03-10-00

Best viewed with COURIER NEW size 10
maximized screen

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The Quote Of The Day:

Hi daddy hey daddy hi daddy ho
Hey daddy hi daddy no one will know
-From In the Dark

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TOUR DATES (NEW TOUR DATES MARKED WITH **):

Mar 10- 7:30 p.m., Olympia, Dublin, IRL, 17.50-18.50 (P,O,T-IRL)
Mar 12- Corn Exchange, Cambridge, ENG (P,O)
Mar 13- 7 p.m., Hammersmith Palais, London, ENG, 14.50 (P,O,T-UK)
Mar 14- Elysee Montmartre, Paris, FRA (P,O)
Mar 15- Ancienne Bengique, Brussels, BEL (P,O)
Mar 18- Planet Music, Vienna, AUSTRIA (P,O)
Mar 20- Babylon, Munich, GER (P,O)
Mar 21- Longhorn, Stuttgart, GER (P,O)
Mar 22- Hugenottenhalle, Neu-Isenburg, GER (P,O)
Mar 23- Hirsch, Nuremburg, GER (P,O)
Mar 24- Kesselhaus, Berlin, GER (P,O)
Mar 26- Live Music Hall, Cologne, GER (P,O)
Mar 27- PC 69, Bielefeld, GER (P,O)
Mar 29- Train, Aarhus, DEN (P,O)
Mar 31- Rockefeller, Oslo, NOR (P,O)
Apr 1- AAS University, NOR (cooking vinyl)
Apr 2- Karen, Gothenburg, SWE (P,O)
Apr 3- KD, Malmo, SWE (P,O)
Apr 6- Manchester University, ENG (P,O)
Apr 7- Garage, Glasgow, SCOT (P,O)
Apr 15- Avalon, Boston, MA (P)
Apr 16- 7:30 p.m., Lupos, Providence, RI (P,T)
http://www.lupos.com
doors open at 8 p.m., $17.50 advance/ $20 day of show
Apr 17- 7:30 p.m., 9:30 Club, Washington DC, $25 (P,T)
Apr 18- 9:30 Club, Washington DC (P)
Apr 20- Warehouse, Toronto, ON, CAN (P)
Apr 21- 7:30 p.m., State Theatre, Detroit, MI, $24.25 (P,T)
Apr 22- 7:30 p.m., Riviera Theatre, Chicago IL, $20 (P,T)
Apr 24- Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis MN (P)
Apr 25- Bemidji St. University, Bemidji MN (P)
Apr 27- Investors Gym, Winnipeg, MB, CAN (P)
Apr 28- Centennial Auditorium, Saskatoon, SK, CAN (P)
Apr 29- MacEwan Hall, Calgary, AB, CAN (P)
Apr 30- Wild Bill’s, Banff, AB, CAN (P)
May 2- Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, AB, CAN (P)

**May 5- Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA (P)**
**May 6- Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA (P)**
**May 7- Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR (P)**

May 10- 8 p.m., Wilshire Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (T)
Oct 25-7 p.m., Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, NY (T)

NOTA BENE: ‘O’ stands for the Official homepage
‘P’ stands for Pollstar
‘T’ stands for Ticketmaster
‘I’ stands for Insider Info
All other references are subscribers

To book a show:
in the US, contact Frank Riley at Monterey Peninsula Artists
in EU, contact Paul Boswell at Free Trade Agency
Serious inquiries only.

************************************************************************

WHO/WHERE
Going to a VF concert? Want to know if anyone
else on the list also going? Check here first!

Cambridge, ENG
————–
J.M.R.Smith (Jez)

London, ENG
———–
rei (Reilly)

Boston, MA
———–
U_E4Smith (Emily)
welborn (James)
Nevertell6 (Ron, our second favorite bassman)

Providence, RI
————–
U_E4Smith (Emily)
welborn (James)
Nevertell6 (Ron)

New York, NY
————
RatFink746 (Frank)

************************************************************************
WEB PAGES:

Official: http://www.vfemmes.com

Unofficial: http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/bluenote/936/
http://www.bigfoot.com/~planetblue
http://www.geocities.com/kittricken/
http://geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Show/6806/
http://www.violentfemmes.net
http://www.homestead.com/lucylittleland/vf.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/campus/bates/377/

Yahoo Chat: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/newtimesviolentfemmesclub

Message Board:
http://www.insidetheweb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb870757&TL=

Past Tour Dates:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes/femmes.html

Guitar: http://www.smug.adelaide.edu.au/~therapy/femmes/
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/VFemmes

Glenn Gano’s Page: http://www.alaska.net/~ggano

Charm Records: http://www.charmrec.com

Victor DeLorenzo’s Page: http://victordelorenzo.com

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ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO
AMUSIC
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In Today’s Issue:

Hammersmith
FM not in WI
FM not in WI
SLAMM Review of Freak Magnet
Pat’s Short and Humble Review of Freak Magnet
PA, NJ?
Videos Online
Apologies of a Sort

I got kicked off Epix somewhere in the middle of sending this issue,
which froze up my computer.
As a result, some of you will be receiving two copies, since I wasn’t
watching the progress of the send. Many apologies.

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Hammersmith
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Going to the Hammersmith show on the 12th:
I’m from Boston, but over here for three months..how perfect
that I get to see the Femmes during my stay (this will make my 9th show)

Reilly Dempsey
rei

-Pat. Says: We hope to see concert reviews and experiences in upcoming
issues of AM.

