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Violent Femmes Rock Greensboro
By Bunnia, 10 September 2006, Special to Deaconlight.com
Photos by Avalon
Copyright © Deaconlight.com. You may reproduce this feature story at no charge provided you note the author as Bunnia and Deaconlight.com as the source.
 There's nothing I love better than live music under a full moon and the stars! The Get Down! Town festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, was a hit! Natty Greene's main stage was set up in front of a railroad bridge that had trains crossing it every hour. The banner that hung on the stage said: A TASTE OF THE SOUTH. What a scene! The weather was perfect and the crowd was happy and friendly and ready for some music!
My brother and I managed to find a spot on the front row and checked out some of the bands. It was obvious that the crowd was there to see Violent Femmes and there was a lot of excitement in the air and talk about them. There were also a lot of questions directed at me about VF and what were all the microphones for. I explained to some of the young people (I'm 36) around me that the extra mics were for the Horns of Dilemma who are musicians and special guests who play with VF at each show. There were many fans there who would experience their very first VF show. Most only knew "B.I.T.S." and had just purchased Permanent Record. I really enjoyed talking with them because I LOVE talking about Violent Femmes. I think I even talked my younger brother's ear off on the way to the festival. He's heard VF's music before when I use to play it at home long ago.
After the third train passed by at 10:30 the Violent Femmes took the stage smiling! People were screaming and going crazy. Brian Ritchie winked and waved at me and I almost passed out!!!!!!! When they cranked up their instruments it was so POWERFUL!!!! The very first song was "Mother of a Girl" and I just could not believe it! Oh man! I was dancing so hard.
 There's no doubt that when I hear bass there's a certain kind of vibe that comes over me and I follow that sound for the whole concert. Last night it was BR's bass, and it filled the air with a SONIC BOOM. He plays bass like no other bass-player. I don't know much about notes and all that, but his style is very melodic and it's like his bass has twelve strings instead of four. Ha! Ha! - - maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but he was all over that bass!! My brother, who is a huge fan of hip-hop, even said the bass was the best part of the show. He also said Violent Femmes were good and he enjoyed his first show.
My, my, my....Gordon [Gano] was in a great mood!!! He really rocked it out, ya'll! I have my moments when I focus on one artist playing and the times I looked at Gordon he was really jammin'.  I mean he really played the guitar solos with an extra punch last night! WOW! He hit some bluesy notes and even made his guitar SCREAM. My favorite is when they played "Please Do Not Go" and was skankin' (a guitar lick - - a word used in Reggae). At that moment, another train was crossing and they went right into "Stop That Train I'm Leaving" by late Reggae artists Peter Tosh/Bob Marley and The Wailers. OH MY GOD - - THAT MADE MY NIGHT!!!!! Then Gordon says, "I can't do reggae." Little did he know that he actually sounded VERY good! I heard one of the best performances of "Good Feeling" than I've ever heard before. Truly Gordon and violin go so well together. I had to get a picture of that - - it's so touching. BR's bass lines too! The crowd loved it all and everybody was rockin'. Gordon thanked Greensboro for inviting them to play here at the festival and he kept saying, "Thank you, thank you....and just....thank you."
Victor [De Lorenzo] was a treat for the whole crowd! He kept coming up to the front joking around and that was so cool! He beat the heck outta those drums and did another amazing solo on "Black Girls." He is such a prize! He and John [Sparrow] on Cajon did some great works together. John's solos were amazing and everyone was talking about the sticker on it that says: DRUM MACHINES HAVE NO SOUL. And then along comes Dr. Eugene Chadbourne with his little metal electric rake beside Victor and started scraping it on his drum and on the floor. That was a blast and I was so THRILLED to finally see Dr. Chadbourne live and direct. His guitar and banjo playing were magnificent and fit right in with VF's music! It was great and I enjoyed that part of the show. I hope my pictures come out good.
I forgot the names of the other special guest who sat in with HOD [Horns of Dilemma] but two of them were from North Carolina. One played slide whistle and the washboard on a little bluegrass number and the other played trumpet. Also, soundman Jeff [Hamilton] played mandolin and trumpet. I enjoy hearing the sound of the mandolin. This is another instrument I really appreciate. He did a superb job on mandolin as well as bass and guitar.
Songs played (not in this order):
- Mother of a Girl
- Hey Nonny Nonny
- Hallowed Ground
- Prove My Love
- Country Death Song
- B.I.T.S.
- Black Girls
- Freak Magnet
- Color Me Once
- Gimme The Car
- Kiss Off
- American Music
- Add It Up
- Out The Window
- Promise
- Gone Daddy Gone
- Jesus Walking on the Water
- 36-24-36
- Please Do Not Go
- Good Feeling
- Mirror Mirror
- (I may have forgotten a few.)
All in all, this was a VERY special night for me and I had a great time. It was a blast! I had so much fun and I enjoyed the music! There were so many songs I wanted to hear. If I could make a trade for some of the songs I would trade "Freak Magnet" for "Confessions," and "B.I.T.S." for "Dating Days." I was a lil' disappointed I didn't get to hear "To The Kill," "Never Tell," "Sweet Misery Blues," "Breakin' Up," "Don't Start Me on the Liquor," "Confessions," "Lies," "America Is," "I Hear the Rain," "Special," and especially "In the Dark" and "All I Want," and more songs from 3. Some of these songs go way back to my early VF days in the late 80s and some are ones I heard the first time I ever saw them live in concert in 1991.
At the same time, I feel so joyful that they came to Greensboro and it was a free show and I got to hear "Color Me Once" live for the first time and "Mirror Mirror." Truly I will never forget last night because they played one of my favorite songs - - "PROMISE" - - and this is a special song that reminds me so much of the first time I saw VF, and the song has a special meaning for me. Also, I am happy because I got to hear "Hallowed Ground" and "Mother of a Girl." This amazing and awesome show proves why Violent Femmes are one of my favorite rock bands ever (there are only three rock groups that I like anyway) and why I think they always put on the best live shows ever!
After the encore, I knew that it was time for VF to go. I got one of BR's guitar picks that has his name on it and VIOLENT FEMMES on the other side. I'll never forget that moment when they all said goodbye. Gordon was that last to leave the stage and he threw out his guitar pick, or rather he gave it, to a fan. He kept waving and then he waved at me, who happened to be in a daze-like state thinking - - WOW! what a night! I was not really focusing so he looked me straight in the eye, smiling, and said "bye" again to make sure I was paying attention! I smiled and said "bye" in return. I almost floated away.
Violent Femmes Review By Bunnia, 10 September 2006
Special to Deaconlight.com
Photos by Dino Cooper
Copyright © Deaconlight.com. You may reproduce this feature story at no charge provided you note the author as Bunnia and Deaconlight.com as the source.
This page was updated July 24, 2008.
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