| * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AMERICAN MUSIC - May 20, 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 Solo Dates: Gordon Gano Thursday 5/22/03 New York Bowery Ballroom They Might Be Giants (Gordon is slated as a "special guest") see more info below! Victor Delorenzo: Sunday 5/25 Milwaukee - Linnemans (Ash Can School) Friday 5/31 Milwaukee - Linnemans (Ash Can School) *************************************************************************** IN THIS ISSUE: Ticket Info for upcoming shows Gordon Solo in NYC 5/22/03 Nashville Caravan??? Australian Tour Review Auckland Review Selling Out Femmes in Brisbane The Sunday Mail QLD **************************************************************************** Ticket Info: Friday 6/6 Flaming Lips, Violent Femmes, Ben Kweller & The Starlight Mints New City YMCA 1515 N. Halsted Chicago, IL 60622 Tickets on sale 5/3 $12 / $20 Day of Show Gates: 4:30PM www.tickets.com Thursday 7/3 Dancin' in the District with the Violent Femmes Nashville Coliseum Field (located between the Coliseum & the Cumberland River) Tickets are ONLY $3.00!!! Available at the show or online! http://www.dancininthedistrict.com Saturday 7/5 Mud Island Amphitheater www.mudisland.com (no ticket info yet) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Violent Giants and They Might Be Femmes! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TMBG is pleased to announce that Frank Black, Kimya Dawson, Gordon Gano, Syd Straw and M. Doughty will be among the special guests joining They Might Be Giants on stage May 22nd at the Bowery Ballroom. www.boweryballroom.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nashville Caravan??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am very excited about the VF show in Nashville---It's 3 days before my 21st birthday and it's going to be a great present! Me and a bunch of people are going to rent a van and drive up from columbia, SC for the show---I'm just pissed i can't make it to the Chicago show---I'm a huge Flamming Lip fan also---did anyone see the Beck with Flamming Lips on Austin city limits? It rocked! I think the ideal show which i would gladly fly anywere in the world to see is beck with the flamming lips and of corse---THE VIOLENT FEMMES! Well if anyone in the Columbia area wants to go to the Nashville show let me know---I'd love to meet some more VF fans in the area--- Renee' Krenee7600@aol.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Australian Tour Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ well, since i went to 6 of their shows this tour, i thought it would be only fair to write a bit about it. firstly, i am a huge fan (been so for around 7 years) and have only had the pleasure to see them once before, so i was ecstatic when i found out that they were coming to oz, and hence bought heaps of tickets to different shows. ill start off by trying to answer a couple of questions people had, and then if you want you can skip the rest of the message about the gigs. when i talked to brian ritchie one time, i did ask whether they plan to record any new material now that victor was back. he told me no because "gordon doesn't write songs anymore". quite blunt. so i guess there's the answer to that one. i also asked him whether they would play 'in style', and he told me that they hadn't practiced it but he wouldn't rub it out. i never heard it at the shows i went to, but maybe they did at some others. and as someone else has already answered, no post-victor material was played. i was pleased to say that all the reviews of their shows on this mailing list were correct - victor certainly brought some spark back to the trio. it was amazing. i wont bore everyone with minute details about each gig, so i'll just say that they were all awesome (as you would probably have guessed anyway). one thing that was great was that for all the shows i went to, not one joke or small-talk-comment was the same. every show was different. but it was obvious as to what material they wanted to play. even though they didn't play off a set list, the majority of songs played were from the first few albums. they were (in no particular order): look like that, blister in the sun, color me once, kiss off, american music, add it up, confessions, promise, prove my love, country death song, good feeling, black girls, jesus walking on the water, gone daddy gone, gimme the car, i hear the rain, out the window, breakin up and i held her in my arms. in saying this, there were songs that were played at only a few shows. they were: out the window, never tell, hallowed ground, waiting for the bus, nightmares, fat, mother of a girl, please do not go, to the kill (after much requesting from a few friends and myself) and girl trouble (which was done with gordon handing over his guitar to the back-up band's guitarist while he walked around to the audience singing the song). on the good friday and easter sunday gig, before playing jesus... , gordon would introduce it by playing some gospel material, which really set the mood for it. one other thing i wanted to comment on was the niceness of the lads. i had heard that if you ran into them, they weren't up themselves or rude or anything like that. definately true. after the first night, they recognised us and we managed to talk to them pretty much after every show. trying not to brag, but got heaps of photos with them and stuff signed. just saying this so whenever you get to see them, remember to bring a cd cover and marker and they will gladly sign it for you. well, that's about it for my ramble. thanks for reading if you did, and