After starting her April 10 performance in Chicago – the first of two sold-out shows at Thalia Hall – with the it’s nice to be nice anthem of shared humanity that is “Pixie,” Ani DiFranco revealed that the time may have finally come for her to answer a call that has followed her throughout her entire career.
“I was thinking maybe I’ll take up the suggestion that people have been making for many years which is to run for president. Because, obviously, you don’t need to know shit,” she said with a laugh of disbelief of our current leaders. “I was just thinking while we were playing, that’s gonna be my platform, just, “Be nice.”
On her latest album, Unprecedented Shit, the title track of which helped set the tone during night one at Thalia Hall, DiFranco addresses the unhinged and unconstitutional times we are living in while also boldly pushing the sonic evolution of her artistry. Joined by a talented trio of musicians – Eric Heywood (guitar), Todd Sickafoose (bass, keys), and Jharis Yokley (drums) – the singer-songwriter treated fans to a slew of new material including the breezy “You Forgot to Speak,” the jazz-inspired “The Thing at Hand”– which concluded with an intricate jam – and “The Knowing,” a song detailing and deconstructing the idea of identity.
One of the stand-out new songs, both on the album and on stage, was “Baby Roe.” Examining the separation of body, mind, and spirit, the track unites the experiential sounds of Unprecedented Shit with classic DiFranco compositions.
“Long story short, Baby Roe, who is now a fifty-something-year-old woman, is still pro-choice even knowing the circumstance of her birth,” said DiFranco, explaining the message of the book The Family Roe: An American Story, which helped inspire the song. “I know deep, deep within me, I would be too. Because I know that this particular body is just a temporary boat. It’s just one little boat that I get to ride in. And forcing women so you can ride in any particular boat in any particular moment doesn’t seem worth it to me.”
Along with showcasing new material, DiFranco dedicated a substantial amount of the setlist to sharing fan favorites. “Dilate” appeared early in the night and “Angry Anymore” gave fans a chance to show-off their harmonizing chops. A “radio hits” medley of sorts comprised of “Napoleon” and “Untouchable Face” led to some of the loudest sing-alongs of the show and deeper cuts like “Life Boat” and “Garden of Simple” – which put a spotlight on DiFranco’s talents as a guitar player – gave super fans even more to love.
A thumping performance of “Shameless,” driven by magnificent percussion by Yokley, closed out the set while “Fire Door” and “Overlap” appeared in the short, but satisfying encore.
“It’s a cool place you got here. Maybe we’ll see some of you tomorrow,” DiFranco said at the end of the night. And by the sounds of the cheers swelling up inside the venue, she will definitely be seeing a lot of familiar fan faces during night two at Thalia Hall.
Check out photos below from Ani DiFranco’s April 10 show in Chicago – also featuring her Righteous Babe labemate Wryn who opened the concert. Click here to pick-up tickets to future tour dates and more information can be found at Anidifranco.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
