Ani DiFranco
Hi; i rock. Not as much as Jason rocks, but i definitely got some rock on.
Nobody wanted to step up to the microphone first so i bit the bullet and took the stage only to be informed that, no, the tech crew didn’t have any way to plug my guitar into anything electrical. They had lots of microphones though; would i like some microphones?
The whole think stank of their horrible tech set-up from last year, which nearly turned me off to performing in front of people altogether. But, i persevered – twisting my body halfway around so that i could aim my guitar into one microphone and sing into another. It was hellish, i was uncomfortable, and i was too distracted to hit the high notes. I was not the happiest camper in the room.
After slinking off the stage i slipped the tech guys the following note: “PLEASE can i have a 1/4 inch connection for my set. Please? :( ”
It’s amazing what little sad-faces drawn in blue pen can get you when asking nicely and smiling has already failed.
After a few other performers Jason and I were up, and i’m sure our odd parade of a small jittery songwriter and a quietly charming cello player was met with some puzzled glances. I was personally too busy fawning over the quarter inch adapter that had been scared up for me and Jason’s attempts to make a coffee shop chair compatible with his special brand of cello-rock.
Up first was “Lost,” which we held down nicely despite a few guitar flubs on my part. Jason’s cello on “Lost” is awesome because it’s a riff totally separate from the song, and it’s always very surprising to me to hear how it blends. Our second song was prefaced with something near “Maybe i should tune and then play. Do you think? I thought it might be endearing of me to play a cover song, and so i chose something i’m sure you all really like and now i’m going to destroy it. It will involve screaming. Jason will continue to be lovely.”
And, thus, we launched into a nearly flawless version of “Say It Ain’t So” that involved very little screaming and much head-bobbing in the audience. Let me take this opportunity to remark – once again – that Jason is amazing and that i sortof just stared at him while he played the entire guitar solo over on the part of the stage that totally lacked a guitar.
Sensing an opening, i did a brief strip-tease and then dove into “Under My Skin,” which was met with happy faces by all sorts of crowd-members who very generously made sure that i didn’t sing the same verse more than once. Afterwards we took a very competent stab at Ani’s “Gravel” until i decided to lyrically revise the second verse approximately two chords before the start of said verse. But, we definitely rocked the house down (and Jason mocked me a ton behind my back while i was being silly towards the audience, including a comment regarding angry lesbians just previous to Gravel).
But, anyway, i was a little mini-rock-star for a quarter of an hour and even though i flubbed a bunch i was actually good on the whole – which is a new feeling for me and my guitar. Maybe i need to bring more people up on stage with me next time…
Nevermind that i own all of her albums. Nevermind that i essentially learned to play guitar by listening to her live cd. Nevermind that last night was the sixth time i’ve seen her in concert in as many years. Just forget about all of it. All that matters, really, is Nava sending me home with a cassette tape called Out Of Range and me sliding into my mother’s stereo and rewinding it.
First songs are first songs for a reason; they are meant to catch your attention and to keep you listening. Of course, every song on an album should do that, but first songs should be engaging even upon a first listen. “Buildings and Bridges” was that exactly – i didn’t really fall in love with it, but i wasn’t disinterested either. It was what came next, though, that got my attention.
Without much hyperbole, “Out of Range” changed my life, and i could feel it physically the first time i heard it. It wasn’t just in my ears, but in my heart, my stomach, and on the tip of my tongue and fingers. One woman and one acoustic guitar literally changed everything and i remember wrapping my mind around every one of those dozen songs just as well as i remember standing in the ‘D’ section at Tower Records staring intently at the cover of Dilate as it beckoned to me — even as i already had OoR in my hand.
The first time i saw Ani DiFranco she was opening for Bob Dylan, ostensibly touring behind her critically applauded live release Living In Clip. There’s no such thing as touring behind a record for Ani, really … it’s just one neverending tour that occasionally overlaps with the release of a record. Point being, she didn’t necessarily play LiC songs, or any other songs for that matter. Without looking up the set list, i can say with some certainty that she only played a single song from Out of Range, and even though i only owned three of her albums at that point i didn’t mind the set list at all.
Four other Ani concerts later, and i had still never heard “Out of Range” live; she had played it for entire weeks leading up to a Philly show, but never at a show i attended. I didn’t expect to hear it last night; she had already played another song from the album, and it was nearly the end of her set. I knew, though, at the moment she thrashed through the series of opening chords.
And, hands pressed over my mouth as if they were suppressing the scream that was welling up from the core of me, i wept. Wept, and silently mouthed the words and stared at the flash of her hands on the neck of the guitar. And wept.
In my life i have shed tears six times at live concerts. Three of those times were tonight.
I love Ani DiFranco.
Hold on, i’m still catching my breath.
Just read: Ani DiFranco breaks out her pen and comes off as not only a credible artist but an apt critic of corporate bred media. I’ve been feeling a media-criticism essay welling in my boots for a few weeks now, but until that pans out try Ani’s opinion on for size. Also, while you’re reading media-critique, check out John Hiler’s witty article on how blogs both augment and interfere with more traditional means of journalism. And, while i’m linking to things, the musician i met on the street last week was just profiled by Rolling Stone. For the third time. RS doesn’t seem to be featuring the new mention online right now, but you can catch the other two on his site. So, um… i’m a little bit excited — hopefully he emails me back sometime.