01-30-98

AMERICAN MUSIC: THE VIOLENT FEMMES MAILING LIST currently run by Pat. Wary ************************************************************************* TOUR DATES: (NEW DATES MARKED WITH A **) Jan. 31-Walla Walla Armory, Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA (O,P) Feb. 1-8 p.m. Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA, $19.50 (T,P,O) Feb. 2-7:30 p.m. LaLuna, Portland, OR, $18.50 (T,P,O) Feb. 4-The Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, CA (O,P) Feb. 5-SAME AS ABOVE, OPTIONAL DATE (O) Feb. 7-Egan Civic & Convention Center,Anchorage,Alaska (O,P) Feb. 8-same as above (O,P) Feb. 27-First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN (T,O) THIS IS A 21 AND OVER SHOW ONLY Feb. 28-Duluth Convention Center, Duluth, MN (O) Mar. 1-Wayne State College, Wayne, NE (O) TENTATIVE DATES: Mar. 3-Marzz, Raleigh, NC (O) Mar. 4-Bohagers, Baltimore, MD (O) Mar. 5-Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA (O) Mar. 6-Nightclub 9:30, Washington, DC (O) Mar. 27 or 28-N. Michigan U., Marquette, MI (O) 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, contact Monterey Peninsula Artists. Serious inquiries only. ************************************************************************ The Quote Of The Day: My body has been punished with too much and not enough. -From I Know It's True But I'm Sorry to Say PLEASE send your VF quotes to ************************************************************************ WHO/WHERE Going to a VF concert? Want to know if anyone else on the list also going? Check here first! Seattle, WA ------------ Baltimore, MD (Tentative Date) ------------------------------ Washington, DC (Tentative Date) ------------------------------- ************************************************************************ ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ************************************************************************ WEB PAGES: Official: http://www.vfemmes.com Unofficial: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~mmerry2/femmes.html NEW ADDRESS: http://vf.scopemag.com or try: http://206.103.163.50 Download the unofficial homepage: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~mmerry2/backup.zip Auction News: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~mmerry2/bids.txt Guitar: http://www.bucknell.edu/~wtorres/violent_femmes http://www.olga.net TAB DIGEST: The tab digest is give and take; remember to share what you have. Une banane dans l'oreille: Send in your top five faves each week to: They will periodically be compiled and posted. HERE I AM: write to me, , to add your name to this list. Once it's up and running, you can then write in to find out who lives near you, or who lives in a town you'll be visiting. ************************************************************************ In Today's Issue: Mail Troubles The Stanford Show The Las Vegas Show Incontinence VF in MD/DC RE: 16HP RE: Homework Help RE: Channel 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail Troubles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, here's my excuse this time (and a damn good one it is, too): My mail program blew up! Sure, I've been getting hints for awhile now, strange things had been happening to it. But yesterday, all my windows disappeared, and then I couldn't close the damn thing without restarting the computer. That's what I get for using shareware for a full year, when I was only supposed to use it for a month. I wonder, could there have been a self-destruct mechanism built into the program to catch unscrupulous cheapskates like myself? So I spent yesterday looking for another mail program and figuring out how to use it, load in the files, plus I had to search my harddrive for copies of mail I've received. I think I recovered everything; if I missed anything, repost please. Sandoz04, I did get your Here I Am submission, and it's been added to the list. Hey, and then when I finally had everything set to go, I could not get online. Damn rinkydink mom and pop servers. And today when I finally DID get online, I see the Official Homepage is STILL not online. It's been out for two days now. Anyone know what's up with that? One little bit of good news, for me at least: I found the Woodstock '94 CD in the used bin for $13.96. Would I spend that money for two VF live songs? You betcha. I also found out the new MTV 120 Minutes Live CD is coming out Tuesday. The kind owner of the store I frequent will be setting one aside just for me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Stanford Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was very very shocking to find out that the Femmes were going to play at my school. I mean, for years I had thought that they were broken up, having not heard much about them. I started listening to them when I was in junior high and, being dependent on MTV and the cheap-ass local R&B radio station, I was unknowing of any news about the Violent Femmes. So when I saw a flyer about the show, I couldn't believe it! These guys were like legends to me, with my never having seen them in real life or on video. My stupid friend couldn't figure out why I was acting so happy, or why I even liked them in the first place. (She hadn't heard of them AT ALL until I told her about them a few months ago.) So the Femmes were playing just a couple hundred yards down the road from me, and I was ecstatic. I waited in line for 2 hours to get good seats, and ended up in the fourth row. When the opening act came on everybody was respectful until about fifteen minutes into his gig, when they started boo-ing him and everything. I liked his act and wasn't rude. When the Femmes came on they went up the aisle and nobody recognized them except for me and a few other people around me. The ones the band passed right by were looking at them as if they were thinking, "Who the hell are these guys?" When they got onto the stage and started playing, everyone gradually starting going wild, and the cheering reached its peak when Gordon started singing and everybody recognized his voice. So the concert was going well, but it was a weird experience for me because, as I said, these guys were like legends to me, and I had never thought that I'd ever get the experience to see them. The only thing that pissed me off is that a bunch of people from the back got out of their seats and stood in the aisles and in front of the front row so that I couldn't see very well. I mean, I had waited in line for 2 hours just to be crowded by a bunch of late-comers! I still loved it all, though. The band looked so different from their pictures in all of their albums. It was a strange experience. What was the coolest of all was that Gordon's voice sounded exactly the same as when they had started out years ago! It was the same voice I remembered from their old stuff. I was expecting it to have changed, but I was pleasantly surprised. The end of the concert was awesome. After they left the stage the audience