if you didn't, i don't blame you. jaan jaanus83@hotmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Auckland Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I finally going around to writing about the Femmes Auckland show on the 4th of may: this was the last show in NZ (they'd played in two other cities before Auckland) and my first time seing them. I was pretty hyped but worried that they wouldnt live up to my expectations, but they were better than i expected! They played (in no particalar order) Look like that kiss off blister in the sun add it up gimmie the car I hear the rain jesus walking on the water black girls good feeling colour me once prove my love please do not go promise gone daddy gone country death song american music i held her in my arms oncore: waiting for the bus kiss off (i think) black girls was weird. instead of victor's usual drum solo, he broke into song! he was still drummig quietly away, but singing! the others walked off stage for a while. i didnt recognise the song, but it was very surreal. on gone daddy gone they bought in a guy from midnight oil ( dont remember who, but he apparently is a NZer) on bass (he didnt compare to brian). They also had a New Zealander and a guy from Tasmainia in the HOD It seemed to me that they were really playing up their country influences (they played country music before they came on, and of couse country death song) and the Christain stuff as well (They made it very obvious in jesus walking on the water and the various other references in other songs. right after jesus wotw, they played gimmie the car just to confuse people even more) i dont think some of the nostelic people in the audience knew what hit 'em! brain brought out his conch shell and harmonica at verious times as well as his japanese flute. gordon played electic thoughout and brian changed to electric bass about half way though. victor played on just a snare, a cymbol, and his tranceaphone (which he removed the bucket off near the end and played on the floor tom) he jumped around like a maniac, which contrasted to the other two's more sedate behaviour, but they all looked like they were having fun. the only bad things about the show was that they didnt play any newer stuff (but nobody would have known it anyway, the femmes are sadly neglected down here) and thet they didnt talk much (but i think thats normal) anybody else who was there or at other nz shows) send in details that ive missed, im sure to have missed some noteworthy happenings. Kelvin figment@another-world.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Selling Out ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Someone better tell Gordon et al....that the backlash for selling out is stronger now than at any other point. This is the generation/age when we have Fugazi and dischord and independent bands galore....even with huge music monopolies everywhere we turn. I saw a commercial with the Ramones "Blitzkreig Bop" selling cell phones.....just a around a year after Joey's death. Other they "Heh Ho...Let's Go!" what is that song about? Isn't it about the death of young people in war and the madness that surrounds going to war? The fact that there could be someone (another band member? child or relation of Joey's?) that would sell that song out casts a dark black cloud over all that the Ramones have EVER done. I am saying this as a dedicated Ramones fan.....I have had spiritual experiences at Ramones' shows and listening to their records.......now I am in doubt. Hear this! Those of us who love the Femmes, who have had spiritual experiences with their recorded music, have traveled far and wide to see them play, and held them in high esteem will care a whole lot less than even Deanna is seeing now, if commercialism runs rampant in the VF camp. Go ahead then and sell something to some multi-national....use a meaningful song too....meaningful to someone like me......I am at the end of my sell-out rope. Jesse jesse@bastardrecords.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Femmes in Brisbane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I saw the Femmes in Brisbane last weekend (17 May) and they totally rocked. They played all their old stuff, but not Gimme the Car as I read they played in Canberra. It was great to see a wide range of ages there, and even a few who would have seen them on their first Aussie tour in 1984 like me! But I was wonderfing if people knew why Gordon was using a walking stick. I was unaware he needed one. Thanks. Sarah sarahjrolfe@hotmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Sunday Mail QLD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VIOLENT Femmes, the thinking person's punk band, have been embraced with a rare passion on their current tour here. Their six recent sold-out shows at Sydney's Metro club have set a new record for a touring international act. All up, the Femmes performed a total of 32 shows in Australia and New Zealand, which included an unforgettable performance before 12,000 very vocal fans at the East Coast Blues and Roots Music Festival in Byron Bay at Easter. Although they were most recently in Oz for a Victorian festival in 1999, this is their first national swing in more than a decade. Don't stay away so long next time will you lads. Ritchie Yorke http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au ******************************************************************* To POST, SUBSCRIBE, or UNSUBSCRIBE send any kind of an email to: violentfemmeslist@yahoo.com or violentfemmeslist@ameritech.net ******************************************************************* |