Last night I went to the Ani DiFranco / Erin McKeown show with Libby and it was amazing! The acoustics at Symphony Hall are unbelievable. We were talking about how you’re never ever disappointed by an Ani show, but at the same time – the chances that you’re going to hear your favourite song are so small. Her repertoire is just too massive. She did play Little Plastic Castle as the opener which was nice. Also, a fantastic performance of Evolve was one of the final songs closing the show.

I will say this – why go to a show if you are going to be running to the bathroom? You can’t hold it for twenty minutes? Honestly. It was distracting. Same thing with people who go to a show, take pictures [even though cameras are supposed to be a no-no] and then sit and review the photos while the artists are still performing.

It’s nice to have one or two pictures – but let’s be honest, that’s all you need. The performer looks the same on stage the entire show – unless you’re seeing someone like Britney or Christina and there are a gazillion costume changes. I don’t go to a concert to leave with evidence of my concert-going. I go to a concert to enjoy the music and experience the show firsthand, not through the lens of a camera.

Ani also performed a song dedicated to President (Elect) Obama. It was amazing. The entire room was just vibrating with energy and you could just feel the positive outlook that has sprung from his election.

My favourite quip of the evening was how Ani felt sorry for that “poor girl, Sarah Palin” and how she was told to look cute, wink, shut up. Smile, wave, shut up. She’s a beauty queen with a [no pun intended] apparatus behind her.

Definitely an amazing night. Always a good show. Ani DiFranco makes me proud to be a Buffalonian. We’ve got such a creative spirit and there is just this huge community underlying this depressed rust belt city that we’ve got to buck against the stereotypes and this idea that we’ve got to stay in this rut. It’s changing, but it needs to change more. Yes we can.