Live Review // Ani Di Franco at the Manchester Cathedral, 20/9/2014
There’s something about
Ani Di Franco and churches. Of course, her very own label Righteous Babe
Records is based in a former church in Buffalo, New York but for tonight her
venue was Manchester Cathedral for what was a very good night of music. Just a stone’s throw (in a good breeze) away from
Salford, where The Lowry Centre was her stage a few years back, a queue was slowly forming outside the
beautiful Manchester Cathedral of
dedicated fans. Can you guess who was at the front? It wasn’t us, but we were
certainly near…
On the last occasion we
caught Ani live at The Lowry Centre she was solo, just herself and her many
guitars and, although it was a fine show, you couldn’t help feel the venue
lacked the requisite warmth for a Di Franco gig. Rectifying that considerably
on this occasion was the presence of a band and a beautiful venue that gave
generously in many ways. As soon as the doors opened there was a sense of warmth
and greatness already present in the dimly lit venue. And once the music
started, announced perfectly by the self-confessed (and fittingly out and
proud) “queer, feminist vicar” it was obvious that this would be a performance
with a lot more comfort.
But before we got Ani Di
Franco, we had excellent support from Shabsi Mann, who set the evening off with
an interesting combination of double bass and guitar based songs that sat well
in the setting. Intermingled with thanks and stories, the London duo gave a set
that was short enough to make you want more and hopefully we’ll see them again
very soon…
Following a brief pause in
proceedings, Ani Di Franco & band appeared on stage unannounced and immediately
silenced the crowd into a roaring welcome. First song up was Angry Anymore,
followed up by 78% H2O and the usual crowd interaction soon followed, with
topics from organised religion, children, education and much more gone through
as well as a pleasing moment where the artist asked for questions and got more
than a few!
In terms of the songs
played, we got a good selection of later releases and the odd earlier song and
highlights included an animated version of fan favourite Gravel, an encore of
32 Flavors that got the audience singing along in unison and a selection of
well received songs from upcoming release Allergic To Water, including the
lovely Rainy Parade and All That Woe. If you’ve ever been a Di Franco gig
before then you know what to expect, if not then it’s a gig experience to be recommended
with an atmosphere that brings warmth to the music and one of the most diverse
fan bases of any artist.
We’re sure that Ani would
probably agree that the gig went well indeed, with all the warmth, excellent
song writing and vocal social commentary you’d expect but then again there is
something special about this particular venue after all.
To quote one member of the
audience: ‘Hallelujah!’ (Di Franco's reply: 'Amen, sister!')
Make sure to catch Ani Di
Franco on tour. You won’t regret it…
(S.Gahan - Words and Photography)
