Not so soft

By Annie Holub
Catalyst

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Dan Kampner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Ani DiFranco, folk rocker, lets loose with an exciting, energy filled performance at Centennial Hall Sunday night.

It was something akin to a convergence, all the local Ani DiFranco fans milling outside Centennial Hall Sunday night.

Rather, it was a convergence. For Ani fans, a live concert is something to get really really excited about. DiFranco is one of those recording artists who never goes by the term "recording artist," even though she's released 11 albums, because that's not what she is. She's a performer, through and through, from the callused tips of her fingers to those crazy shoes she's always wearing.

And Ani delivered Sunday night, delivered to a crowd of eager, standing fans, some of whom remember well the last time she played here, in November 1997. That show was to support her live album, Living in Clip. This tour was in support of her latest album, released earlier this year, Little Plastic Castle.

Dan Kampner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The atmosphere is light Sunday night as Ani joked with the crowd about Ronald Reagan and her stray hair that she named Blair.

DiFranco only played a few songs off that album however: the title track, "Glass House," and "Two Little Girls." Actually, she didn't play very many old favorites at all, save the ever-impressive "Not A Pretty Girl," "Anticipate," "Shy," "My IQ" and "In or Out."

The show was mostly new stuff, sometimes slow and epic new stuff, something she herself pointed out, calling them "biblical," with names like "Providence" and "Virtue." With Julie Wolf on keyboards occasionally adding two-part harmonized back-up vocals to DiFranco's, and with ex-bassist Sara Lee joining in for Rick James' "Superfreak" alongside regular bassist Jason Mercer during the encore, and new drummer Denny Fongheiser, the real show Sunday was the stage presence and performance. Opener Tucson's own Bob Log III fit the theme of the evening; Ani seems to have a thing for one-man-band opening acts who are just fun to watch.

Dan Kampner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Ani shows her versatility Sunday night as she delights Centennial Hall with some bluegrass. Her keyboardist, Julie Wolf, accompanies her on the accordion.

And that's what a live show should be all about; the entertaining unexpected. At one point, Mercer broke out the banjo, Wolf whipped out an accordion and DiFranco strapped on a ukulele-type guitar for a bluegress interlude, which brought back fond memories of pre-Not A Pretty Girl DiFranco, of Puddle Dive and Out of Range.

And watching Ani herself perform is almost a religious experience; while that may sound incredibly generic, it is far from being so. If singing is like praying, then watching someone like Ani DiFranco sing is like witnessing divine intervention.

Dan Kampner
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Ani DiFranco plays to an exuberant Centennial Hall crowd Sunday night. Her concert tour was triggered by the release of her latest album, Little Plastic Castle.