taste for sarcasm) "I'm cutting
to the front of the line.  What else?" (There are some things you just
don't joke about at Newport:)

*  Learning magic tricks from the woman sitting next to me at the chute;

*  Yelling out "AMY" after Amy sang the line "Ain't no use in callin' out
my name now..."  Cheesy but fun...and a veritable Newport tradition...
Someday she'll laugh instead of rolling her eyes :)

*  Having the rain stop (briefly:) after Ferron finished what she called
something like her anti-rain dance song;

*  Being at Newport for the first time in a long time with someone not
initiated into the lunacy we call the Newport Folk and Fitness Festival;

*  Sitting watching the music and noticing that Patty Larkin is similarly
situated with a group of her friends a couple of blankets away;

*  and the biggest thrill of all...seeing i-girl in her (holier than thou)
Amy Ray jeans :)
==================================================================
Subject:      I can't help myself- a personal NFF review

Okay, I know, I know-- everyone is sick and tired of reading about
the Newport Folk Festival but I really just have to share my personal
experience with the whole thing.  I honestly think that I have told
this story about 20 times (once in its entirety on someone's answering
machine) but I am going to tell it again.  I'll leave out all of the
things that you've already heard-- but I must say that it was me who
walked with Maggie past the "hooded Amy" during Ferron's set and that
was so amazing-- being 2 feet from her.  Almost made me want to reach
out and touch her but I managed to control myself. :)
ANYWAY!!  We got backstage (through a series of events that is too long
to go into) and as soon as we got past the guard I thought I'd die.
Everything was happening so quickly-- it was great.  First I met Ani
(DiFranco if you didn't know) and as I recall I said something like,
"Hi Ani..how are you..you were great..can you sign this for me..I
know we're being assholes and I'm really sorry but can we take some
pictures with you..?"  She was totally cool about the whole thing
she really is SO modest about her work (like "You want MY little
old autograph and picture?")  That was amazing.
        But moving on...I spoke to Sara Lee briefly, as I did Joan
Baez and Ferron.  But I think the best was when Luka Bloom was signing
my book and he said to me, "Hey-- I saw you in the front row dancing
around to CTF-- you looked like you were having the best time!"  And
I said, "Yeah, I was..I was having a great time."  We were in front
row center :)  So we waited and waited to see A and E.  They were in a
huge rush when they came out and I missed Amy (although she DID make
eye contact and smiled at me during the IG set) but I did manage
to squeeze myself next to Emily and while she was signing some little
girls' books and security was shooing everyone away I had my hand on her
back and I got my picture taken with her. (!!!!!) Can't wait to get that
film!
        So all in all that weekend was amazing-- truly awesome.  I love
IG- I just love them. (sigh)  Hopefully Amy will get itching to tour in
about 6 months or so (not 1.5 years:()  I definitely definitely recommend
the NFF to anyone who hasn't been.  Everyone there is very friendly and
it is a lot of fun.  That's my advertising for the day :) -Lynn--- who is
considering calling herself "Lyndigo"- inspired by Lorinda :)
==================================================================

==================================================================
Subject:      Newport

  I had a wonderful time, but who invited Erin?!?

  Despite the off and on showers, the cold, and the rain I really did
have a wonderful time at Newport on Sunday.  I missed the list meet
(and Kevin Connolly, Katie Curtis, and Ani *grrrrr*) because we didn't
arrive at Fort Addams until ~ 1pm.  Although we were forced to the far
back, we had a good view straight on at the stage, next to the Ft.
Addams sign facing the ocean and the bridge.

  OK the music.

  Farron was good, but to be honest, I was in line getting lots of
coffee so I really wasn't in a great position to see her set.

   This was the first time I heard Luka Bloom and I was VERY VERY
impressed, espicially with his guitar work.  He had just written a
song about France testing nukes in the South Pacific that was quite
moving.  I appreciated his comment about Americans being of heartier
stock than he gave them credit for when he first saw the storm
a-brewin'.

   Mary Black was well Mary Black.  What a voice!

