Indigo Girls (The Tivoli, Dublin)

During one of the many encores, Amy Ray apologised ironically for the appearance of the electric guitars and then Indigo Girls rocked into an extended and extemporised version of ‘This Train Revised’. In the middle of their apocalyptic eulogy to mankind the two ‘Girls gave us a musical history lesson, as Amy Ray ranted Patti Smith-like over a number of issues including racism, sexism and homophobia as the rest of the band trashed out a rush of sonic white light and white heat.

After ‘Fugitive’ our two cowpunks were already so overwhelmed by the reception that they were forced to concede that Dublin was as good as Atlanta and we weren’t even quarter of the way through the two-hour length of the gig! Emily Saliers informed us that ‘Least Complicated’ partly concerned a boyfriend she had when she was eleven. Next thing you knew we were singing along as if we’d all been through millions of years of learning the same hard lessons about disillusioned love and the constraints of convention. There was a sizeable American contingent in the audience as well. Die-hards who adoringly follow the girls everywhere and who could sing every lyric in time, even with their ears closed it seemed.

The greatest quality of an Indigo Girls concert, though, is the way in which they can really swing out and yet maintain their particular and uniquely feminine intimacy. Songs such as ‘Mystery’ and the elegiac ‘Power Of Two’ translate well from a studio to a live context. This is partly because the superb rhythm section of Jerry Marotta and Sarah Lee goes a long way towards making the absence of the extra instrumentation on the album almost unnoticeable.

Indigo Girls have well and truly created a space wherein women, in particular, can explore their own private worlds without prejudice or fear of censure. The Tivoli was sold out tonight and one wonders how much longer they’ll be able to keep their homely, down-to-earthiness uncomplicated. Fingers crossed, Indigo Girls won’t ever be swamped by the paraphernalia of success.

• Patrick Brennan.