It’s a banner year for Wisconsin-based Ani DiFranco fans. DiFranco did a live interview at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theater last October repping her documentary “1-800-On-Her-Own,” and she will return to our state – at Madison’s Orpheum Theater – on Saturday, Sept. 6.
But tonight she stormed the Pabst Theater’s stage with her “Unprecedented Sh-t” tour for a 90-plus minute show that ranged, per usual, from serious to silly to unstoppably sincere and smart. The legendary and much-loved DiFranco received a standing ovation before she said a single word or strummed a single note.
“Hello there, Milwaukee,” she said. “You just took 'The Monday' out of the scenario.”
The 17-song show featured both new and classic material from the raw, acoustic folk-punk that defined her sound in the ’90s to her 25-year experimentations with funk, jazz, hip hop and electronica.
Her band tonight featured longtime bandmate and friend, Todd Sickafoose, on bass, Jharis Yokley on drums and Eric Heywood on guitar and pedal steel. Special shout-out to the sound engineers at The Pabst as the audio was nothing short of crystal.
DiFranco was less political than we anticipated, especially considering the changes in recent months. She did, however, commend the “hands-off” protestors. She emphasized the need for folks to be strong and not be trepidatious of repercussions to resistance.
“Go ahead and round us all up,” she said. “That way we can all stick together.”
Tonight, though, was about the music. DiFranco’s setlist choices were deep and surprising at times – “Pixie” was a rare treat – and she played many cuts from her recent work. But it’s no secret that many of the fans – this one included – need the nostalgia of older tunes that define college and early adulthood experiences. She more than delivered with “Untouchable Face,” “Gravel,” “Joyful Girl” and an extremely moving version of “Swan Dive.”
DiFranco poked fun at the crowd’s desire for the oldies, as she does at most shows. After playing “Aniticipate” for the second tune, she went into 2024’s “Unprecedented Sh-t” song and said, “ You didn’t think you’d get away with just the old sh-t, did you?”
She also divulged that she doesn’t have the lyrics of ‘90s favorites memorized as fans might assume and often has to rely on the internet for her own lyrics. Often, not surprisingly, they are wrong and she hinted at releasing a collection of lyrics at some point. If not for fans, but for herself.
At 54, DiFranco sounds and moves identically to the young woman who graced the stage 30 years ago. Now, she is older and wiser with 23 studio records and 18 years of motherhood under her belt, and yet her underlying message is the same. Tonight, she quoted the poet Audre Lorde (fitting for Natonal Poetry Month) and reminded us that “our differences are our strengths.” In doing so, she unified and empowered those of us who feel a disconnect from the mainstream, and a reminder that if we were in the Pabst Theater tonight, we have a lot in common.
Set list:
1. Still My Heart
2. Anticipate
3. Unprecedented Sh-t
4. You Forgot To Speak
5. Pixie
6. Little Plastic Castles
7. Marrow
8. The Thing At Hand
9. The Knowing
10. Spinning Room
11. Sit It Out
12. New Bible
13. Simultaneously
14. Joyful Girl
15. Swan Dive
16. Untouchable Face
17. Gravel
Encore:
Both Hands
Wryn opened tonight's show. Fans of Ani DiFranco will appreciate them! More here.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
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