   Is it just me or has Joan Baez's voice gotten better through the
years?  It may be that the first time I ever heard her was on scratchy
albums, but she was smooth yesterday.  She covered "Welcome Me" in the
show and also did a duet with Mary Black (the song that is on the new
Joan Baez release--Joan fans help me here).  Then she pulled two
personal favorites of mine.  She closed with "The Boxer" (Paul Simon)
and screwed up a lyric.  She looked at herself as if she was saying
"I've sung that song HOW many times since the early 70's".  It was
quite amuzing.  She also snuck in "Forever Young" which I believe was
origianally written by Dylan.  I need to explain this, please indulge
me.  I spent grades 1-8 at St. Joseph's Grade School in Wauwautosa,
WI.  I hated it with a passion, I was the kid that everyone picked
on--every class has one or two.  Our class sang "Forever Young," with
Joan Baez helping us along, to our families at graduation.  It was at
that moment that I realized despite myself I had become friends with
many of these people.  I quickly lost track of them after graduation.
When I heard Joan sing, I was amazed I remembered the words--I found
myself back in 1982 and it was quite the experience.

        OK the now vacationing Indigo Girls who simply rocked.  I'll
leave the fashion report to someone whom was closer.  Set list as best
as I can remember:

                Three Hits
                Least Complicated
                Tried to Be True
                Power of Two
                (The song on Spirit of '73) w/ Farron
                Don't think Twice, Its Alright w/ Joan Baez
                Ghost
                Love's Recovery
                Galileo
                ----
                Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
                Closer to Fine w/ everyone

  also played, but I forgot where they fit in:

                Pushing the Needle Too Far
                (song about a river that I didn't recognize)

If someone has a set list real can you correct this?  I know there are
errors.

    As I said the show rocked, they had some sound problem with Em's
electric in "Tried to Be True" but other than that.  The harmonies on
"Don't Think Twice..."  were exceptional!  It was the first time for
me to hear "Bury My heart..." and I loved the power of both the lyrics
and the delivery.  It was the first time I've heard them do Love's
Recovery in concert and that song is very special to me so that was
quite a treat.  For Ghost, the entire crowd fell silent.

    All in all, the Girls were there usual selves, full of energy and
self-depricating humor. =)  I wish them a wonderful vacation and
non-touring season!

    BTW, if anyone booted this can I PLEASE PLEASE get a copy =).

                                -- Chris

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christopher M. Becker                    "Trying to read the Greek MIT
Center for Space Research                upon the stars...."
cmbecker@space.mit.edu                   -- E. Saliers

        http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/cmbecker/home.html     [my homepage]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
==================================================================
Subject:      newport 1995 (kinda long)

i'm kinda surprised that no one has posted any reviews of this yet.
but, come to think of it, maybe they're in the pipeline as i dont
think i ahve seen much IG stuff today at all.

overall:  another fabulous weekend.  it rained a little on sunday
but not nearly as bad as it was in 1992.  damp, a bit wet, but
quite manageable.  luka bloom and mary black, both from ireland,
commented that they didnt think americans would hold up in weather
like that, which they are accustomed to seeing.  but, the crowd was
enthusiastic and very much there.

highlights for me:  on saturday, patty larkin and mary chapin
carpenter, separate and together.  MCC came out to harmonize on
patty's song "i told him my dog wouldnt run", which she did
onpatty's last album, and they closed the set with a rousing "these
boots are made for walking".  MCC's set itself was also grweat...
MCC looked great and was clearly having a lot of fun.  i got
in too late to hear the new voices set, though i was told both
artists were good.  i was just coming in and getting settled during
terrence simien's set, but i wish i had seen more of that.

on sunday....my what a day.  despite the wet the music couldnt be
beat.  ani difranco totally rocked the place.  i had never seen
her live before, and even though i had a great vantage point for
pics, she was moving so fast i have no idea what i may have gotten.
ferron sounded fabulous, especially with the accompanying electric cello
(and second guitar player).  luka bloom gave a solid set.  mary
black played some of my favorites of her stuff.  joan baez...still
in fine form.  mary black came out and sang "ring them bells" (from
joan's upcoming album) with her and it was great. my highlight for this
set was her singing "suzanne", a leonard cohen song whihc i had only
previously heard by judy collins.  i hadnt heard it in years but joan's
version was classic.

and of course, indigo girls.  both of them were clearly having a
LOT of fun.  emily was so completely into her guitar playing that she
was defintely at a higher level.  i've never heard her sound that good.
ferron came out and did one of her songs with them (dont know which
one it was), and joan did "dont think twice it's alright (also on
te upcoming album) with them.  jimmy james came out for "bury my heart at
wounded knee"--floored me.  i really hope it's on the live album.
and the grand finale was "closer to fine" with ferron, luka bloom,
joan baez, ani difranco, and mary black joining them.  you didnt
notice the rain during this set.

amy said the live album "out this fall" would be called "1200
curfews" because they were always playing longer than they were
supposed to...

if nayone taped any of this weekend..there are several sets i would
be really interested in getting.  i saw a few list members scattered
throughout the wekend.  i got the lsit meet on sunday and found
only phil and lorinda, new faces to put to names  :)  it was another
good year at newport...now if we can only get the weather booked
better....

amy p.                          /       Who holds your hand
pegasus@crl.com                /        When you're alone
                              /
the original photo monk      /                  --Patty Larkin
==================================================================
Subject:      newport newport newport!

well, you all knew it was coming. you _knew_ i had to do it. so here it
is...my comments on newport. (phil, i know you're rolling your eyes and
shaking your head right now. *grin*)

three words:

    OH

                MY

                            GOD!!!!!
 

we laughed, we sang, we danced, we swam (on both days, but on sunday we didn't
actually ever go down to the waterfront...we were lucky enough to get our
water delivered to us from the sky.) the list meets didn't really happen as i
had hoped. only about 4 people found our little sign on the first day, and on
the second day i of course forgot the sign. amazingly enough, though, we did
still find some people. great to finally meet you all! as for the fest...

it was amazing, incredible etc etc etc. i have to echo some of what bert said
here (hi bert!): the Laura Love Band (sp?) totally rawked. it was the first
show of the weekend, and they totally blew us away. i simply _had_ to sign her
mailing list and get her to sign my tic. (couldn't buy a cd at the time- i
only had $3.) will later i promise!! others of note: patty larkin (cool), john
hiat (cool) MCC (first time i'd seen her live, really cool and we all had a
blast dancing), the zydeco band (can't remember the name, someone help me out
here...i loved it!), catie curtis (cool, and i met her too.), ani defranco (of
course, but unfortunately i missed most of her set because i was getting catie
to sign my cd), ferron (oh wow!), luka bloom, (totally kickass!), joan
(definitely!), and i know i'm forgetting some others that i really liked
because i don't have the program with me.

now on to ig...i didn't exactly get to meet them, but we gave them each a
t-shirt that my friend and i made for them. amy's was an Am chord, and emily's
was an Em chord, and each design consisted of the chord and chord name with a
stylized staff and treble cleff. i think they looked pretty cool, and judging
by em's reaction, she thought so too. i talked a security gaurd into handing
it to her, and from about 20 feet away i received a series of very
enthusiastic waves, thumbs up signs, and "thank you's" along with the biggest
smile you ever saw. unfortunately, i didn't get to see amy's reaction to hers
because she had walked around the back of the stage when she got hers. if
anyone ever sees them wearing them, you gotta let me know! shameless plug to
follow: if anyone is interested in these t-shirts email me privately.
personally i think they're really cool. i probably deserve a flame for that,
but such is life.

now on to the ig set...rain? what rain? i didn't notice any rain. all i
noticed was amy and emily up on stage giving their fairwell-for-a-year-and-a-
half-or-so concert. wow. it was truly wonderful. you've already heard the
setlist so i won't go into that. the song they did with ferron was truly
amazing...all 57 verses of it. (which is good, i never wanted it to end.) then
the one with "their other matriarch," joan baez who "agreed to stand up and
wear a shoulder strap for this one."  joan had fun with that one. after amy's
line "when you call out my name..." joan filled in with a grin,
"aaaaammmmmyyyy" highly amusing stuff. maybe you hadda be there. "down by the
river" is one of my faves, and amy's little boo boo at the beginning made it
one for the records. BMHAWK was drop dead amazing. jerry sang along too after
amy's, "what do ya got to say jerry?" and ctf with EVERYBODY included quite an
amusing and original little penny whistle solo by...who? anyone? ok, that's it
for my concert highlights.

as my new guitar case sticker says: "folkisgruven" with the umlaut over the
"u" but my keyboard doesn't speak german.

Lorinda
(who's new name is Lorindigo, and who thinks she uses the word "amazing" far
too often, and who is _STILL__SMILING_)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Subject:      Newpoer review.

