This post was submitted by Amelie

When I was a freshman in college, one of my friends on my hall made me an Ani DiFranco mix CD. I guess this was because I was the lesbian who had never listened to Ani.  But for whatever reason, she decided it was imperative that I listen to her, and listen to her right then. I tried my best to get into the CD, but could never get past (or through, really) the fifth track. The only songs I could enjoy were “Little Plastic Castle” and the silliness of it, and “Gravel,” which is, let’s face it, kind of a pretty great I-love-you-even-though-I-shouldn’t song. Needless to say, I was never an Ani fan. When it comes to things I’m generally not a fan of, it’s folk music that involves feelings.

So when Ani DiFranco came to town, I knew I would need to go since my girlfriend is a pretty big fan. And as my friend Liz says, “You can’t choose who you love, and you can’t choose what music they like.” With this mind, I got ready for the big show. After all, my girlfriend spent hours crushed against the stage for me for The Breeders; it only seemed fair to do the same for her and Ani.

When we got to the 9:30 club, I found myself in a sea sensible shoes, but, on the whole, in a more diverse crowd then I had expected. Yes, there were dreads and lots of gay ladies, but there also plenty of straight couples. The Amelie Award for best audience member of the night went to the sixty-ish man wearing a suit and tie, though the man in the sparkly pinstripe shirt and the ridiculous girls screaming every single lyric all received honorable mentions.

The show was opened by Erin McKoewn, who is good at the following things: playing guitar, engaging the audience and telling funny stories about Dionne Warwick. She also had a fun hairdo and a cute blazer.

Ani’s set was supposed to start at 9:00, and Ani won the night’s promptness award for starting right on time. The first thing I noticed was completely superficial–Ani is a lot cuter in person than in pictures. But shallowness aside, the second she started playing I realized that Ani is definitely, definitely one of those artists who sounds a million times better live than she does in recordings.

The first portion of her set was dominated by upbeat songs, some newer and some old, mixed with some pretty funny anecdotes. Ani was in a great mood, and her bubbly personality was apparent as she had to re-glue one of her fake nails on and explained to the audience how she had to stock up on her favorite brand of fake nails when she found out that they were going to be discontinued.

Before she played some of her newest songs, Ani acknowledged the fact that she kind of felt like she had nothing to really say anymore, and what she did have to say was getting more and more ridiculous. This was definitely true–while her song about passing the Equal Rights Amendment had me laughing and wanting to scream out my hatred for Phyllis Schlafly, another newer song that could have been titled “Ani DiFranco’s Thoughts About Television and Going To Whole Foods,” was a little less interesting.

However, when she stuck by her older music, Ani really shined. Her guitar playing is pretty amazing; her hands literally fly up and down the neck of the guitar and I can’t even figure out what kind of strumming/picking combination she was doing. The energy she brought to her songs resonated through one of the most pumped-up audiences I’ve ever been a part of. Not to mention that her set featured an amazing xylophone solo by a member of her band, which, in my book, is one of the best things someone could ever decide to do in concert.

So, while I was dreading going to this concert a few days ago, I have to admit that I really did have a good time, and that I not only have a new respect for Ani DiFranco, but that I actually like her a little bit. In concert, anyway. Not only was Ani a fun and engaging stage presence, she put on a really energetic show that proved that her skills as an artist and her abilities to put on a great show.

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