Thursday, 5/29/97 Versatile folk-punk singer releases double live album MUSIC: Ani DiFranco's 'Living in Clip' filled with dynamic energy
By Mike Prevatt Daily Bruin Staff Say what you will about Ani DiFranco. Members of the music press have exhausted themselves in putting labels on the singer/songwriter/guitarist from Buffalo, N.Y. To those people who have heard of her but aren't part of her passionately devoted fanbase, DiFranco is that bisexual-folk-singer-punk-feminist who has her own record label. She has been featured in Time, the Los Angeles Times and Forbes as a revolutionary musician who makes more money per album than any of the huge artists splattered on the airwaves and MTV today. However, she gained a huge following despite little promotion or radio airplay, through pure focus on music, appreciated by those lucky enough to be part of her long, word-of-mouth chain. The buzz is growing now that she has released "Living in Clip" (Righteous Babe), a double live album that features fan faves and rarities performed during her 1996 tour. Now it's time for the music to do the talking. With "Living in Clip," (recorded in 22 different cities) hopefully people will recognize her for what she should really be recognized as: a phenomenal and talented musician. This album contains more than two hours of extremely powerful and skilled music, interrupted at times by highly entertaining musings, which make DiFranco one of rock's most versatile and engrossing artists. Beyond that, it serves as the perfect introduction to people unfamiliar with DiFranco's authentic brand of masterful acoustic energy. Her fervent fans religiously attend her live shows, which usually receive glowing reviews by the critics aware of her "underground" status and dynamic concert presence. As a result, the brilliance of "Living in Clip" comes as no surprise. It is a live album which showcases DiFranco's showmanship and musicianship wonderfully, rather than the usual crowd-adulation live record filled with half-assed duplications of hit songs. On "Living in Clip," Ani gives us her extraordinary performance, while coming across as a down-to-earth entertainer who can cross the barriers and reach fans with her inviting voice and humorous quips. Most of the material here is heavy on the folk side. This isn't some sonic riot grrrl thrash set. With mostly acoustic guitars, the mainstream defiant sound allows for intelligible music, complimented by the even more intelligible vocals. A great example of this is her new single, "Gravel," in which DiFranco blankets feel-good, toe-tappin' jangles with an ironic edge ("You were never a good lay/ You were never a good friend/ Oh, what can I say? / I adore you"). DiFranco goes beyond sexual boundaries and gender roles. In "Untouchable Face," she uses calm, down-home music and juxtaposes it with an angst-filled boldness a woman usually directs to a man ("She's not really my type/ but I think you two are forever/ and I hate to say it/ you're perfect together/ so fuck you and your untouchable face"). She further probes her bisexuality with the strikingly defiant "In and Out," a rockin' tale in which she tells both sexes, "I got no criteria for sex, alright?/ Just wanna hear your voice/ Just wanna see your face." In "I'm No Heroine," she takes on the vulnerable, weak role for the sake of someone else's benefit ("I'm too easy to roll over/ I'm too easy to wreck/ I just write about what I should've done/ sing what I wish I could say/ and I hope somewhere some woman hears my music and it helps her through the day"). Yet she aims to persevere in "Hide and Seek," with music that sounds like the Old West, but lyrics that come from Generation X ("Here we go again/ Yeah, OK, this time you win/ And I would feel dirty, I'd feel ashamed/ But I wouldn't let it stop my game"). There are some surprises on this otherwise tight, consistent album. On the beautiful "Both Hands," and a somewhat gothic version of "Amazing Grace," DiFranco has former "Tonight Show" bandleader Doc Severinsen and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra join her for a more symphonic approach to her music. Humorous speaking bits are also randomly interspersed throughout the album. "Travel Tips" recalls a night on her tour in which the only vacancy in Chicago was the study room of a university dormitory. In "Distracted," DiFranco tells about how other indie artists on her label see her as losing her political edge, becoming to wrapped up in romance, and potentially selling out. She jokingly retorts with "I kinda got distracted!" The beauty of DiFranco's artistry is that she doesn't follow the rule book. With all her boldness, she plays the music without the bombastic noise and fuzzboxes, something that the average fan would expect in such an intense performer. There is definitely something to be said for a stripped-down, unplugged-like clarity that worked for such artists as Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. The confessional aura she displays doesn't need blatant electricity; she provides that herself with an articulate yet gritty voice that indicates self-awareness and self-certainty. She brings in vocal and lyric styles that remind us of the brutally honest women made familiar to us through conventional means (Tori Amos, Liz Phair, even Alanis Morrissette). "Living In Clip" is more than just live fem-rock. It's more than just an angry chick with a nose ring and a guitar. It's more than just girl-power, indie label politics. It is about an artist who knows exactly who she is, revealing herself through a blend of intimate music and lyrical candor that can't be found in any rock and roll thesaurus. Confident yet unpretentious, Ani DiFranco challenges the mope, the masochism and the mindless romance of music today. More importantly, in a culture of cliched deviance and sugarcoated irony, she chooses not to accessorize her soul for hip complexity but instead strips down to a self most of us are to shy to expose. Grade: A Righteous Babe Records Ani DiFranco recently released "Living In Clip," on her own label, Righteous Babe. Related Links: Indie Music Showcase: Ani DiFranco