By Tim & Ananda Owen

Greg Brown and Ani DiFranco played to a packed house of exuberant fans in Corvallis this month. The show was a benefit for In Harmony, a local non-profit organization whose purpose is to create a model intergenerational neighborhood that can be replicated throughout the US, to provide a safe haven for youth in foster care and keep families intact, while waiting for a permanent family.

Greg, who turned up a pretty strong fan base of his own, opened the show with a short set and a stripped down sound that complimented his down-home and straight forward demeanor. Musically, his acoustic rhythm and finger picking were supported by tasty electric lead and slide by Bo Ansley. But the vocals and lyrics were purely Greg Brown, a very talented and poignant word crafter who nails social and political issues to the wall.

Before fans could request an encore, Greg introduced his audience to the reason we were all there, and turned the mic over to the director of In Harmony, who spoke about the project and showed a short slide show presentation , backed by the music of Greg Brown, who has been an avid contributor to the cause. For more information on the In Harmony project you can check out their website located at : http://www.inharmony.org

When Ani took the stage with her band, fans on the packed floor (comprised primarily of young women), surged with an excitement that lasted throughout the evening. Ani is apparently a source of great inspiration and empowerment to her fans, and for obvious reason. Aside from her impressively prolific catalog of 13 or so records in 10 years, her stage energy is way over the top and off the charts.

Ani is a petitely packaged powerhouse. When she is not working her lyrical mojo, she is dancing, twirling, in sync with her driving rhythm guitar work. She balances between her unique musical, poetic and spoken-word use of language, brimming with outspoken insights and observations and clever humor, with seemingly endless rhythmic possibilities of speech.

Ani really stretches the imagination of the term folk. Her touring band reflects the jazz- tinged influence of her latest release To The Teeth, by adding Hans Teuber on alto sax and Shane Endsley on trumpet, to regular band members Julie Wolf on keys, Jason Mercer on bass and drummer Daren Hahn. The set list was drawn from at least four of her past CDs and included "Jukebox", off of the earlier 99' release, Up, Up, Up, which was nominated for a Grammy this year. Songs from To The Teeth, included the title track which was written in response to the Columbine school shootings a year ago, as well as a favorite Ani tune, "Freak Show".

Diverse and eclectic jams were abound. At the end of one that got pretty far out there and into an odd time signature, Ani slyly exclaimed, "And we're supposed to be folk?!" Her bubbling banter and spontaneous demeanor were refreshing, as well as very obvious that she absolutely loves what she does.


Article (C) 2000 - Tim & Ananda Owen
Photographs (C) 2000 - Tim Owen