Mills College WeeklyDuring her Oct. 24 concert, Ani DiFranco asked the audience why
men and women can’t be feminists; but certainly both were
represented at the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley that night.
Righteous Babe recording artist, Hamell on Trial, opened for
DiFranco. The highlight of the act was a face solo in which Hamell
shook his head and rolled his eyes into the back of his head while
bright green lights shone onto his face. His humorously progressive
lyrics, combined with impressive guitar playing, made for a great
act that got the audience excited for what was to come.
After Hammel on Trial, legendary 60’s icon, Wavy Gravy gave a
politically powered introduction to DiFranco. They encouraged
concert- goers to attend the San Francisco anti-war rally that was
to take place the next day.
There was a suspenseful pause before Ani DiFranco appeared. She
emerged on stage in front of the nearly full theater to open with
the song “Shy” from the album, Not a Pretty Girl. As she sang, the
background lighting was a romantic pink purple. The crowd had an
energetic response to DiFranco’s first couple of songs, which
gradually turned into a mellow groove. Her personal anecdotes mixed
with powerfully political folk music and spoken word made for a
great evening.
“When you first see Ani on stage, she looks tiny, she’s maybe
five foot three. But once she starts playing, she becomes an
enormous and powerful performer,” said freshwoman Alina Browne, who
attended the show.
DiFranco’s newest album Evolve, debuted last March. DiFranco
played a few songs from that album as well as several older songs.
She also surprised the audience with two brand new songs.
“This was by far my favorite concert that I have ever attended,”
said freshwoman Andrea Welles, who had not attended an Ani DiFranco
concert previously. “Her passion and enthusiasm and ability to
excite the audience was amazing!”
Ani DiFranco played for nearly an hour and a half before the
concert ended. After a night of beautifully warm weather (which
DiFranco acknowledged during her set), a pleasant and full crowd,
and soulful folk music, concert-goers left satisfied and enthused
by two fantastic performances by Righteous Babe recording
artists.
