Image by Laura Leebove
Of a Friday night
Ani DiFranco performs a perfectly political set on the Mississippi riverfront
By Laura Leebove
Published: July 24th, 2007 | 11:56am
July 20, 2007, in St. Louis — With her back to the Mississippi River, Ani DiFranco faced a sea of thousands seated on the steps under the St. Louis Gateway Arch and a clear blue sky. Playing to what she said would be a very memorable view, the 36-year-old folksinger performed a Little Plastic Castle– and Knuckle Down–heavy set as part of St. Louis’ Live on the Levee festival.
Her name has become nearly synonymous with political feminist-activist, but many of Ani DiFranco’s songs lean more toward personally political than governmental politics. Not the case with this set though, which began with “God’s Country” from 1993’s Puddle Dive and “Half-Assed” from 2006’s Reprieve.
Ironically, after performing “Fuel” from 1995’s Little Plastic Castle — a half-spoken, half-sung poem about corporate media and capitalism — she realized she was across from three huge American flags. “It’s a very weird thing to be creeped out by a symbol of your own country,” she said onstage. “But whatever. We can transcend all that in an instant.”
In a way, that’s been Ani’s mantra throughout her career: We have the power to rise above the things we aren’t happy with and make an effort to change them. For her, that means founding and running Righteous Babe Records (the independent record label through which she has released almost 20 studio albums), being politically active, and making music that encourages people to look around and make changes. And even though the corporate, patriotic scenery was kind of ironic, it seemed appropriate for Ani’s agenda because it gave her an opportunity to share her views with thousands of people — some diehard fans, but others unsuspecting passersby only there to check out the free music.
Anaïs Mitchell, Ani’s opening act and the newest member of the Righteous Babe family, also got political with “1984,” from 2004’s Hymns for the Exiled, a song she happily played upon a fan’s request. With the lyrics “Big Brother’s at the door and he’s ready to party like it’s 1984,” Mitchell wrote the song when the Patriot Act was signed. “It’s no less relevant, unfortunately,” she says.
Mitchell’s 11-song set was beyond impressive, starting with the setting-appropriate “Of a Friday Night” from her 2007 album The Brightness. The folksinger-songwriter performed a few tracks from her recent album, but focused mostly on Hymns and her folk opera, Hadestown. Dressed conservatively in a black button-up skirt, black and white patterned top, and mustard yellow cowboy boots she found on the side of the road, Mitchell was graciously taken aback by the crowd’s overwhelming positive response. But she shouldn’t have been so surprised — it’s hard not to love Mitchell’s style of delicate, finger-picked guitar and unique, almost childlike voice, with which she nailed every note perfectly.
To complement the night’s political songs (including “Your Next Bold Move” and “Subdivision”) Ani gave the crowd a glimpse into the newest and presumably happiest stage in her life — motherhood. In her first of two songs for 7-month-old Petah Lucia (“For all them big, fat babies out there”) she sang, “For someone who ain’t even here yet, look how much the world loves you,” while Ani’s “partner in crime,” Mike Napolitano — who Ani says didn’t pass out while she was in labor — held Petah up next to the stage.
Earlier in the day though, a handful of lucky fans got to see the adorably plump, curly-haired baby up close when Ani came out with her after the sound check. I pointed out that the colors in Petah’s tie-dyed onesie almost matched the pink and purple streaks in Ani’s hair. “All of our clothes match the tie-dye now,” she said to me, laughing.
By the time Ani finished Petah’s songs and went on to perform classics like “Two Little Girls” and “Little Plastic Castle,” the sun had set on the river and the stage lights illuminated the hundreds of bugs flying around. It was a drastically different experience seeing her perform outdoors — more distractions (like helicopters flying by), more fans singing along, and fewer venue restrictions — but watching the sky change over the stage made for a welcomed change of scenery.
Issue #31
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