Woo woo.  I don't know why anyone with any possible way to get to Newport
would ever possible find an excuse not to go.  For the second year in a
row I had an absolutely unforgettable weekend.  Great company for the
trip, great music, and well, semi-great weather....
        DAY 1:  Laura Love was one to fall for... Afro-Celtic may be
about the last thing I expected to hear from a girl who told us she was
from Nebraska, but she was wonderful anyway... check this woman out if at
all possible, y'all.
        Bert swam in the water.  I found fun rocks.  We watched people
trip on this tiny dip in the sidewalk again and again.  Falafel is always
fun to eat.  I didn't really dislike anyone's music Saturday, but Laura
Love was honestly the only show stopper for me all day.  John Hiatt and
MCC were a lot of fun tho -- we danced to MCC like total fools.  Two
girls were showing me how to do some africa tribal dance to her.  I
showed them how to Charleston. Sleeping in the car (a little honda civic)
saturday nite becuase of a leaky tent and too much rain was quite a way
to prep for day two.
        DAY 2:  Everyone's set was way too short, except maybe for the
Subdudes, who I could have done without.  Ani blew newport away.  Kevin
Connely made me cry with his song called Didn't Mean.  Luka Bloom was
just way too fun... great stage presence.  Actually, Mary Black didn't
thrill me too much, but she does have a great voice...  Ferron should
never ever stop playing music.  She should just stop playing 40 minute
ballads...  oh well, these things can't be helped....  Joan Baez was
such a performer... her backing band was really good -- 'specially the
guitarist...  I want to write more about the musicians, but they were
just too good.
        IG just had a great time...  Tried to Be True has never been a
fave of mine, but Em was stepping away from her usual guitar work and the
song was just wonderfully arranged...  The Girls should change things up
like that a lot more often -- really brought a smile to my face...  I'm
not sure if they did Love's REcovery (No, I won't marry you Bert,
wonderful tho' you are) just to get the crowd to yell at the Rain Soaked
line, but it was fun to hear anyway.  I was hoping for some more dancy
stuff like Chickenman and Touch ME fall, or Joking or what not but you
can't have everything.  And Finlandia was on the set list and they didn't
do it, ARGGHH...  was funny to see the reactions of all the obsessed
groupie people scrabbling for the guitar picks that Jimmmy threw when I
just walked up to the fence and asked for the set list and got it.  One
girl offered me money for it.  Groupie-dom is gross. I may be obsessed,
but come on.
        Oh well -- I loved every minute of it and won't miss it next year
for the world.  Anyone have Kevin Connely guitar chords?  take care
all.... Phil

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:      NFF: A Message from CLOUD NINE ... and a great story :) ---LONG

wow.  wow.  wow.  ............WOW WOW WOW!!!!   ComPLETely, TOTally,
inCREDiblly, and in ALL OTHER WAYS AWESOME!!!

This was my first time seeing the Girls...and man oh MAN am i glad i made the
treck from DC!!  They didn't live up to my expectations.....they TOTALLY BLEW
THEM OUT OF THE WATER!!!  (can you tell i'm a _little_ excited?)

Before i begin...a disclaimer:  I'm sorry, but this is going to be long, i'm
sure, even when i try to condense and save stuff for later.  But believe me,
i caught some great details, and you'll be glad when you've hung in there and
read it all.........especially what i'm gonna say in the end!!!  I guarantee
it'll leave you w/ a smile on your face. :)

Okay, first...I could go into details about the fest, b/c it was awesome, but
i'm sure others will, and i might do that *later* ('cause i do have some
_really_ neat NIGC to share).  I will, however, say that i waited at the
gates from 6:30 am...through the rain w/ nothing but garbage bags covering
me...and it was worth every minute of it! (Who said it was going to be 80*
and clear???)   I got us GREAT seats--about second "tarp" back and one "tarp"
to the left of exact center!!  So we saw every expression, every glitch...it
was GREAT!  Also, Ani DiFranco was ELECTRIC (not w/ guitar--she played
acoustic)! VERY impressive!!!  VERY LIVE!!!--amazing guitarist.

They were, in a word, phenomenal.  Really.  Emily, in particular, was in a
_really_ good mood!  :)  She, i think, was really impressed w/ the their
fans' loyalty and enthusiasm despite the otherwise crappy conditions--the
nasty rain.  She kept saying things like, "You all are beautiful!" and stuff
like that =)  We think they even changed their set list to accomodate the
conditions...ie, they played "Love's Recovery"!..."though it's storming out,
..."    It was really great, b/c she would get this really cute smirk on her
face every time she sang that line :)  She was really smiley in general, much
to my (and i'm sure others') pleasure. =)

The set list was jam-packed with fired-up content!  Jumping around in my
descriptions, let me relay a few memorable moments...When they played "Down
By the River" (by Dylan, b/c some were wondering), the first time they came
to a guitar fill, like right after the first verse, b4 the chorus, Emily went
crazy and turned to
Amy while jamming, like to say "This is AWESOME!!"  --with her expression,
anyway, you know?  She got all bent over her guitar, said something to Amy
with a reeeaally big smile, and got that scrunchy face that she gets when
she's all excited...it was __really__ cute. :)

And also on that song, as i see someone else already elaborated on, when Amy
screwed up the first line and said, "oh, fuck..."  as she backed away, it was
_really_, __really__ cute!!  --Because she got all embarrassed, you know,
like her pride was hurt, and Emily had to kinda' nudge her on, all while she
and Sarah and Jerry kept playing.

As far as dress is concerned:  Amy in jeans and a black t-shirt w/some design
i couldn't make out...although i was close enough, if i had the wits about me
to try.  (some young girls right next to me kept screaming in their
adolescent, high-pitched voices, "WE LOVE YOUR SHIRT, AMY!" )
Btw, when they finally came up to play, we all were scwooshed to the front,
and i was second person from the rope for a while, eventually getting FRONT
AND CENTER!!  So, my reason for telling this is b/c i got some great
PICTURES...even though they _were_ with a disposable camera (w/o zoom! =(  )
.  So...when i get 'em, i'll let y'all know how they turned out :)
 

[a little side story:  i brought a good camera w/ good zoom, and film, and it
decided to not work...naturally, i panicked.  Big time.  I said, "I'll be
d_mned if i i've come all this way and have this opportunity and don't get
the pictures!"  So...i found a friend, we took a ferry to the mainland,
bought our disposable cams, caught the ferry back, and were set!  Just
thought some one _might_ possibly get a chuckle out of that kind of
psycho-determination! :)  ]

Okay, back to the girls (sorry i digress a lot)... i didn't really pay
attention, but i think Amy had chucks on (shoes) , but i'm not sure.  Her
hair was pretty long, which i wasn't expecting, like from their "Indigo
Girls" and "NIS" period.  But i liked it, personally.  Except for the fact
that it obscures her face too much when she gets to rockin' w/ her guitar and
throws her head down and all around!  Which is unfortunate, 'cause she really
is cute when she's smiling in particular :)  She's got those "bright eyes",
you know?

As for Em, it was jeans as well, a blue and white horizontally-striped shirt,
and, again, i didn't pay attention to the shoes...anyone??  As deanna said
the Sat nite b4 (i'll tell you why later...he-he!), Emily has lost a lot of
weight, and she really does look good. It makes me happy that a she probably
feels better about herself, physically, now. =)

Some other memorable moments:  During Galileo, at some point in the first
verse, or i think, the first chorus, Emily stopped singing and leaned over to
the crowd, sort of with this look of casual amazement, like as if she
couldn't believe we knew *every*single*word* and were all so vocal!  Of
coarse...!  =)  She seemed very pleased, indeed, and got that big ol' smile
again.  Also of particular note on that song, Amy was bee-boppin' around like
it was the last time they would ever play it!! (which isn't too far from the
truth, unfortunately =( ...at least not for a long, way too long time)

Amy was _powerful_ on "Bury My Heart..."  I'll add more details later, but
now...the feature presentation of this way-too-long post...my story.  (deanna
and kris said i could have the honors)  :

Ok...so it's Saturday night, we're walkin' around the streets of Newport,
we've just spent half the day in the car......We'd been asking all around to
see if anyone knew what time the gates to the *park* opened (as opposed to
the gates to the fest, which we got way too much info on! :)  ).  So, we're
walkin' along on this sidewalk, not really anyone else right by us, and we
see this Rent-a-Cop and decide he might know, so we asked.  Just as he was
saying the same old 'I don't really know' stuff, who should be walking
towards us, but Emily...as in Saliers!!!  I was one of us facing her most
directly, and when i first saw her, the split-second thought that first
crossed my confused mind was, "gosh, that person REALLY looks like Emily
Saliers".  Before that thought could even get across my mind, I realized that
it **WAS** Emily Saliers!!

As you can imagine, i was completely blown away.  here i was, the one who'd
NEVER seen them before, in *any* context, and *I* had the privelege of
running into Emily on the streets of Newport (i just *love* the way that
sounds!)!  You'd think it'd be the person who's seen them fifty times, or
something, but no...much to my gratification!  =)

So, anyway, she was just truckin' along, heading right toward us.  She was
wearing jeans, an orange-ish and white kinda striped shirt, and construction
boots--i *DID* catch what shoes whe was wearing this time!  She looked at us,
just 'cause we were kind of in her line of vision, and just a few feet before
she got to us, she turns into this store and goes right up to the counter,
and it seems she's just shootin' the breeze w/ this store clerk!  (I don't
know if he know who he was talking  to, but if he didn't...)
We didn't make any faces to embarrass her or ourselves, or anything, although
i was FREAKING OUT inside!  I just sorta stopped talking to the cop and
deanna had to cut in and explain, which she did, very calmly and
nonchalantly. (!!!)

