It should be no surprise to see Ani DiFranco and Margaret Cho share a stage. Both are Grammy-nominated, openly bisexual, feminist performers.

And they both want you to vote, dammit!

While the women are doing separate tours through battleground states to push voter awareness, their East Lansing appearance was a part of a three-city "Vote Dammit" tour merge. On Wednesday Cho performed her standup comedy and DiFranco her music before a packed crowd at the MSU Auditorium.

Though the audience was mostly female, neither woman performed for any one demographic.

"Feminism isn't just a women thing," DiFranco said during her set. "Every decent man and woman I know should consider themselves feminists."

Margaret Cho was the first to perform with her trademark, no-holding-back comedic style. The message of this, her "State of Emergency" tour, was loud, political, honest and refreshing. She drifted pointedly from specifics such as Cat Stevens (singing his "Moonshadow" with the lyrics, "I'm being followed by an air marshal, air marshal, air marshal ...") to her more general feelings on intolerance and equality. "Equality is an absolute," she screamed into the microphone, "you can't get it in degrees."

After a slide show on the history of suffrage, DiFranco began her set. She didn't overburden her audience with partisan politics, only urged them to engage in political thought.

Using the funky rhythms, unique vocals and provocative lyrics that put her on the musical map, she delivered her message in a more subtle way. Her mix of music and poetry spoke of equality and empowerment, the cornerstones of her "Vote Dammit" tour.

DiFranco and Cho together were definitely a pleasure for East Lansing. Both are icons of strength and beauty, and their political activism is a vital tool for motivating voters in this election season.

And, as DiFranco said, "Every tool is a weapon if you hold it right."