Ani Tours

Metropolis Festival, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

6th July 1997

Setlist Photos Tape
SETLIST PHOTO YES

[Ani & Andy, Rotterdam]

inge's review Nor's review

Never having seen Ani perform live before, i was Very Anxious. She was scheduled to play at 17.15 hours and so i made sure i got there around 16.00 hours. Major Bummer when i found out her plane was late and she wasn't gonna play till about 18.30 hours. so i kinda looked for Ani- goodies in the meantime. (Funny thing was, they didn't put up the Ani- goodies till after her show?!) oh well... 18.25 hours, i was already hanging around that one stage a lot, eventhough there was nobody there (yet), cuz' i didn't wanna miss a glimpse!

& Yes! Andy appeared on stage, sorta sound- checkin'... so... erhm... i went crazy already, knowing Ani would soon stand as close as 5 metres from me (It wasn't crowded and i got to stand in first line!!! yes! she was So Close!).

Finally she came on and i discovered that only the first two or three rows were filled with fans... but that had its perks, too. Nobody was shouting through her songs or anything, and you could just stand there, quietly and listen, and even dance at times!

She started out with IQ, dancing really cute there (saying: "especially when you're dancing something stupid like i do"). Then she did Gravel and oh how i love that song, yes!

There were a lot of technical problems (monitorsound, lights, etc.) but she just kept on playing and smiling (she described that smile herself as a "smile on a big fat- lipped face" lol). So, as she couldn't get the tuning to like her 4th or 5th song she went on and on, saying: "i don't know what i'm doing, i don't know how i got this job"

She did the 3rd verse of Cradle and All before the 2nd and then when it was time to get to the 3rd she went like (all the time still singing): "youth is beauty, money is beauty, oh fuck i just sang that verse what was it something about living in new york, where all the people are assholes but hey! that's okay!" it was really funny. she 'screwed' up with Face Up & Sing as well, but nobody paid it any mind. Ani, however went on & on, saying :"Thank you for listening to our sorry asses," and "Later on there'll be this guy on stage and there'll be fireworks and people throwing money into the audience, just please stay & listen." As if I'd leave! I was too busy enjoying her (& taking Far Too Many photographs with a real pathetic photograph, but i got them scanned anyway... lol).

When she did Shameless, she had a good laugh, singing: "if i had any sense i guess i'd fear this, i guess i'd (*shutting up*), so no one could hear this hehehe" She started out the song real slow and then hit it the best she could and at the end she just fooled around with the guitar and the monitor for like 10 minutes, it was So Cool! (Andy lookin like: when you gonna cut that out, girlie?)

She didn't bring sarah (bummer, i was so looking forward to seeing her), but some guy named Jeff for the bass.

Anyway, she got this stuffed animal from the audience and made some remarks about it being a local hero, there was a note attached to it as well and when she read it she laughed really loud, but she didn't tell us what the note said (aargh!!!).

She kept looking in one direction and i was wondering why, till she explained, saying: "sorry for staring at you throughout the entire show, you just got such a nice face!" (WOW! JEALOUSY!) She told a story bout the night before, i guess she was still suffering jet- lag, cuz' it went like this: "last night we were in lissabon, no, yes, lissabon, no, yes, no, yes! lissabon.... so anyway, we were playing between two stages and the sound from the other stages was so loud and in between was me, the little folksinger... *at which point she made this hardrock- sign with her hand and started headbanging hehehehe* (& i took a pic of that, too!)

When she did 32 flavors the same problem occured here and she said: "oh man, i'm fucked! we'll call this song 2 stages..." but we could hear her just fine...

She only did one encore, Andy practically had to drag her back on the stage... hmm... oh well... I did get to see the Mistress of Merch and the other Andy (Goat) Yes!

Ok, summary of the songs she did: IQ, Gravel, Shy, Anticipate, Shameless, The Slant, Cradle & All, Face Up & Sing, 32 Flavors, Worthy, and erhm... i forgot the rest (SORRY!)

After the show i bought The Shirt (Every Tool is a Weapon if you hold it Right) and my boyfriend bought "The past didn't go anywhere" and i went home, still in a daze. I suffered the After- Ani blues for quite some time and yes! i'll be there next time she plays in The Netherlands!!!

All & All it was one of the best shows i ever saw, when she plays guitar it hits you like a brick wall & her voice is just... Listen!!!

inge (reproduced with permission)


Ani was scheduled at 17.20 however, we heard they had some delay on the airport, so another group played instead; seemed like hardcore, not my kind of music and awfully loud! As we where waiting for her to arrive and standing first row, we decided to stick where we were, our ears closed with our fingers.

50 min. later Ani D. arrived with her band. Her hair green with purple this time. She started with Shy, the rest I can't tell you in line but she played: shameless, 32 flavors, out of range, the slant, Tip toe, in , Napoleon, lullaby, I yelled for "asking too much" however she responded she didn't remember all the words.... I threw her a cuddly toy, an egg with legs this time with a card on it saying: the wooden shoes would fit this thing. She laughed and said she remembered and didn't know what to do with the thing and what it was for " maybe it meant something in our country" a ''legged egg''???

There was a lot of disturbance from the other concert, on that festival there are always 2 stages and the other band was playing really loud, so she turned up the volume several times, not playing too many slow ballads, and between songs making remarks and making fun of that issue.

As there weren't too much people who seemed to know her, it wasn't that busy in front of the stage, only some Americans who followed her on her tour. The crowed increased while she was playing and a lot of journalists and photographers arrived in front, attracted by the great sound from that small folk lady, with her big mouth as she said so herself.

The concert was a great success and when she left stage the applause was so big she returned again, which is very unusual for this type of concert, 'cause of the other bands waiting. She played "in or out" making a big spectacle by using her guitar as an echo in front of her monitor, which succeeded this time (in Amsterdam this wouldn't work).

The concert was better than the one in Amsterdam and for sure she was in a better mood...

Nor. (reproduced with permission)

Ani Tours