Thanks to Olivia St.Denis for the nice review of the show at Westcott Theatre!

Moving with the music

With her music as a driving force, indie artsit Ani Difranco commands audience at the Westcott

By Olivia St.Denis

Armed with an arsenal of acoustic guitars and a house band, unofficial
feminist hero and indie-folk darling Ani DiFranco took over the Westcott
Theatre Friday. A legion of 700 fans swarmed the jam-packed venue for
several hours before the show began. Each had the same passionately
independent attitude DiFranco has cultivated and perfected over the
course of her 20-year career. The merchandise table withstood lines of
devotees waiting to outfit themselves in a uniform of DiFranco T-shirts
and bags.

For more than an hour and a half, the singer led the crowd through a freewheeling set list, even claiming at one point in her
performance, "This set has no rhyme or reason." The audience didn't
seem to notice or mind because every tune brought with it faithful
sing-alongs and wild cheers.

DiFranco's untitled tour will travel up and down the East Coast until March. From there the venues
branch out west until its final stop in New Orleans in May. Fellow indie
artists Gaby Moreno, a surprisingly unsigned artist from Guatemala
City, Guatemala, and Erin McKeown, a graduate from Brown University and a
folk-rock singer-songwriter, opened the Syracuse show. Both singers
will be joining DiFranco for the remainder of the winter leg of her
tour.

Moreno warmed the crowd up with a six-song set. Joined by her friends-turned-band members Leslie Lowe on bass guitar and Sebastian
Aymanns on drums and background vocals, Moreno captivated hundreds of
ears and hearts with a soulful vibrato that seemed to be stolen right
out of the throat of Janis Joplin. The music was simple: a singular
bluesy guitar, uncomplicated percussive beats and an even bass flow.
Moreno used her talent to keep things simple, making the crowd like the
music but not know the reason why.



Donning a flowing tunic, simple blue jeans and a messy head of brown curls, Moreno invoked an atypical image of the typical indie musician.
She had personality, humor and, more importantly, fun. Her humble
Guatemalan beginnings were showcased on two tracks sung entirely in
Spanish.

"Even if you can't understand the words, I hope you can rock out to the rhythms," she quipped. In the middle of her finale, she
proudly exclaimed, "This is where the guitar solo goes, but I don't
have one so I'm just going to scat." Scat she did, much to the
excitement of the audience. Moreno sounds like the next big thing to
appear on a Starbucks compilation disc.

Just as the crowd's anticipation was turning from excited to impatient, the 40-year-old
DiFranco took to the stage. She welcomed the crowd with a silent grin
while being bombarded with ecstatic cheers. An obligatory introduction
and a "thank you" to the audience ensued, followed by the opening chords
to "Done Wrong" from her 1996 album "Dilate" From the first seconds of
"Done Wrong," DiFranco displayed a signature stage presence:
purposefully and passionately strumming her acoustic guitar to match the
power of her voice.

DiFranco continued with "Half-Assed," from 2006's "Reprieve," which showcased her recognizable style of
metaphorically heavy writing. One line from the song reads, "You are an
untruly translucent, a dirty windshield with a shifting view." Smart,
direct and relatable: DiFranco's lyrics are acclaimed by music critics
and fans alike, which was clearly evident by the number of people
shouting the words back at her.

Continuing her set with what she described as a "song about delayed reactions," DiFranco balanced
syncopated guitar chords with drawn-out bass rhythms and moments of
heavy instrumentation with those of vocal solos. In the moments where
her voice was the only audible instrument, DiFranco showed a confident
vulnerability that comes only after decades of performing.

"Shy," off of the 2007 compilation "Canon," was a quickly recognizable crowd
favorite. Dozens of people gave in to its rhythmic satisfaction and
started dancing uncontrollably. Another crowd-pleaser was "Napoleon,"
from "Canon." The track garnered the strongest reaction from the
audience during the show. DiFranco encouraged a mass sing-along so large
that it almost eclipsed the sound of her own voice during the chorus.

The most instrument-heavy song of the night was one that DiFranco did not
even write. In a strong political statement, she performed a song from
the 1930s that repeatedly begged the question, "Whose side are you on?"
Featuring lengthy standing bass and xylophone solos, DiFranco enjoyably
conceded the spotlight to the other talented musicians of her band.

The concert was a complete package. DiFranco and company lit up The
Westcott Theatre with entertaining performances and crowd-pleasing song
selections. Not to be outdone, Moreno emerged as a new favorite for many
DiFranco fans, while DiFranco herself delivered a controlled but
vibrant performance that testified to the longevity and success of her
career.

omstdeni@syr.edu

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