Ani DiFranco: The Fillmore San Francisco, CA 4/06/2011

Red Letter Year (2008), Ani DiFranco’s most recent album, marked a joyous return to melody and groove that’s been absent in much of her music over the past decade. On the record,  Ani’s sharp lyricism plays against a coherent sonic base, whose lushness and rhythm fill the twelve tracks with vigor, radiance and exuberance. Mike Napolitano (now DiFranco’s husband) infused Year with renewed vitality from his lavish production. Lavish in this context is in no way detrimental; rather, after Educated Guess’ bare-bones approach and Knuckle Down’s inconsistencies, Year was a welcome departure. In reaffirming her penchant for energetic cadences, DiFranco both reinvigorated her style and uncovered a newfound casualness on tape. All in all, Red Letter Year is a resounding success in DiFranco’s journey of artistic maturity.

DiFranco’s been touring in support of Red Letter Year since its release in fall 2008. It’s the longest she’s gone without releasing a follow-up, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t been busy. In fact, she’s debuted over twenty new works in concert, ranging from outright political declarations to musings about love– oftentimes within the same song. “November 5, 2008” is an homage to President Obama and the ebullient zeal of his campaign’s message, done in a way that is neither trite nor sycophantic. Other highlights include “Albacore,” written about her marriage to Napolitano and “Unworry,” an upbeat ode to loosening up and enjoying the ride of life. For those who frequent DiFranco’s shows, many of these new works are welcome additions to the set-lists, and after three years of road testing, it’s especially interesting to see how many of them have morphed over their lifespan.

DiFranco played nine of these songs at her recent concert at the San Francisco Fillmore, backed by longtime collaborator Todd Sickafoose (bass), Mike Dillon (vibraphone/percussion) and new drummer Andy Borger. They opened with “Done Wrong,” a major fan favorite and a brutal, teeth-baring giant of a song. It’s a perfect example of DiFranco’s ability to craft hugely affecting songs about heartbreak and its ensuing fury. The choruses soared above Sickafoose’s thundering bass and Borger’s cymbal crashes, making the audience surge with energy and passion. They followed with “Manhole,” another explosive number that has been a crowd pleaser since it debuted in 2004.

Unfortunately, at this point DiFranco began to lose focus and never really recovered for the rest of the show. Her take on Bill Withers’ “Who is She?” was monotonous and lackadaisical. “Marrow” was neutered of its intensely emotional rawness, as DiFranco rushed through the lyrics, almost rapping the verses on top of her finger picked guitar. It felt very much like going through the motions, which is exceedingly frustrating for a song of such depth and weight as “Marrow.” Lines like “I got tossed out the window of love’s El Camino / and I shattered into a shower of sparks on the curb / you were smoking me weren’t you, between your yellow fingers / you just inhaled and exhaled without saying a word” are rife with such vivid imagery and pain that to disregard the specialness of them is especially disappointing.

For the most part, however, DiFranco’s older tunes kept the show from veering too much into self-indulgence. “Napoleon,” “Gravel” and “Two Little Girls” raged with renewed virility, “Every State Line” rocked in its new incantation and “Nicotine” had the perfect slow-burn, jazz club feel. While she completely ruined “She Says” in its new upbeat arrangement, the selections from her catalogue were superlative. And some of the new songs fit in nicely with the older gems, such as “Promiscuity” and “Smart.” They’re lyrically interesting, aurally engaging and both have a fantastic groove. They’ll be great additions to the new album.

Some of the other new songs, though, are aimless, boring and, quite frankly, exasperating. “J” goes absolutely nowhere, plodding along to an uninteresting beat. “Amendment” may be politically charged and in many ways lyrically radical, but it’s soulless. DiFranco has never shied away from political commentary in her writing; however, she has usually paired the political with the personal, giving her criticism substance and significance. Songs like “‘Tis of Thee,” “To The Teeth,” “God’s Country,” and “Alla This” are all successful protest songs because they’re wholly relatable and thus emotionally affecting. “Amendment” is way too literal and lacks any spiritual backbone. Unfortunately, this propensity for literal meaning seems to be a trend in some of DiFranco’s new work. Perhaps it comes from the fact that she’s toured more infrequently over recent years and thus hasn’t had the chance to get feedback from the audience about the new work. Still, many of these songs need major editing, and that becomes all the clearer when juxtaposed with many of the new songs that are already quite powerful and compelling.

All in all, it was certainly an off night for DiFranco and her band. But for a performer who is such a regular fixture on the folk circuit, it’s both understandable and forgivable. Still, as DiFranco continues to advance in her career, she could learn from going back and revisiting some of the rawness and emotional honesty of her earlier records to invigorate some of the new work with a similar empathy. No one is asking her to be any of the iterations of her past again, but rather to reconnect with the qualities of her musicianship that have consistently set her apart (and often above) her contemporaries. For an artist with such a rich body of work, it’d be disappointing to see her veer away from her virtuosity, especially following the triumph of Red Letter Year and its ensuing tour.

Setlist:
Done Wrong
Manhole
Who Is She? (Bill Withers cover)
Marrow
Promiscuity
Napoleon
Splinter
J
Nicotine
Smart
TR’W
Two Little Girls (solo)
Amendment
Gloating
Zoo
She Says
Gravel
Which Side Are You On?

Encore:
Every State Line
Angel From Montgomery (John Prine cover)

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