By: Andrea Myers
 |
|
Ani DiFranco - Publicity photo from her website
|
In a culmination of stand-up comedy and folk speak-singing, the raunchy Hamell on Trial opened up the show at the Cedar with a handful of politically-charged tunes. His songs ranged in topics from lying to your kid about your past; tearing apart Ann Coulter; and recommending that the audience go out and kill Pat Robertson, complete with a sing-along on the line, “His brain's on the cross behind him.” After an especially raucous song in which Hamell urged the audience to yell, “Fuck it! Fuck it!,” Helen Heyer-Walsh, my seven and a half-year-old seat mate and newfound friend, exclaimed, “My brother Henry is going to be so mad that he stayed home, he missed all the swearing.” She also noted that the “light show” was particularly impressive above the stage, and I personally found the sound at the Cedar to be impeccable.
After a short break, the lights came down and the room erupted in wild screaming, and Ani DiFranco appeared on the stage. In an uncharacteristically low-key set, DiFranco's performance at the Cedar marked her first return to the stage after nine months spent off the road; given her 17-year career of nonstop touring, writing, and recording, it was about time she gave herself a break. “It's been great, just kickin' it,” she remarked between songs, adding, “'course, it helps to be madly in love.”
Even from the back of the room, I could clearly see the joy radiating off of DiFranco as she described her relationship with her boyfriend, and her newly discovered love seemed to seep into her songs as she played. Favoring material off of last year's Knuckle Down, DiFranco varied the tempos of many of her songs to make them slow, drawn out and pensive. Bassist Todd Sickafoose and brand new percussionist Mike Dillon aided in creating a lighthearted, peaceful vibe for the evening, making it the perfect show for the Cedar's quiet atmosphere.
In between songs, DiFranco was downright silly, bantering back and forth with the audience and telling stories. When someone in the audience yelled, “Happy Earth Day!,” Ani looked surprised, admitting that she had forgotten and joking, “What kind of hippie am I? You lose the dreads and it all goes away.” After DiFranco explained that she was in town to “watch her friends get hitched,” a girl in the audience sprung up and shouted, “Ani, I just got engaged outside your show!,” which was met with cheers from the audience.
Towards the middle of her set, DiFranco played a few new songs (apparently, for Ani, taking nine months “off” from music means still composing a handful of new tunes). One especially powerful new song was dedicated to Hamell, and she explained that,“It's not getting any easier to write political songs, but man does the world need 'em.” The song painted a perfect portrait of war-torn, apathetic America, and featured the great line, “The stars are going out, the stripes are getting bent.” Another new song focused on the carelessness of new love, which DiFranco played solo, and had great lines about shutting out the rest of the world to focus on your beloved. “Love sets fire to your schedule,” she sang, “and then calls an end to time.”
As she neared the end of her set, DiFranco moved back in time to play many of her old classics. She recited her powerful, epic poem, “Grand Canyon,” and played crowd favorites like “Two Little Girls” (which got the whole crowd bouncing) and “Shameless” (even more bouncing), which ended in a sizable group of mostly women rushing to stage left to form an impromptu dance pool.
When Ani left the stage, it was clear that the crowd wouldn't let her leave without an encore. She returned to play “Little Plastic Castle,” which turned into a sweet sing-along, and “Overlap.” Several people in the audience shouted out, “Don't go Ani, we love you!” After a pause, DiFranco replied, “I might go, but I don't think I'm going to stay gone.”
Andrea Myers is andrea[at]howwastheshow.com
Related Sites:
http://www.anidifranco.com/
http://www.hamellontrial.com/
http://www.righteousbabe.com/
Set List:
Shy
Manhole
Studying Stones
Paradigm
Sunday Morning
As It Should Be*
Gravel
Marrow
As Is
The stars are going out, the stripes are getting bent*
One unbroken line*
Love...*
Grand Canyon#
Modulation
78% water*
Two Little Girls
Shameless
-Encore-
Little Plastic Castle
Overlap
*New song, title not confirmed
#Spoken word poem
Location Info:
Cedar Cultural Center
Artist Info: Ani DiFranco, Hammell on Trial
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus