Ani DiFranco – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, NJ – November 11, 2015 – Photo ©2015 Chris Sikich. All rights reserved.

Ani DiFranco & Mike + Ruthy – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, NJ – November 11, 2015

One of the region’s best venues, the Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, played host to the guitar and lyrical magic of Ani DiFranco last Wednesday.

Ani DiFranco – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, NJ – November 11, 2015 – Photo ©2015 Chris Sikich. All rights reserved.

Crisscrossing her career with ease and unending energy, DiFranco blistered the ears with classics like “Napoleon” and “Shameless,” the latter of which she encouraged the crowd to dance to; some certainly obliged. Bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Terence Higgins added further dimension to DiFranco’s distinctive folk rock, which even turned to acoustic arrangements for a few songs in the middle of the set.

Ani DiFranco – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, NJ – November 11, 2015 – Photo ©2015 Chris Sikich. All rights reserved.

Certainly one of the best live two song combos this year emerged from this set, as DiFranco unleashed a glorious reproductive rights song in “Play God” followed by “Present/Infant,” a personal dissection of appearance in light of her offspring.

Mike + Ruthy – Scottish Rite Auditorium – Collingswood, NJ – November 11, 2015 – Photo ©2015 Chris Sikich. All rights reserved.

Opening this brilliant show was Mike + Ruthy. Playing behind their 2015 release Bright as You Can, the husband and wife folk duo of Mike Merenda and Ruthy Ungar played a fun, rollicking set.

Chris Sikich

Copyright ©2015 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 13, 2015.

Photos ©2015 Chris Sikich. All rights reserved.