LIVE: ANI DIFRANCO – Durham, NC, USA – March 14, 2025

Venue: The Carolina Theatre

City: Durham, NC

Dates: March 14, 2025

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (https://www.toddstarphotography.com)

Tax deadlines can be stressful and demanding, but a good concert is always the perfect distraction.  I disconnected from the computer, office, and all things busy season and hit the highway for a two-hour drive to Durham, NC’s Carolina Theatre to catch the original Righteous Babe herself Ani DiFranco live promoting her latest release Unprecedented Sh!t.  Settling into the venue for the sold-out show was short lived as I spent the first 40 minutes after show time catching a very cool opening set from Rainbow Girls.  The trio took the stage, opening with the Les Paul / Mary Ford track “Smoke Rings” and we were off and running from there.  The trios take on music and performance is refreshing and it was a fun listen as they played instruments, sang, and overall enjoyed their time on stage engaging with the crowd and each other with observations of the area, the world, and the overall vibe of the evening.  Cutting through a new favorite of mine “Compassion To The Nth Degree” near the end of their set was a cool track with a great story that set the stage perfectly for the song.  Getting a slightly late start, the threesome wasn’t sure if they would be able to complete their set until Ani herself side stage gave them the thumbs up to close out as they hoped, with a completely a Capella and rearranged version of The Righteous Brothers classic “Unchained Melody.”  Upon its completion, RBG made their way to the lobby to chat and meet with fans.

The stage was prepared for the moment when Ani DiFranco and her band would take the stage and deliver hits old and new along with some deeper tracks, as DiFranco constantly mixes up the setlist to include fan and her personal favorites from her extensive catalog.  Kicking things off with “Still My Heart” the mood and bar was set for the evening with high energy rolling from behind Ani’s acoustic guitar.  I wasn’t sure what to expect as I have never had the pleasure of seeing her perform live, but if the opening number was any indicator, I was in for one hell of an evening.  Rolling into two tracks from her new release, the title track “Unprecedented Sh!t” followed by the first song from the disc I was drawn to “You Forgot to Speak,” the capacity crowd was treated to a glimpse into DiFranco circa 2025.  The show kept rolling, but took on a cool storyteller feel that made me wonder why Ani was never featured on an Unplugged release or show… MTV’s loss for sure!  Other songs dotted the evenings musical landscape between my favorites.  “Pixie” and “Marrow” led into another of my favorites “As Is,” which was as good tonight as I have ever heard it and packed the same punch the original did the first time I heard it.  After a cool delivery of “Little Plastic Castle,” Ani ripped out the last of the new songs for the evening.  She made a couple jokes and references to new songs and earning the right to play them for us after delivering older well-known material.  These were just a couple of the many jokes, stories, and overall interactions with the crowd.  Closing out the ‘new’ portion of the evening, she played through “The Thing at Hand” and “The Knowing” before her band left her on stage with just her, a smile, and a guitar.  She played “Spinning Room” and then pulled out a completely new song that is so fresh, it didn’t make it onto her latest release, “Sit It Out.”

The word favorite keeps popping up in the review, but when it comes to Ani’s catalog, I have a hard time finding songs I don’t like.  Another pair of killer tracks hit the set as we headed into the home stretch.  There were mentioned of her 2024 stint on Broadway in Hadestown a couple times through the night as well as a great story about learning all of her own material again after taking the year off and how she now appreciates fans learning all the words of her songs over the decades.  “Worthy” sounded amazing and resonated not only with the acoustics of the theatre, but with every person standing near me at the rear of the theatre.  An obvious crowd pleaser was “Untouchable Face,” bringing nearly every person in the place to their feet and singing along with Ani at the top of their lungs.  Bringing out a local artist that contributed to the album Revolutionary Love saw DiFranco and her band play through with guest saxophonist Matt Douglas on the title track, “Do or Die,” and “Simultaneously.”  After one final song, “Swan Dive,” Ani and her band left the stage and waited for the customary few moments before closing the show with a strong encore that featured (yes another favorite) “32 Flavors” and closing with the very powerful “Hypnotized.”  To say this evening was everything I hoped for ius an understatement.  Ani DiFranco knows her fans and what they want to hear, but you can tell by the smiles, the stories, and the setlist cultivated for tonight, DiFranco loves what she does and is as big a fan of her material as we are.  Hail Queen Ani.  She nailed it tonight and I cannot wait for another opportunity to see and hear her live.

ANI DIFRANCO SETLIST: Still My Heart – Unprecedented Sh!t – You Forgot to Speak – Pixie – Marrow – As Is – Little Plastic Castle – The Thing at Hand – The Knowing – Spinning Room – Sit It Out – Worthy – Untouchable Face – Revolutionary Love – Do or Die – Simultaneously – Swan Dive – 32 Flavors – Hypnotized

COMPLETE SET OF ANI DIFRANCO PHOTOS

COMPLETE SET OF RAINBOW GIRLS PHOTOS

[Show as slideshow]

ANI DIFRANCO LINKS:

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RAINBOW GIRLS LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

X – TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

TOUR DATES

Tags: featured

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries