| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AMERICAN MUSIC - June 4, 2003 * * * THE VIOLENT FEMMES Email List * * * * * * * * * * List archive online at http://www.oocities.org/violentfemmeslist ************************************************************************* TOUR DATES (*=New Dates) Friday 6/6/03 Chicago IL Halsted YMCA Thursday 7/3/03 Nashville TN Dancin' in the District Saturday 7/5/03 Memphis TN Mud Island Amphitheater *Friday 7/11/03 Norfolk VA The Boathouse Saturday 8/23/03 Del Mar CA Thoroughbred Club *************************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE: PRESALE Ticket Info for Norfolk VA - THE BOATHOUSE RE: Chicago RE: Video Compilation Reopen VF at St James Review **************************************************************************** Violent Femmes: Norfolk Presale 6/6/2003 PRESALE tickets for the Boathouse in Norfolk, VA go on sale at 10am FRIDAY! You have the chance to buy tickets before the public on-sale. Tickets are $18.50. http://getaccess.cc.com/OfferDetail.asp?ContentId=27679 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE:Chicago? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>do u know how long they are playing for on the 6th in Chicago? The Chicagoland Pontiac Dealers & Pepsi present the Q101 Block Party! Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th at the New City YMCA (1515 N. Halsted at the intersection of Halsted & Clybourn.) Tickets are only $12 in advance! (day of the shows they go to $20 at the gate!) Performing on the Bud Light Music Stage: -Friday: The Violent Femmes, with The Flaming Lips, Ben Kweller & the Starlight Mints. Gates open at 4:30pm each day. Curfew at 11pm. The Q101 Block Party will benefit the New City YMCA and the Matt White Cure ALS Foundation. Rain or shine, bring your blankets for the grass. No coolers allowed. Great food and TONS of cold beer and drinks will be available. Listen up Midwest - Summerfest is booked and I don't see VF. This IS the big gig. Eric wisconsinsane13@hotmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: VF Comp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VF comp I have something to contribute but there is a a slight problem. I have an original copy of "No, Let's Start Over" only it's PAL format and I have no way of converting it. Does anybody have any idea how I can get it converted to US format? Kathryn kittricken@yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VF at St James ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Violent Femmes at the St James 06.05.2003 By GRAHAM REID Even without being cajoled or browbeaten by anthems and flag waving, we are loyal in this country. How else to explain our ongoing affection for Ben Harper - who has toured so often he might as well be a resident - and the Violent Femmes? Few in the large and enthusiastic audience at the St James on Sunday could probably name the Femmes' last album (it was Freak Magnet of three years ago) but we love their acoustic -driven sing-along songs which, in the case of Blister in Sun and Gone Daddy Gone, now date from two decades ago. So there we were with our hands in the air and, on a Rod Stewart kind of night, singing their songs back to them. It was hard not to: "Let me go on, like a blister in the sun ... " After a confident set from Goldenhorse which lacked only in projection, then some cool Perry Como to set the mood, the Wisconsin three-piece came on to huge applause and, in my area anyway, a Mt Etna-sized blast of sweet smoke. This was an audience out to enjoy itself - and the Femmes didn't disappoint in a smoothly honed show which touched all the right points, allowed for a couple of slow songs around the midpoint so people could get a drink, and finished off with a tidy, 10-minute encore. Their concessions to age appear to be shorter hair, drummer Victor DeLorenzo's bald spot "and two of them now wear glasses", as a very smiley guy near me observed. But their best songs remain timeless. The appeal of the music is its simplicity. At times it has an almost country and western flavour, at others hard- wired folk or punk-pop. And Please Do Not Go has a light reggae shuffle. It's the kind of music you feel you not only can sing but could probably play. There's also a dark quality to the lyrics (Country Death Song) which appeals to us. In many ways it was a show without surprises, except when they brought on a four-piece horn section (Horns of Dilemma) and I commented that you could imagine the Mutton Birds playing this particular song. When they introduced the Horns the Birds' Don McGlashan took a bow. And for a ripping Gone Daddy Gone Brian Ritchie took the vibes and let another (former) Kiwi, Bones Hillman of Midnight Oil, take over on bass. With catchy songs, singer Gordon Gano's appealingly petulant whine and stand-up drummer DeLorenzo dancing around his kit, it was a night that lived up to expectation. You suspect if they came back in 10 years for another tour (their sixth?) we'd still come out in droves. We are loyal. Keep it that way. ******************************************************************* To POST, SUBSCRIBE, or UNSUBSCRIBE send any kind of an email to: violentfemmeslist@yahoo.com or violentfemmeslist@ameritech.net ******************************************************************* |