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By Whitney Weiss

        Seeing Ani Difranco live was a life-changing experience, and anyone who is a fan of her music--or who likes their musicians raw and honest --must at one point go to one of her shows, preferably one at a small venue like the House of Blues. Read on to find out why you were really, really dumb to not check her show out, or to glow in remembrance if you have ever seen Ani live.

            Before the Righteous Babe herself even took the stage, the audience was treated to the campy, Bette Midler-esque feminist duo Bitch and Animal. When a crowd is not there to see you, winning them over can be quite a task, but Bitch and Animal appealed to the fake-dick wielding, pot-smoking feminist in everyone. The two sounded like indie Spice Girls during their driving, fantastically worded “Pussy Manifesto”, during which they had the entire audience chanting “Manifest this motherfucker number…” for eight whole verses. Other highlights of the Bitch and Animal set were Bitch’s rap, “Best Cock on the Block”, an ode to dildos of all shapes and sizes, and “Ganja”, which changed “Angels we have heard on high” to “Angels we have heard are high,” and went downhill from there (much to the delight of those non-parental units at the HOB). Bitch and Animal were wonderfully amusing, and great enough that they received a loud cheer from the audience without even having to plug Ani.

            After Bitch and Animal finished singing about Biblicial figures smoking weed, Ani took the stage and began her set with the first song from Revelling and Reckoning, her newest album. Backed with a drummer, saxophonist, trumpet player, and the ever-popular Jules on keyboard, Difranco radiated such life and energy, and this vibe made her music absolutely explode live. Ani jumped from songs that required the whole band (like the funky-jazzed up “What Where Who How When”) to more stripped-down numbers with only her guitar and voice, and of course, a friend and her accordion (like the social-conscious “Your Next Bold Move”). No matter who was onstage, all eyes were on Ani. Whether jumping around onstage,wielding her guitar like a hand-held pogo stick and dreads flying around her head, smiling and doing her legendary stage banter (“Seems like there are so many dirty 'f' words. Like funky…or feminist”), or sing/reciting a truly moving and emotional take on recent political events, Difranco shone with an energy that is truly indescribable, except, this is what people like John Lennon and Bob Dylan must have looked like in their time.

            Before seeing her live, I was well aware of the fact that Ani Difranco is a marvelously gifted songwriter. What I was not aware of is that she plays even more roles: educator to her fans, bandleader to the musicians in her band. There were no naked people doing acrobatics while hanging by their feet like I saw at TOOL the night before, but something about the power behind Difranco’s music, and about her own personality made a simple stage show consisting only of musicians and flashing lights something that I will never, ever forget. It’s no wonder some of the people I talked to there were seeing Ani Difranco for the seventh, eighteenth, or twenty-third time. Be sure to check Ani out live if you get the chance, pick up the Bitch and Animal cd, and support Righteous Babe Records for hosting nationally-known independent artists while not selling out.