Ani Smiles On Concord with Signature Politically-Charged Set

Author: Michael Hatch

This past Thursday was a treat. Ani DiFranco, solo, ripping into President Bush, taking on the war and gender divisions -- and, oh yeah, she smiled at me once, too.
I rode down to Concord, N.H., with my sister and her high school buddies, and while I arrived newly educated on more than I anticipated, I also missed most of the opening act, Hamell on Trial.
From what I saw, though, I wasn't missing much.
This solo folk guitarist was a little too difficult to understand.
His rapid-fire, heavy acoustic playing and streaming-word lyrics sounded like they ought to be intelligent as well as intelligible.
But try as I did, I couldn't make sense of the mess.
He did, however, charm the audience between songs with a spoof on rock-n-roll poses, showing his knack for the charm and self-effacement that makes folk concerts so personable.
But Ani did it better.
Songs from her new album, "Evolve," as well as songs not yet released, opened the set.
She admitted sheepishly that tonight would be about "loneliness and longing," hoping none of us came specifically for her happier tracks -- these are, after all, nervous times.
But the crowd roared.
Loneliness and longing were old friends among the spectators.
Before long, recent politics came under her scrutinous tongue.
Just back from Australia, Ani told us of playing a new song, "Animal," for the crowds there.
Doing a panting dog imitation of the Australian president, "Whatever the hell his name is, Howard or something," in the context of America's allies in the war, she appealed to the liberal crowd saying, "You know, I realized that all over the world, hundreds of thousands of people were out there marching for peace, and that that is truly the legacy of our generation, not the actions of a handful of men."
"Animal," a song not yet released even on her album put out last week, was a stunning number with lines stating, "You look at any ecosystem and you'll find that what you do here, happens there, and there, and there, and there," and a chorus with "a hawk flying high above a strip-mall."
This song-to-come, along with the lyrics off of "Evolve" are striking a decided lean towards nature themes. The song "Icarus" goes, "I don't mean heaven like godlike, 'cuz the animal I am knows very well that nature is our teacher and our mother, and god is just another story that we tell."
These new environmentalist lyrics, combined with political punches such as "Now lets all go to war, get some bang for our buck," from "Evolve," had the audience howling cheers and encouragement. But it was the old favorites that stirred the most excitement.
"Two Little Girls" was an absolute powerhouse of a song and all five feet of the folksinger's stature was jamming and ripping at the guitar with inspirational vigor.
"Out of Habit" was also a crowd pleaser, but it was the stream of consciousness monologue about gender that made this song among the most special of the night.
"Out of Habit" is often referred to as the "c--t song," "probably because I use the word c--t" she admitted, laughing, "but I try not to take offense either."
The song is meant as a gesture to reclaim the word from its negative connotations.
She went on to explain that she's often unable to answer when people ask her, "Do you sing only for women?" because she hopes that men can relate to the same issues as women and vice versa, "and some men just inherently get that [implying the re-use of c--t], and look! Here they are!" As one of the many males there, I cheered in thanks for the compliment.
Oh yeah, and did I mention she smiled at me, too?