Photo of Violent Femmes by Laura Jerele
Okay so. I went to cover the Violent Femmes at The Factory in Chesterfield Valley and holy cow, what a night. Sold out. Packed. And by packed, I mean the place was packed with a whole sea of Gen Xers who all clearly had the same thought: “I’m gonna act 19 again, take some ibuprofen and just deal with it tomorrow.”
Real talk, I feel like this wasn’t a show you watch. This was one for the music and dancing, one to get lost with singing your heart out and feeling free again. The Femmes are just made for that. Unless you were up close to the stage, you were mostly missing the little visual stuff, the looks, the tiny quirks, the band being their weird selves. But nobody seemed to care, because everyone was too busy dancing. Like, actually dancing that leads to the obligatory “I definitely pulled something” dancing.
This might make you feel old, but the Femmes are celebrating 45 years (FORTY-FIVE, y’all) and they played all the good stuff. “Blister in the Sun”? Yep. “Gone Daddy Gone”? Oh, you bet. “American Music”? The set ender! All the goofy little yelps and quirks that make those songs such unique songs were right there, totally intact, and the crowd seemed to know every single one.
So, was this a big ole’ nostalgia trip? Absolutely. Do I care? Not even a little. Gen X has been through a LOT, and if we want to spend a Saturday night shouting along to the bands we grew up with, sounding this good, then we’ve earned it. Period.
10/10. Would pull a hamstring again. Not that I did…but you get what I’m sayin’. | Laura Jerele
Setlist:
Confessions
I’m Nothing
Prove My Love
Promise
Country Death Song
Waiting for the Bus
Blister in the Sun
Kiss Off
Please Do Not Go
Jesus Walking on the Water
Good Feeling
Old Mother Reagan
No Killing
I Held Her in My Arms
Faith
Children of the Revolution
Color Me Once
Black Girls
Gone Daddy Gone
Add It Up
Don’t Fence Me In
American Music
