ANI DIFRANCO PLAYS THE QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE (210 PRINCES BLVD, CNE GROUNDS) NOV 26.
When an artist sets herself up as a firebrand, she’s often faced with a lot of pressure to maintain that identity years down the road. But if you don’t have that youthful passion burning in yer belly, politicking in song can feel forced. So to my surprise, I appreciate feminist and indie folk trailblazer Ani DiFranco’s ability to age gracefully, as illustrated on Red Letter Year. These songs are still topical, but the new mother’s focus is on family and aging, with nods to environmental devastation, anti-capitalist issues and residual Dubya-hatred. Admittedly, this causes some cringing when she applies her detailed descriptions to things like, uh, “spilling hot sauce on my white shirt” (“Smiling Underneath”). Her sound has also grown less strident — Red Letter Year is smooth and watery, all gently-strummed chords floating over the occasional string swell or brass arrangement. It’s cozy, hemp-sweater music for fair-trade coffeehouses that will please the granola-parent demographic DiFranco’s fans now occupy.