"There is definitely love in the air tonight," observed Ani DiFranco as her fans screamed out pledges of love, thanks, and adoration during Friday night's sold-out show. The show was the second in DiFranco's two-night run at the Orpheum Theater with opening act Sara Lee, DiFranco's former bassist.
The Orpheum Theater was converted from concert hall to college auditorium. A younger female audience dominated a crowd of die-hard fans as markedly grassroots as folksinger Ani DiFranco, who created something out of nothing with her record label Righteous Babe Records. DiFranco is a down to earth singer who displays no rock-star quality in either her performance or in the production of her show. Members of the road crew, opening act, and back-up band are just normal, plain-clothed people looking to make music with a message.
DiFranco delivered her message in a personal, energy-filled, and politically driven performance. Like a ball of energy, she bounced onto the stage in six-inch platforms and exited as a humble folksinger. She admitted to being thrilled to have played to a receptive audience - one that allowed her room and freedom to experiment with her love of folk music. She tested several new songs and re-vamped old classics in an almost two-hour non-stop set. Constantly switching between re-tuned guitars, she played a varied set, blending older, newer, and very new songs.
Older songs included classics such as "Diner," "Shameless," "Shy," and a give-it-her-all rendition of "IQ." Newer songs such as "Wish I May" and "Providence" reflect DiFranco's musical progression from raucous acoustic guitar to more jazzy rhythms and complex compositions. Newer still were several unreleased songs. On most all of these, DiFranco was backed by a full band of saxophone, horn, drums, bass, and keyboard. There were frequent moments of improvisation, matched by the folksinger who sang with an additional microphone that distorted her spoken-word into distanced speech.
One of the performances highlights was "Everest." This relatively newer song expresses the idea that we are all intrinsically connected in a world where time is not a limitless quantity. As an introduction to the song, DiFranco spoke of her island-hopping adventures and a native she befriended along the way. "Everest" describes one Sunday evening when this native brought her to church, giving her the opportunity to step back from herself and realize that all peoples are very much the same. As one of the slower-paced songs of the evening, "Everest" provided a feeling of calm in the storm of DiFranco's less sentimental and highly political messages.
DiFranco is notorious for being a politically driven and multi-faceted artist. Her music is strongly feminist and freedomist. Her liberating ideas advocate a improved society that gives women guiltless freedom of choice and allows everyone the freedom to express ideas and to live their lives his or her own way. She communicates this through her well-formed voice of experience, converting personal feelings and ideas into universal themes. In light of her strong voice, it is inevitable that her views on issues of gender, race, and politics are an intrinsic part of her performance.
DiFranco is a strong supporter of presidential candidate Ralph Nader. At Friday night's show, more than a few audience members toted Nader rally signs. Midway through her set, DiFranco performed the sexy, melodic, and mandolin-based song "Tis of Thee." This piece is about the problem of the American drug war; what she defines as a white upper class vice to repress and imprison the poor portion of society. Addressing her audience, DiFranco defined Nader as directing positive efforts towards ending "the drug war" and putting an end to America as an overly imprisoned society. She also denounced the idea that voting for Nader would bring George W. Bush closer to the white house as a myth.
Given the nature of her songs and the strength of her experience and belief, it is inevitable that the concert atmosphere would reflect her political preference. However, DiFranco's use of the spotlight at a sold out concert as a political vice remains questionable and remains a disconcerting aspect of her performance. Despite this harshly political atmosphere, DiFranco was still able to have fun and rock like the extraordinary artist she is. For an encore, she brought Sara Lee's band back onstage to perform "Super Freak," a disco classic performed in the key of Ani.
Ultimately, DiFranco played for her audience, which for the most part consisted of a strong fan base with definite political feelings and ideas. They also knew all the words to the songs and accepted her with gratitude. From the seventh row, one could clearly see and hear a beautiful and eccentric performer.
It is not surprising that this bouncing ball of energy created her "one woman empire out of car tires and chicken wire." Overall, DiFranco's performance was still a powerful representation of her art, one that is both sentimental and political.
