It was going to be the usual 4th of July. Get up and take in the beach if the weather permits, go to Boston,
have a grand old time and pay for it the whole next day. My friend and I decided to change this, and decided
to take a trip to see Ani. It turned out she was playing in St. Paul Saturday so we decided to take a mini
vacation.
Things worked out from the start. We fully expected to pay top dollar seeing it was under a one week notice,
weren't we glad to get a round trip non stop for $150.00!!! The flight was a little under 3 hours, and by the
time the sun was setting we were in business. One mistake was our sleeping quarters. We stayed at the Days Inn
in St. Paul and it was not the a place I would reccomend to anyone. That is all I have to say about that.
The next day we packed up and moved into Minneapolis, for $20.00 more we were able to stay at The Residence Inn,
the room was not a room but a suite. It had a kitchen, living room, seperate bedroom, it was great, modern
amenities, the whole bit.
If you were at the show that Saturday you will remember the heat. It was stifling! As a matter of fact the
whole weekend teetered around 100 degrees, with dog humidity. I was expecting cold weather, cmon this is
Minneapolis, what I got was what I had just left in Boston, fortunately I love this weather.
Ani played at Midway stadium in St. Paul. It is the home of minor league baseball team the Saints. It is a
beautiful field, and the grounds crew do an excellent job with the upkeep. The sound was even quite good for
an outdoor venue.
There were probably 5,000 or so people at the show, which made me realize Ani is really turning into much more
than the east coast attraction. We found our way to the stadium with the help of a couple local gals we met at
the spirits store. We had a funny suspicion they were on their way to the show, and when we asked them if they
knew where Midway was, they answered that they did and that they were going there as well.
Being a guy, or dog, you make the call. I could not notice how attractive one of them was. Though I have a
certain ettiquette at Ani showed this could not be denied. The two of them let us follow them but when we got
to the show, they made haste and hit the road saying the had to get tickets, blowing us off. (you go grrrrrl!!!)
Needless to say I was QUITE dissapointed.
Still it was the 4th weekend and I was on vacation, so I perked right up, it was also are second show recording
so we were ready to roll. No need to get hasty because, as we were devising a way to sneak in the equipment,
we bumped into the girls again. This time they were much nicer, and talkitive, we shared a couple beers and
all went in to show together.
Maceo was great just as he was last time, the song selection was the same as the other time I had seen him, but
the playing was much more tight. I believe the "Body movin" may have topped out at over 30 minutes!! Ani even
joined Maceo mid set for a tune, which she had not done in Boston.
The heat began to dissipate SLIGHTLY by the time Ani took the stage. Maceo again joined Ani on "Virtue" though
his presence was more strong than in Boston. Most of the songs were similar to the ones I had seen so I won't
go into them much except to tell you they were all well played. Standouts were "Angry Anymore" a beautiful "You
Had time" and "Fuel."
I made my way to the stage for my usual pleading with Ani to play "4th of July" thinking the stars were right
this time, but alas she denied me.....
"5 years Ani!"
"huh?"
"five years since I heard you play it!"
"I am sorry it has been five years since I remembered it, I only have 20 songs in my folk singer repetoire,
and I think I am going scenile."
Oh well someday......... Maceos bandmaters joined Ani at various times and put fire into "Anticipate" "The Diner"
and "Pulse" but zoomed to the heavens on "Shy". It was the best version I had ever seen her do, for this reason
alone track down this tape!
Our new found lady friends found this version quite memorable as well, and myself and Ms. Maura really made
that magical connection during this one, and no not based upon the lyrics!!
The encore was a duet between Maceo and Ani, it was an old Prince tune, and for the life of me I am drawing a
blank on the title, so feel free to help me out. It was magnificent and was given a tender reading by the two
of them, another reason to track this one down.
As I said we taped the show, but while our conversation is well documented. Ani's music is not. That is ok, as
I do not think I could have had a better time than I did at this show. Could have been the company...hmmmmmm.
We kicked back in the grass for a bit after and reminisced about what had just happened, it was one of those
really great moments in life that we all have at one time or another.
Needless to say the weekend only continued to be just as great, but I will not bore you with those details.
If you get a chance take a trip to the Minneapolis area, it really is worth it.
All in all I give the show a solid A, not just for Ani's performance, but for the whole atmosphere surrounding
the show, it reminds my of the feeling I used to have when I used to go see this fat guy play his guitar years
back...........but anyway:)
Oh yes we had a wonderous time all FOUR of us can not wait for the Falcon Ridge folk festival in a few weeks,
yes things just keep getting better!
Matthew Crowley