Gen X fans celebrate the trip down memory lane with The Violent Femmes at College Street Music Hall.
The first time I heard The Violent Femmes was when I was sitting in my freshman dorm in 1986 at the University of Maine. “Blister In The Sun” was playing on the Dr. Demento radio show, a national syndicated program for the weird and unusual. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and thought it was some sort of bizarre radio skit or commercial. It couldn’t possibly be a real band or serious musical artist. It was obscene and disturbing and wonderfully different than anything else I’d ever heard.
At that point, The Violent Femmes self-titled debut album (1983) and their sophomore album Hallowed Ground (1984) were still making the rounds on the college radio circuit – and the angry college youths ate it up.
Three years later in April of 1989, as a junior and working as my college radio station Promotions Manager, I found myself backstage after a beer soaked and feverish Violent Femmes show at the UMaine fieldhouse gymnasium – known as "the pit". (See this old article I dug up.) I got past the mosh pit, some fistfights and campus security with a questionable radio station ID and a tape recorder and managed to get a couple of words with Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie, including a classic radio station promo from Gano that went something like this: "Hi! This is Gordon Gano of The Violent Femmes! And you're listening to WMEB 91.9, radio free Orono!" WMEB is still probably playing it. You're welcome.
Fast forward 35 years and I'm standing ten people deep stage side at a sold out Violent Femmes show at New Haven Connecticut's College Street Music Hall on August 18, 2024. The mosh pit is gone, and the beer has been replaced by gin and tonics, but the vibe is the same – albeit everyone is old. Including Gano and Ritchie. I waved to them, but they didn't recognize me. I guess I got old too. But they can still rock!
The Violent Femmes have been on a Hallowed Ground vinyl reissue tour (40th anniversary) since May 2024, where they've been playing their first two albums in their entirety. A clever, maybe even obvious, marketing move considering their most popular music comes from those two albums. But nobody would accuse the Femmes of being commercially-motivated. Their entire cult following is based on the idea that these guys are above simple commercialism and are true folk-punk artists whose only love and motivation is for the art of the music. But hey, you can't blame some guys for wanting to make a buck.
For those true Femmes fans who braved two venue changes – including the second change only hours before showtime because of adverse weather conditions – it was worth every dime.
For this Femmes fan, my expectations were tempered and simply didn't want to see any aging rockers embarrass themselves, or worse – mail in a performance for some fanatical aging fans. Not only was I was completely wrong in what we might get from the band, I was completely wrong in what I expected from the crowd demographics. Yeah, my Gen X (44-59) compatriots were there, reliving their youth – but so were the Millennials (28-43) and, God help us, Gen Z-ers (under 27)! And everyone was a Femmes fanatic. No casual listeners here.
Apparently the music of The Violent Femmes has transcended multiple generations, a testament to the creative and alluring weirdness of their music. For me, it’s a statement to the artistry and longevity for creating unique music and lyrics that connect with listeners, no matter what age.
The original lineup of the Femmes – Gordon Gano (vocals, guitar), Brian Ritchie (bass), and Victor DeLorenzo (percussion) – was always about a unique musical experience. From Gano's unique vocal style and song lyrics, to Ritchie's fierce bass playing, to DeLorenzo's minimalistic drum kit – The Violent Femmes was about complementary songwriting that never got caught up in just making some sort of linear pop song. While DeLorenzo is no longer part of the band, the current lineup of Gano and Ritchie, with drummer John Sparrow and multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza, continues to re-create that unique sound.
The show at College Street was a fantastic experience, performed by professional musicians and real showmen. Gano has lost his youthful choir boy look (haven't we all), but hasn't lost a vocal step, and showed off his musicianship well as he switched between guitar, banjo and the violin all night. Not to be outdone, Ritchie jumped between his gigantic acoustic blue bass, to his f-hole cut electric bass, to the xylophone on "Gone Daddy Gone." He even broke out a conch shell at one point. Drummer Sparrow showcased his percussion skills and cranked out unbelievable sound from a minimal amount of gear, which included a briquette barbecue. And multi-instrumentalist Blaise Garza hopped around from keys to horns to a 8-foot saxophone.
Additional kudos to the professional tech team, road and venue crew, who must have performed some sort of code red operation to transition this show from the Westville Music Bowl to the College Street Music Hall in just a few hours. The lights, sounds, merchandise, ticketing, concessions and overall concert experience was top notch.
The Femmes played every song, in order, first from Hallowed Ground, and then their self-titled debut album. The crowd was enthusiastic through the first set (Hallowed Ground) especially on "Country Death Song" and "It's Gonna Rain", but completely lost their minds in the second set which got kicked off by "Blister In The Sun", "Kiss Off", and "Add It Up".
It's an interesting approach to perform a concert by playing albums in their entirely, in sequential song order (and not just playing the hits). After 40 years of listening to their debut album, first on vinyl, then on cassette, then on CD, and now on Apple music – the segway between songs becomes part of the experience.
For many Gen X-ers, the music of The Violent Femmes, especially these albums from 1983 and 1984, are just part of the soundtrack of our youth. But it's inspiring to see that their music has carried over to younger generations, people who recognize creative artistry and unique weirdness and want to be part of something different. Or – perhaps they just have cool Gen X parents.