Ani F***ing Difranco

So last night we went to go see Ani Difranco, my favorite musical artist ever, live in concert at the Luther Burbank Center up in Santa Rosa. My friend Chris introduced me to her back in 1992 or so, when we were new little grad students. Back then Ani was still in her "angry li'l folksinger" phase (I think the newest album when I started listening to her was Out of Range, and she's had around 12 or 13 albums since). I was immediately taken by her gorgeous voice, her outstanding lyrics (she is probably my favorite poet as well, or at least she's tied with Marge Piercy and Billy Collins), and her fresh musical style, not to mention her admirable political/philosophical stances. (I wish I could be more lush and original in my descriptions and praise of her, but it's late and I'm resorting to boring adjectives and cliches. Bite me.) She's been on quite the musical journey over the last decade or so, and I haven't always loved every bit of it with the same intensity, but she is still the unquestioned grand high poobah of my musical universe, and in many ways a role model/heroine to me.

Anyway, we used to go see her live every chance we could, because she's absolutely amazing live, but it's been probably at least 5 or 6 years since we last saw her (yes, being a parent, not to mention someone with an overcommitted, overactive social life has a lot to do with that). So we were really excited and thrilled to have finally made the committment to get the babysitting, buy the tickets, and set aside the time to go do this.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans aft gang astray, and although we got out of the house and in the car with what we thought was plenty of time to spare, we wound up getting stuck in some horrible rainy night accident-caused traffic jam that made us an hour and a half late to the concert. (Augh!) So we missed about half the concert, which was a humongous bummer that I'm trying not to keep gnashing my teeth about. However, once we got there and sat down (luckily we had reserved seats), we were captivated and the remaining hour or so was wonderful. As Josh pointed out, it was in many ways like seeing an old friend again, someone you only see at family gatherings every couple of years or something, someone you really really like to spend time with even if it's brief. Interestingly, her music now is more like it used to be when we first started listening to her, so the whole concert felt much more familiar than it would have if we'd gone to see her, say, 3 or 4 years ago when she was doing different things with her albums. But it (and she) have also matured, so it's even better now, more complex musically and lyrically, her voice and guitar work richer and more controlled, if that even makes sense. (I think it's getting late enough so that I'd better quit while I'm ahead. Assuming I was ever ahead...but ahead of what? Ok, don't answer that. Never mind. Stopping now.)

Anyway, despite our struggles to get there, it was a wonderful time, and I feel a renewed appreciation for this artist and her artistic journey, and for what she's meant to me and mine. I can't wait to see what she's up to another 10 or 20 years from now. Ani F***ing Difranco, man. She ROCKS. \m/