We'd been looking (for deanna) for places selling sweatshirts, as it was a
bordering-on-chilly night.  And so, as i stood there, dumbfounded, the two of
them were like, "well, we _are_ looking for a sweatshirt..." which the store
obviously had.  All I could say is, "yeah, yeah, yeah..."  and "i can't
believe it.  I CAN'T beLIEVE it!"
So we stroll in, oh-so-smoothly...d's looking at their stuff, kris is
pretending to look at their stuff, and i make no qualms about it:  I'm
practically hiding behind the racks and sneeking peeks. No, more like
staring...though only b/c her back was turned to us...i was "cool" as far as
she knew...if only she knew!!  ha-ha-ha!!  One thing: it was *so*wierd*
hearing her voice in person, of coarse being just like it sounds recorded:
crystal & smooth...beautiful!!!

So, then, kris comes over to me and kinda cowers behing the rack w/
me...inconspicuously, of coarse...after all, we were just looking for
sweatshirts, right?  :)  And she says, "well, she looks like someone who
might know" with a muffled chuckle.  See, that had been our line for the
night, b/c every time we saw someone w/ lawn chairs and other such fest
stuff, we said that line to each other, and then we'd approach them w/ our
question.

So then, i got all excited, b/c it was an excuse to talk to her w/o being
cheesy!  I wouldn't have been like, "Oh, Emily!!  Can i have your
autograph?!?" And, in reality, i actually thought she might know.  Of coarse,
i wasn't thinking, as deanna pointed the obvious out later, that she'd
probably arrive in some back entrance or whatever, and would have no reason
to know such info!  But as of the moment, it seemed logical enough to me.  :)
 

So, just as she's leaving the store, i come up behind her and say, "Excuse
me, do you know when the gates to the festival open?" (which wasn't even the
right question.  It was the *park* we were wondering about)  Of coarse, i had
a *HUGE* GRIN on my face...i couldn't help it!  But i did say it casually and
with a little perplexity in my tone of voice, if you know what i mean, so it
sounded innocent enough.

After i said, "excuse me," she turned around after a little delay, as if she
just wasn't expecting it to be addressing her (how humble!...=)...).  I was
freaking out.  Direct eye contact. the inquiring look, you know, with
eyebrows raised. some two feet away.
     Okay, this little part's for fellow Emily-people, so if you aren't and
don't want to           roll your eyes, just skip to the next paragraph.  But
if you are, enjoy, 'cause i'm         not trying to be corny here, honestly:
She really was beautiful, just as much so up close.  Her eyes had light in
                 them, literally, and her coloring was great--a little tan.
 Her strawberry-blond              hair was...well, strawberry blond.  but it
was gorgeous and vibrant!  And              here i was, holding for a short
time the full attentions of this, of Emily              Saliers. I was to
dwell on this strip of memory for a time to come!

Okay, sorry if anyone read that anyway and thinks i'm a complete cheeseball.
 All i know is that if this had happened to someone else, i would have wanted
_all_ the details. So this goes out to all of you like me!  :)

So, getting back to the story, she stopped, and turned, and I said my line
("do you know when the gates to the festival open?"), and she got this cute,
easy, look on her face.  'Cause it was obvious i knew who i was talking to :)
 And with a big grin, a relaxed manner, and through her laugh, she said, "I
don't know...I just show up and play!" ...as she was turning back around
while starting to walk away.  her arms were outstretched while she spoke,
like in a big shrug.

Then she walked on to where she came from and met back up with a big group of
her friends, some six or eight people. The funny thing is, she was the only
one that went back, into the store.  I wouldn't have said anything or had
that opportunity if they'd all been with her.  And it wouldn't have been
quite as real, i think, either...because she *was* alone, with no gaurds and
no pretenses.  It was really neat.

So there it is.  There's my story.  I hope somebody has a smile on there
face, and i hope everyone understands my spastic enthusiasm and doesn't flame
me with complaints of length.  'Cause that's what this list is about after
all, isn't it?  Indigo Girls discussion.  Just be glad it's all in one post.
 :0)

ig's-n-guitars,
~nikki

ps--I was able to get two "indigo girls" guitar pics, though neither was
used, and a portion of --I think it was Amy's--set list.  The latter of which
was written on the back of a schedule of flight, hotel, and rental car info
for their stay at Newport!!  It was all crumpled up and sopping wet, but i
managed to salvage all but one corner of it :)
A woman next to me, when i was exactly front and center against the rope,
caught Emily's THUMBPICK!!  I was sooooo jealous!!!  =(  I was sooo close,
too!   Oh, well...next time, right?  See y'all, and hope you enjoyed! I know
i did. = >
==================================================================
Subject:      Newport, Fans and the "Girls"

Hi all,

Well it seems that most of the other list members were quick to the
computer <grin> Here is my 2 cents worth.

I did see the little sign that said "list meet" on saturday about 1pm
when I went poking around and took a dip in the ocean after lunch. I
thought about going earlier but I'm a bit shy meeting new people.....
Then on Sunday when I finally had the courage I was there at noon but I
didn't see a sign, or an obvious group of people. Oh well. <smile>

On Saturday my highlight had to be MCC. I was lucky to be up front and
she was great!!! Patty Larken was good but......... I must say she is a
very *different* Patty than the one I have listened to for years. Her
music and guitar work has matured but she has become so *dark*. She has
also lost that stage presence she once had. She use to be so animated.
I have seen her about 3 times in the last year or two and this seem to
be the case.

Sunday was indeed the *best* day, even if it did rain. But the real
show was not the music, It was at the Fort Adams parking lot at
7am.!!!! <VBG> IG fans are definitely nuts!! <Big grin> And I was one
of them by getting at the parking lot at 6am. Of course I was *not* the
first one by any means <grin> I talked and met with a lot of cool
people. The park rangers wouldn't let anyone start down to the gate
until 7 so we hung out in the rain. Then the Rangers stood up and it
was like the start of the Boston Marathon. People on bikes and on foot
lined up in the road. The ranger raised his hand up and then "go" They
were off!!! <LOL> I wish I had a video. I BTW, did not run. <G> But met
up with a women who's girlfriend did and they let me hang out with them
up front at the gate. Not that it did much good, the run to the stage
is another event all together <grin> But I did manage to get a pretty
good view on the left side of the stage.

Sunday was a great line up for sure. Catie Curtis, Ferron, Mary Black,
and a big hightlight for me (besides the girls) was Ani D.!! I have
really come to like her this past year, and I was not disappointed by
her performance!! I had just finished seeing her at Falcon Ridge 2
weeks ago. I just think she was totally awesome.

Finally the girls!!! It was great to be so close and see them. I think
they put on a *great* show!!! Ghost *never* sounded better. And E's
guitar playing was outstanding!! The non-album songs they did were a
great treat.  I do have have to say though I think that last years
performance was better. For one thing I think they played longer last
year. (I could be wrong but I think they did 2 encores) and I think
they rocked out a bit more last year.

I did make a boot with my little sony walkman and It came out pretty
damn good (IMHO) better than last years anyway. (I was much further
back last year)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subject:      "I made the ___ row at the 1995 Newport Folk and Fitness
              Festival" T-Shirts for sale NOW!

Just kidding, kind of.  My friends and I might actually have these made
as we made the THIRD row CENTER!  Yay!  Can I just say that one of our
runners passed one of the bikers?  What a turbo-woman!!!

Anyway, I enjoyed the concert as I'm sure did everyone else.  Some
highlights:  the water draining in river form over my legs while waiting
in line for the second set of gates to open.  Do I move?  No, I would
lose my place in line.  So I connected with the earth and a small deluge
of acid rain.  $8 for a poncho?  Good thing I brought my own.  $5 for a
garden burger?  Get real!  It's AHH-ni, not Annie.  Duh!  "You make a
perfect couple so...  fuck you!"  What a song!  "Be one my side, I'll be
on your side.  Together we can..  fuck."  Amy, do you realize how many
people out there thought that was an invitation?  Funny anyway.  No Amy
songs from SO?  :(  Welcome me!!!! :) Pushing the Needle!!!! :)  I hope
someone gave Amy a hug after DbtR; she looked sad.  Did y'all hear her
voice shake on the verse after she put her face in her hands?  Whoa.  Got
a set list from the sound guy--they were going to do Finlandia!!!

Well, that was random.  It was nice to meet some new people (Lorinda,
finally, Phil and Owen (thanks for the shirt!))..  where was everyone
else?

I do have a boot, and it's pretty good.  A little wind noise, though.  I
have Ani and Joan Baez, too.  Will trade, but NOT NOW!  I must finish the
cover tape first.  I'm still waiting for a supposedly killer version of
Bury my Heart.  I will use Newport if I don't get it soon.  So that's the
hold up, folks.  I'm also moving in three weeks, so expect more
psychosis.

Well, I tihnk that's about it.  I haven't read all the Newport messages
yet, but if no one has posted a complete and accurate set list I will do
so later, but I doubt no one else has yet.

Take care everyone, have happy Indigo thoughts!

Margaret

PS-OK, I just can't resist.  I know I'm going to get at least one flame
for this one:  Did y'all see Emily and her new (very cute) girlfriend?  They
were all kissy at the side of the stage during Joan Baez's set.  They are so
cute!!!  Emily looks so happy--I've never seen her like this before; I
thought it even carried through to her stage presence.  She just looks
really happy.  It's great to see.  I wish them both all the best.  I feel
so lucky to have some part of them (A&E) in my life.  And Amy looked great,
too, as usual (*pant*).  :)
==================================================================

Ok everyone, after reading all the enthusiastic NFF reviews, I've got to add
my 2 cents:)
This past weekend was the best I had ALL summer, it was just fantastic.  I
met up with this guy named Joe, who follows the girls around( he's seen them
80 times, I'm so jealous) at any rate he was able to get our tarp front row
center, it didn't get any better than that:)  Ani is amazing, I had seen her
in philly in july, but she was in an excellent mood this time and played
wonderfully.  During Ferron's set I had left the blanket to get some Ice
cream, there were a lot of backstage people standing in front to the side of
the stage watching.  I went to sit down and one of my friends whispered "
 Look, Amy's standing over there in the blue rain coat"  I looked and almost
died.  She was two feet in front of me, so my best friend and i walked past
her several times, she even took off her hood when it stopped raining...it
was so surreal:)  It took everything I had not to grab her arm and say "hi",
but i didn't want to bother her:)   Anyway, when they finally did come on, I
couldn't have been happier.  I took a whole roll of film and danced away, it
was so amazing.  I made eye contact and shared smiles with Emily several
times, it was really cool.  Sara Lee kept smiling at me during the set, that
was cool too.
Afterwards, we got backstage and waited for the girls.  I got an autograph
and my picture taken with Ani and autographs from Joan Baez, Mary Black,
Ferron, Luka Bloom, as well as, talking to Sara Lee, Jane S., Jerry M., and,
Jimmy Descant...it was too cool.  The girls came out after what seemed like
forever, they'd been interviewed by VH-1( does anyone know when this is going
to air?).  They came out ready to leave, Amy kinda brushed by, but Joe talked
to her.  I was pushed out of the way by the security guards when Emily came
out, i was so mad, i missed an autograph opportunity, grrrr.  But, as she was
leaving I said " Emily" and she turned around, " Thank you"  she smiled back
and said" No, thank you" and I said "see you next year"  and she was
gone....It was too surreal...I was very happy:)
Ok, sorry for all that, can't help myself......
The set was incredible.....*Hand Me Downs* is my favorite song of all
times...I was estatic.  I hope all of you had as much a good time as I did:)
See you,
Maggie
==================================================================

==================================================================
Subject:      Newport/List members all around me!

     Well, it appears as though we were surrounded by list members on
     Sunday.  I believe Margaret and her crowd were behind us and to the
     left.  Were you the ones freaking out when Emily was off stage
     watching the other acts (i.e., looking at her through binoculars,
     cheering when she kissed her gf?)?  Shame, shame.  No wonder A&E think
     everyone on the list is a bunch of obsessed maniacs.  Of course, there
     were two girls in front of us who proved you don't have to be on the
     list to be obsessed.  At one point they came running back to their
     spots saying "I can't believe it, Emily actually touched me!"  I
     thought they were going to faint.

     There was also someone from the list who was sitting front and center.
     She was wearing a BdS t-shirt and I heard her mention something about
     a list meet.  Are you out there?  It would be nice to put a name with
     a face.  Of course, I could have said something to her but didn't.

     And if anyone is wondering (you never know) we were sitting two tarps
     back, stage right.  I was wearing a gray Newport sweatshirt (didn't
     come prepared, had to buy it there) and a Detroit Tigers hat, Deanna
     was wearing a black IG hat, and Nikki, when she was there which was
     really only during Mary Black (she almost fell asleep) and Joan Baez
     (she was preparing for the mad rush that occurred when IG took the
     stage) was wearing a trash bag during the early morning hours and I
     think a blue sweatshirt later on.

     Well, maybe next time someone will actually speak up and admit they're
     on the list.

     Kris