Outsider Ani DiFranco Shows What Gives Her the Inside Edge

During one emotional number at the Universal Amphitheatre on Tuesday, singer-guitarist Ani DiFranco paused to good-naturedly ask fans not to sing along. “I’m not a ‘This Land Is Your Land’ kind of folk singer,” she apologized, explaining that (a) Woody Guthrie did it better, and (b) too much audience participation kept her from creating a moment.

Actually, it was tough to imagine anything short of a major earthquake derailing the 95-minute show, since the Buffalo, N.Y.-based artist and her backing quintet remained intensely focused even at their most freewheeling. Drawing from last year’s “To the Teeth” and her dozen previous releases, DiFranco bubbled over with the energy and charisma that have made her one of modern pop’s most celebrated outsiders.

Although DiFranco calls herself a folk singer, the songs were flavored with the staccato funk grooves and jazzy bits she has lately favored. These touches complemented her rhythmic vocal arsenal of yelps, warbles and talk-sung phrasings as she dissected relationships, social issues and the itinerant musician’s bubble world with subtle wit, vivid imagery and disarming honesty.

Never merely strumming her acoustic guitar, she played complicated patterns with rock-star gusto. Sometimes recalling such veterans as Van Morrison and Patti Smith, DiFranco stood as an artist who historically will eclipse such higher-profile peers as Natalie Merchant. She’s also one impish enough to launch an impromptu rendition of “This Land Is Your Land” near set’s end--and urge the fans to sing along.