One of the few times the written word has made me laugh out loud was when I read Elizabeth Wurtzel’s 1996 essay “The (Fe)Male Gaze,” on the complete feminine energy at Indigo Girls shows: “I don’t mean that…[Amy Ray’s and Emily Saliers’] intermittent chatter was laced with references to Sapphic icons like Virginia Woolf and Audre Lorde and Radclyffe Hall…” At Ani DiFranco’s recent Royal Oak show, this was the basis of the intermittent chatter — Audre Lorde, specifically.
Beyond the top-tier banter, DiFranco was phenomenal. She’s got such a great personality that shines through in each song and conversation. Repeatedly, she spoke about how over time her beliefs have changed. At her core though, she remains the same steadfast activist uplifting everyone.
In 2002, DiFranco quoted the Judy Grahn poem “Detroit Annie, Hitchhiking” between songs. And here in 2025, she’s still gleefully subjecting us to her radical feminism.
I enjoyed the opening act, Wryn. She had a powerful voice that accompanied many heavy lyrics and subject matter. It brought the mood down in an enjoyable kind of way. She was a strong performer in her own right and did a great job priming the audience for DiFranco.
As DiFranco put it, an “old and crusty” song kicked things off, “Anticipate.” I don’t have a favorite DiFranco song; that’s like asking a parent to name their favorite child. I hold each beloved tune close to me, yet “Anticipate” would be a contender if such a position existed. It’s the song for me. Am I going for a run? Am I crying late at night? Am I hastily scrawling the lyrics in a notebook lest they be forgotten? Whatever the occasion, the song suits it and it was the perfect way to set the stage.
The energy in the crowd was palpable. Lots of swaying, lots of dancing in the aggressive-finger-pointing variety that began instantaneously with the first chords of “Napoleon.” Earlier in the set, when “Dilate” began, DiFranco acknowledged the shift in vibe: “Yeah, we’re going there.” The newer songs were amazing, but the classic ones were healing to experience live. Once she did “Little Plastic Castle” the entire theater rose from their seats, just basking in the moment. This was immediately followed by “Both Hands,” and then “Overlap” closed out the night. It was so fun. It was purely fun. It wasn’t some stuffy anti-men lecture (though I personally wouldn’t be opposed to that), it was a funny, fun night with great music and vibes.
Plenty of the crowd mirrored DiFranco in age and have been dedicated fans for who knows how long. I can relate to discovering her music in college, and connecting with it in an incredibly deep and meaningful way, but that was within the past year. I wasn’t the youngest person there, but my demographic was the minority. Why is that? This generation should take to DiFranco the way they do artists like Fiona Apple, with lots of similar unbridled feminine passion going on there. Everything DiFranco was singing about in the ’90s still rings true. She didn’t do “Not a Pretty Girl” last night, no matter that it goes without saying that even in the year 2025, anytime you say, “Something they find hard to hear / They chalk it up to my anger / And never to their own fear,” you understand the meaning. I think it’d do a lot of good for the current college population to sit with her music and have the awakening and the discovery that it allows.
While I won’t declare a favorite song, I will say that Little Plastic Castle is the album I return to most often. Either that or Out of Range would be a good starting point for the uninitiated. Put them on, delight in the absolute breadth and depth of her catalogue, and if you ever get the chance, see her live. She’s awesome.