A Little Bit of the Bay Area Comes to Jax via Buffalo
(Sunday September 24, 2000 @ 3:00PM)
    Last weekend, I hurried home from a Gainesville trip on Saturday to avoid driving through *Gordon*-weather on Sunday. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have mattered if I stayed in Gainesville a couple of extra days and waited out the Hurricane/Tropical Storm that was Gordon. But, I had tickets to see Ani Difranco on Sunday evening at the *Florida Theater*. Ani probably played four or five times in Berkeley during the six years I lived there, but I never prioritized seeing her enough to actually get to one of her shows. Here, I find myself so desperately looking/grasping for anything vaguely "counter-culture" that my life revolved around getting to seeing her show and just be in a music hall with a bunch of other folks who appreciate Ani.
    I coaxed my older sister and my nephew, Zane, into attending with me. A friend of my sister's from work also came with us.
    Downtown Jacksonville still doesn't know how to be a 'big city" at night, so it was not easy to find a place to eat prior to the show on a Sunday evening as Tropical Storm Gordon passed nearby spawning thunderstorms and the potential for tornadoes. We decided to go to the "*Landing*" nearby for dinner and easy parking before the show. We discussed the appropriateness of going to *The Lascivious Double-Entendre, "Family" Restaurant* that anchors the restaurant row at the Landing and decided that Ani would definitely not approve. We ended up at some Tex-Mex chain restaurant for a quick meal then hoofed it a couple of miles to the show.
    The show was opened by another "*Righteous Babe*" recording artist, *Curt Swinghammer*. Curt's set was funky and trippy. He fiddled a lot with little thingies on the stage to get the right distortions from his guitar and assorted other stringed instruments. Near the end of his set various members of Ani's band came out and joined him different songs. I was left with the impression that Curt was born probably 20 to 30 years too late, but was probably familiar with any number of hallucinogenic substances.
    After a brief intermission, Ani and her folks came out and began playing. I read several stories about Ani prior to her coming to town that discussed her "increased musicality" in her work/songs. The band left no doubt what that meant during the show. The music was loud and on many occasions drowned out the lyrics, but the show and Ani were fierce! Many of the songs performed were from the *Little Plastic Castle* album, which I had been listening to on my way back from Gainesville on Saturday. This was a good thing 'cause I knew what she was singing about. I really think the mix was off in the show. When I listen to the album, it's clear that Ani wants her words to be heard too.
    It was tremendous fun to see so many young (and not so young) women out enthusiastically embracing her show and her message and her persona. It was the most Berkeley experience I've had since I've been here.
    I read an interesting letter by Ani to the editor of Ms. magazine. I especially appreciated the letter 'cause it seemed to so convey my impressions of the spirit of Ani that I so adore.

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