Beautiful. Intelligent. Funny. Positive. Talented.

These are words that describe the perfect woman.

Or at Saturday night’s concert at Stephens Auditorium — the perfect Ani.

Collective love for the original righteous babe emanated from the crowd populating the temporary DiFranco-land, as all barriers dissolved between people of different genders and sexual orientations.

Before the show began, fans who had never met before bonded over the music and persona of an artist who had changed their lives.

They exchanged addresses for ‘zines, discussed lyrics, and remembered their “first times” with Ani DiFranco.

Exhibiting a lust for life and revealing the joy she felt playing in a “multi-tiered thing” in Iowa, DiFranco told the crowd her previous European tour was “like going to jail without passing Go and without collecting $200.”

The wonderful evening was marred only by opening folk artist Stephen Smith, a Bob Dylan wannabe who would occasionally attempt to channel Prince.

Throughout Smith’s mostly forgettable set, Ani fans shuffled in or sat patiently in their seats, only paying attention to the music if they had nothing else to think about.

Aside from the cheers for his fiddle instrumental, Smith only ignited the crowd when the name “Ani DiFranco” passed through his lips.

Between sets, the half-filled auditorium quickly swelled with late-comers who added to the atmospheric buzz of the concert.

As the lights dropped and thumping bass filled the room, DiFranco unleashed the crowd’s energy as she arrived on stage.

DiFranco’s silhouette danced to center stage and the crowd rose out of their chairs in a nearly simultaneous action, remaining standing for the entire performance.

The concert took place on the anniversary of the killing of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortion doctor who was shot in his home while eating dinner with his family and DiFranco gave a performance that functioned as a mass catharsis for all who attended.

DiFranco’s opening numbers, from her latest release, “Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up,” as well as other unreleased songs, served as a solid introduction to her musical genius.

Truly dazzling the crowd was “Hello Birmingham,” a new song set to be on DiFranco’s November release, “To the Teeth.”

DiFranco prefaced the song with the story of Slepian, a person whose death partially inspired her to write the intensely emotional song.

Some members of the crowd fought to hold back the tears that had involuntarily welled up in their eyes.

“32 Flavors” and “Shy,” two of DiFranco’s better-known songs, gave newer fans a chance to join the multitude who had already added their own voices to DiFranco’s performance.

The show climaxed during the encore performance of “To the Teeth,” the anti-gun title track from DiFranco’s forthcoming release. The song showed Ani can only improve with age.

Beginning the song on her own, DiFranco was eventually joined by her amazing backup band as she attacked Hollywood, MTV, NBC, CBS, the NRA and the weapons manufacturers who were “giving head to some Republican senator.”

She implored all who were listening to “open fire” on these institutions, evoking a deafening response from all those in attendance.

The flawless performance mirrored DiFranco’s perfection. She was indeed beautiful, intelligent, funny, positive and overflowing with talent.