cheered for a loooong time and wouldn't shut up until the Femmes came back on for an encore. I wonder if they do encores all the time, regardless of whether the crowd cheers or not, or if we were an exception? Either way, it was cool of the band to go back on stage. Well, that's it. ~Lil' Ho ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Las Vegas Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I had the pleasure of seeing the Femmes at a packed show at "The Joint" at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Monday the 26th. Set list (thanks to my roommate, and a few notes: Didgeridoo Blues (the digeridoo is always a great way to start a show!) Country Death Song I Hear The Rain 36-24-36 Breakin' Hearts Blister In The Sun Prove My Love Nothing It's Gonna Rain Girl Trouble Out The Window Hey Nonny Nonny Good Feeling *Dance, MotherFucker, Dance Bad Do What I Can Waiting for the Bus **I Held Her In My Arms Black Girls Gone Daddy Gone Add It Up Encore: American Music ***Kiss Off * The show seemed to start out kind of slow, like maybe they had too good a time in San Diego. A very partied-out (and heavier than I have seen him before -- but I'm not one to talk) Brian Ritchie introduced this song by telling how they had just been at the Super Bowl and that, sadly for them, their team had lost. He said he thinks they would have won the game if, on Green Bay's last drive Favre's throw hadn't been tipped. He said Farve should have looked at his offensive line before the play and said ... "When I say Dance ... " ** This started off and I only slightly recognized it, but then thought maybe it was a new song. Gordon cut it short, though, and apologized. "The song is supposed to start with four people playing, and two of us weren't," he said. "Sorry." Peter Balistrere, who was (supposed to be) on sax, started walking off the stage and had to be coaxed back. The song was much more recognizable when they started again. :) *** Brian played a cool new bass solo in the middle of "Kiss Off," just before the counting. Very cool. Also: 'Out the Window' seems to be very popular. There came instant recognition on everyone's faces with the first note. From the 12-year old girls to the 30-something marketing manager of my website and his wife, almost everyone was singing along. Even though they played 23 songs, I could think of 30 more I wish they'd have played. I'll never tire of seeing them live. My roommate and I were happy to hear the bus song ... we had been singing it in the truck on the way to the concert. The opening act was Carmaig de Forest, an older, short-haired, thin, smiling Californian with pointed songs and a Ganoesque voice. He didn't connect with the crowd -- being solo on stage with just his guitar or ukulele (and, for one song, just his voice), didn't help. A few times he told the audience to shush their chatty neighbors. He played after the concert at a local art cafe, where a friend of mine happened to see him and was more impressed than the mostly young crowd at the Hard Rock. (I also picked up his album, "El Camino Real," at the show and have really enjoyed it.) Sorry for the long post. It sure is great to have them back on the road! I'll probably add some stuff to this and post it to the unofficial site at http://vf.scopemag.com/ ... I've already scanned in my ticket from the show and made a small page that isn't up yet. I'll post when it is. --James # James Welborn (JW1560) # Webmaster, Vegas Deluxe <http://www.vegasdeluxe.com/> # Nevada's Largest Website Also: Keeper of the Unofficial Violent Femmes website: http://vf.scopemag.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Incontinence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't know about the rest of you who live near D.C., but I just about peed in my pants when I saw that the Femmes are coming in March. I have been waiting for them to come back since last spring! I hope to see some of you there! Whitney () and I plan on going to Bohagers and the 9:30 Club so let us know if you're going! I'm soOoOo excited!!! :oP xoxo danica xoxo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VF in MD/DC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ so now that the femmes have announced tentative dates to play in both baltimore and DC, who is going? I have never been to Bohagers before. does anybody know what that is like. Normally they seem to have smaller name bands, but every now and then they come up with something good. Although I would much rather go to the DC show since I can take the metro from college park, or actually I would rather go to both shows, I probably will end up just going to the Baltimore show since I won't be here March 6th. Maybe they'll play in georgetown again too like last year. Oh well, I'm just excited as anything to know I will be able to go see the femmes play again soon. Bobby V. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: 16HP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About 16HP I saw them a few years ago at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. They opened for Soul Coughing who opened for my "other favorite band", Morphine. I thought they were 1,000 times better than Soul Coughing and bought their CD after the show. I like how my favorite bands have the same bands opening for them. Once I saw They Might Be Giants open for the Femmes in Albany. That had to be one of my favorite all time shows, especially since we stayed in the same hotel as TMBG and saw them at breakfast the next morning. I was kind of surprised that they didn't have more of a relationship though. One of the TMBG band members told me that they didn't even stick around for the Femmes show and asked me some questions about who was the guy who played trombone for them.(Dale) I also love when opening bands turn out to be treasures. It's so nice to see bands on their way up. I'm hoping the tentative 930 show is a reality. That is such a great venue!! I will definitely try to be there. Marylee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Homework Help ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In response to Keri's homework question, the reason I'm as involved in the Femmes music as I am is because I had a similar assignment when I was in high school. There's almost nothing about them in any books, and the only magazine articles I could find were not in magazines that libraries generally subscribe to. Enter: the internet, specifically mike merryman's homepage. I used half of those articles for my report, and learned alot of interesting stuff about my favorite band. I don't know what the deal is with mike's page now, since someone else has taken over, but that's where I found the best articles and assorted info. Good luck. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Channel 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My school makes us watch that stupid show too....and it sucks!! Sarah ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~