Ani DiFranco treated her hometown to a beautiful Labor Day show, celebrating her new album Unprecedented Sh*t at Terminal B on August 31.
Lifelong fans and all the movers and shakers of Buffalo were excited for her return to Buffalo to hear her advice on how to process and stay hopeful in dire times that she has sung about for decades. Ani DiFranco was joined by the folk band Hurray for the Riff Raff on this leg of her tour.
Hurray for the Riff Raff was a perfect opener as the sun went down over Lake Erie. Alynda Segarra (frontperson) is reminiscent of another era of Ani DiFranco’s history. She explores similar travels of train hopping and hitchhiking and documents her stories around the US and she brings her own unique oral history and folk sound to her experience growing up in the United States.
DiFranco joyously greeted Buffalo with a grin of glee to join generations of fans who eagerly have been waiting for her return. She expressed from the get go that she was feeling inappropriately hopeful and wanted to share that energy with her fans. Despite this being an Unprecedented Sh*t tour show, Ani played across her whole catalogue, knowing very well that she was dearly missed. She opened with newer tracks ‘Still my Heart’ and ‘Do or Die’ for all the voters but quickly went back in time to songs that made her explore her past with ‘Pixie’ which explores her experience moving from Buffalo to New York City. She exclaims how she wishes New Yorkers would ‘Be Nice’ which makes sense once you leave the city of good neighbors. She continued with familiar tracks, ‘Two Little Girls’ and ‘As Is’…