Closer I am in line
This weekend I will be participating in a mysterious yet seemingly honorable sport:
Indigo Girls Line Sitting.
I had my introduction to the sport last year in St. Louis, and while it was a very good and fun time, I never thought I’d have it in me to attempt it again. But never before have I witnessed such stamina, patience, loyalty and passion in a group of women. And it’s an inspiring event that’s hard to pass up.
What is this Indigo Girls Line Sitting you ask? Well, it’s just as easy (and as hard) as it sounds. IGLS is always in season and takes place outside of music venues and theatres where the Indigo Girls are playing. The earlier you begin your IGLS, the better. The most successful IGLS sessions seem to begin around 6 or 7 a.m., or at least a minimum of 12 hours before the actual Indigo Girls show. Contrary to what its name suggests, IGLS is not limited to sitting. Experienced sitters pepper their sitting with walks to the cafe for warm-up drinks, bathroom runs, games of catch, music, books, cards and good conversation as to beef up their tolerance levels and shave hours off their sitting time. Oddly, though IGLS is a competitive sport, sitters from different sitting teams tend to be incredibly respectful and generous to each other, often even guarding each other’s sitting spots. Sitting is ruled by an implied moral code and an unspoken line etiquette. I’ve been told the rewards of sitting are in the sitting itself, and in the unobstructed view of Amy Ray during the post-sitting ceremony. Plus, those who are first in the sitting line gain much street cred and a bad ass reputation amongst their peers.
Tomorrow I shall accompany one of the best IGLSitters known to a sitting spell, where we will face-off with the most menacing of IGLSitters… Spike and her faithful throng of diehard fans. I shall become one with the sitters. I may even become a sitter. Or I may die of hypothermia trying. It’s hard to say, hard to say.
Update: I had forgotten until last night’s show that IGLSitters are also highly skilled at determining which song is about to be played based on the guitar combination brought out to stage. It’s truly eerie and impressive.
One Comment
- Miranda replied:
Hey, if it’s getting late in the show and they bring out two acoustic guitars w/ capo 2…it pretty much has to be Closer to Fine, right? QED.
October 31st, 2006 at 10:07 am. Permalink.
