Ani returns to Eugene,
her 'little plastic castle'
The iconic songwriter's
Eugene concert included
songs both new and classic
By Aaron Shakra
Pulse Editor
Ani DiFranco must have a special
affinity for Eugene. Consider this:
She has toured around the world for
more than a decade straight, yet
both of her live albums — 1997's
"Living in Clip," and 2002's "So
Much Shouting, So Much Laughter"
— include songs performed in the
Emerald City.
Eugene,
- in turn, was
rniurcDT p°sitively
UUIlbUl I effusive in
ft IE V S IE W welcoming
- the little
folk singer
— for those who could get in, any
way. Crowds awaiting admission
into the McDonald Theatre spiraled
around the block, where a tempo
rary subculture had spawned. Two
women sang their home-brewed
songs of dissent, petition signature
gatherers preyed on potential voters
like ravens and just about everyone
who wasn't in line to get in was
looking for a ticket because the show
had long since sold out.
The evening began with a perform
ance from New York-based guitarist/
songwriter Tony Scherr. Scherr, who
gushed over Eugene's clothing venues,
played a jazzy set of music to a bois
terous, conversational crowd. These
voices were a distraction from anyone
trying to listen, but it's hard to blame
them — bodies were tightly packed
from the front of the theater to the
back, making the energy in the theater
nearly palpable.
Toward the end of Scherr's songs,
applause grew louder, but whether it
wSi in anticipation of DiFranco's ar
rival or for Scherr's music is a matter
of interpretation.
When DiFranco finally did arrive,
the crowd noise became nearly deaf
ening. While she frequently self-iden
tifies herself as the "little folk singer,"
it doesn't really do justice to the re
sponse her music provokes in listen
ers. Let's just say it isn't little.
While she has been performing
solo for the past few years, this time
around DiFranco was joined by dou
ble bassist Todd Sickafoose, who
added a punch to her songs without
losing the intimacy of a solo per
formance. The duo quickly estab
lished a musical dialogue that set
the tone for the night, with Sick
afoose's percussive pounding and
sparse playing complementing
DiFranco's guitar attacks.
The opening number was the endur
ing tune, "Shy," with lyrics like, "Oh
sleep is like a fever / and I'm glad when
it ends / and the road flows like a river /
and pulls me around every bend."
Erik R. Bishoff Photographer
Folk singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco played songs mostly from her two most recent studio
albums during her performance at McDonald Theatre on Tuesday night.
A large bulk of the material DiFran
co played was from her two most re
cent studio albums. However, there
was a good mixture of tunes played,
including her poem-like "Coming
Up" — in which DiFranco flowed her
words over a guitar progression of
harmonics. This was easily one high
light of the night.
Like all her shows, she played plen
ty of new songs as well: "Nothing
Much to Say," "Manhole" and
"Knuckle Down," where she sings:
"Cause I think I’m done cornin' to get
closer to some imagined bliss /1 gotta
knuckle down, just be OK with this /1
gotta knuckle down just be OK with
this / 'course that star-struck girl is re
ally someone I miss"
About halfway through her set, she
had planned to play a song with her
four-string baritone guitar, when
someone shouted from the crowd
"Little Plastic Castle," at which point
she said "I've never done this before,"
and retuned to play the song. Clearly,
she hadn't played it for a while — she
repeated one set of lyrics twice. But
perhaps this is appropriate for a song
that has the lyrics, "They say goldfish
have no memory / I guess their lives
are much like mine / the little plastic
castle / is a surprise every time."
The show ended appropriately with
"Evolve," the title track of her previous
album, and a quick encore of "Gravel."
Contact the Pulse editor
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
00573d
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