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FM not in WI
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hey there!
so, i was just wondering..
Is Freak Magnet now finally out everywhere in the US?? Is it finally
available in all local record stores, etc??
Because I’ve have not heard of ANYONE buying it here in Wisconsin, and
it sure is not advertised here at all
let me know please

THANKS
Amber
Smashkin

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FM not in WI
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OK, so did Freak Magnet come out in the US or not?
Because yesterday I was all excited and I ditched school early to race
out to my favorite cd store — hoping that i would still be able to
make it on time to work. When I got there, I ran straight to the V
section and, lo and behold — no Freak Magnet. I asked the guy behind
the counter, but he seemed extremely comatose and really couldn’t give
me a coherent answer.
*sigh*
only in Milwaukee would the music people not know about the Femmes’
new album. needless to say, I didn’t get my greedy little paws on a
copy… is it out there and i just had bad luck or did something
happen (again)???

rob=)
rob_coons

-Pat. Says: Freak Magnet was indeed released Tuesday. I got my copy
on Monday, because the owner knows me and my musical
desires. Rob, you should find a new favorite cd store.

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SLAMM Review of Freak Magnet
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Violent Femmes
Freak Magnet
(Beyond)

Though they never did quite earn the title of “quintessential rock
heroes” in the ideal sense, the Violent Femmes’ simplistic, off-kilter
sentiments won over legions of teens back in the ’80s. Their fans were
antsy high-school kids looking for a bit of relief from fashion-minded
bands like Flock of Seagulls which were, at the time, all the rage.
Freak Magnet proves two things: not much has changed; and comebacks
can be a good thing.

As was true 20 years ago, the Femmes’ music may not score well with
newcomers, who may be too quick to dismiss their perverse,
beer-guzzling masturbation banter as nothing more than that. But
present on this new record, for the fine-tuned ear, is the same
cutting wit and dry melodocism that made “Blister in the Sun” and
“Gone Daddy Gone” early alt-rock classics.

“Hollywood is High” opens the album, and might initially scare off
potential fans. It’s an unlikely Femmes product — a patriotic and
satirical ode to Hollywood that melodically imitates “This Land Is
Your Land” — and could prompt an immediate attraction to the
forward button. The title track introduces the Femmes in true form:
“Some magnets attract/Some magnets repel/Some magnets say, ‘Hey, hey,
what the hell’. . ./Seems like I’m a freak magnet/Calling all the
freaks from the freak planet.” Ludicrous, yes — but
characteristically Femmes.

“Mosh Pit” finds them in alter-ego mode: as young, good-for-nothing
punks relishing in the fuel of the mosh-pit. It’s latently sarcastic
and an irresistible laugh-along. Even the rhythm and melody move in
Pennywise fashion. Picture Gordon Gano viciously chanting, “Mosh pit!
Mosh pit!/Squash It! Squash It!/Eat shit! Eat Shit!”

The remainder of the tracks are characteristically self-deprecating
and nonsensical (“Happiness Is,” “I’m Bad”). Some go hand in hand with
all the Femmes’ past heartbreak anthems — the obsessive, why-doesn’t-
she-look-my-way croons that sealed their sound; others take the form
of church hymns, complete with flutes, tambourines, and repetitive
harmonies ( “Rejoice and Be Happy,” “Forbidden”) that, lyrically, are
the opposite of virtuous and holy. As always, the material on Freak
Magnet makes you wonder whether to take the Violent Femmes seriously.
But Lord knows you’ll absolutely hate them if you do.

Freak Magnet is everything you can expect from the Femmes —
originality, character, comedy, and sarcasm. While it may not
overshadow the group’s past triumphs, it stands proudly with the large
body of work by one of modern rock’s mainstays.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pat’s Short and Humble Review of Freak Magnet
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So, what do you all think of the album?
I love In the Dark, and think for a change they should spend a few
hundred thousand dollars and make a phenomenal video of that song.
I also like the remake of I Danced;it is better IMHO than the original,
and a better remake than that of I Wanna See You Again, which was on
the Interscope promo.
Particularly missed on this incarnation of Freak Magnet is Yes oh Yes
and Positively 4th St. I hope those songs will appear on the NEXT
album. I’m glad they removed I’m Nothing. Already being on a previous
world-wide release I thought it a bit redundant, even if it is a good
song.
Oh, and I’m sorry, but I think Happiness Is…kind of weak lyrically.
Not all of it, just that bit about the chocolate turtles.
All in all, a very nice album. Buy it if you haven’t already….
and pester the radio stations to play songs off it. Have your friends
do the same.

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PA, NJ?
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any chance that the violent femmes will be playing Philadelphia Pa or
Camden??

KCFroogie

-Pat. Says: I’m sure they will be working their way back to the east
coast this year. As soon as I find anything, I’ll let you
all know.

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Videos Online
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Launch.com you can find the entire videos for “Machine” and
“Breakin’ Up”. There was another one on there last week but I think
they had problems with it messing up. Also, who do I talk to so I can
get that VF collection tape with all the videos. Thanks. Take it
easy.

Jon
RPG9000

-Pat. Says: Somewhere in the wreckage of my old computer, which may
soon be set up outside for target practice, is the list
of distributers. I will try to salvage that. Would the
people who have distribution copies please write me?
BTW, a couple of other people asked to be distributers, I
will contact you as soon as I find your email addresses
again.

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Apologies of a Sort
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Wanda did not want to start a war with Otherwise peaceful and happy
people!

She will admit Scandinavians are typically about as happy with American
food as Americans are with Scandinavian food!

Tell me, if Wanda was not in Sweden then how does she know the
McDonalds have signs that say ‘InFart’ and ‘OutFart’?

Hmmm?

And for those of you who sadly missed Vigeland Statue Park, this is
where the Oslo natives bring their small children to eat their brown
cheese.

Hexdata

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