04-28-99

Best viewed with Courier size 10 maximized screen *********************************************************************** The Quote Of The Day: *********************************************************************** TOUR DATES (NEW TOUR DATES MARKED WITH **): May 1- 4:30 p.m., Harvard, Cambridge, MA (O) STUDENT ONLY SHOW May 1- 9:30 p.m., Johnson and Wales College, Providence, RI (P) May 4- Le Batacian, Paris, France (P,O) May 5- Forum, London, England (P,O) May 6- Student's Festival, Lisbon, Portugal (P,O) May 8- Oporto Festival, Oporto, Portugal (P,O) May 10- E-Werk, Cologne, Germany (P,O) May 11- Rockefeller, Oslo, Norway (O,P) May 12- Akadamiske, Bergen, Norway (O,P) May 13- Stutentersamfundest, Trondheim, Norway (O,P) June 5- Pier 6 Concert Hall, Baltimore, MD (vanallen) June 6- Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ (P) July 17- LoDo Festival, Denver, CO (P) July 31- Barnstable Co. Fairground, Hyannis, MA (P) August 14- Historic Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA (P) August 15- 7:30 p.m., Villa Montalvo, Saratoga, CA (T) Sept 5- Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA (P) Sept 6- Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, WA (P) ______________________________________________________________________ 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 ************************************************************************ WHO/WHERE Going to a VF concert? Want to know if anyone else on the list also going? Check here first! Cambridge, MA (If correct) -------------------------- potatoe482 (Em) London, England --------------- tylerboa xav (Xav) eirikurs (Eirikur) Baltimore, MD ------------- vanallen (Bobby) stacey (Stacey) kerrinross (Kerri) Denver, CO ---------- truman (Emily) lmjacobs (Laurie) ************************************************************************ WEB PAGES: Official: http://www.vfemmes.com Unofficial: http://vf.lasvegasweekly.com/ http://www.bigfoot.com/~planetblue http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/6918 http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Theater/6571/index.html VF Message Board: http://red.cscwc.pima.edu/~cstaley/femmes/board.html Yahoo Chat: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/newtimesviolentfemmesclub Past Tour Dates: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes/femmes.html Guitar: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/VFemmes http://www.smug.adelaide.edu.au/~therapy/violent_femmes/ MP3's http://members.tripod.com/~GasolineFumes/music.html Glenn Gano's Page: http://www.alaska.net/~ggano Charm Records: http://www.charmrec.com *********************************************************************** ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO AMUSIC *********************************************************************** In Today's Issue: April 20th Show, Canopy Club, Urbana, IL Cleveland Concert Elizabethtown Gordon at the Wetlands Baltimore A Hearty Sigh Concerning the J+W Show... Newark, NJ FEMMES IN WI??? RE: Carmaig Yes! Yes! NO! I Have to Ask ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ April 20th Show, Canopy Club, Urbana, IL ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So, I drive 2 hours on a rainy night to Urbana, IL because I love the Femmes. I saw them a couple of years ago, in Peoria, IL and they were great. The show is scheduled to start at 9pm. Finally, at 10:20pm, the opening act, Benjamin T. Washington, comes out on stage and starts his set. I admit he was good. A kind of one man band, acoustic gospel/folk singer, if you will. At this point, though, I had waited long enough and was ready to see the Femmes. They came out and the crowd went wild. They played for almost 2 hours. As usual, they didn't disappoint. The crowd went crazy on the usual songs, "BITS" and "Add It Up" but they seemed to know almost every other song they played, also. This was pretty impressive to me because I'm 27 and most of these people were 18 or so. This is a college town and it was definitely a college crowd. Everything was great except for the scheduling problem. I don't know if it was poor management on their end or The Canopy Club's, but I wasn't happy about being faced with a 2 hour drive ahead of me at 1am. Especially, since I had to work at 8am the following morning. Rumor has it, they will be playing at The Madison Theatre, in Peoria, IL in July. I guess I'll have to wait and see. Truth is, I would go see them again. I've seen them twice, now, and I still have to say they are the best lives shows I've seen yet. Crystal Test pale_blue_eyes_95 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cleveland Concert ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was at the Cleveland Agora concert last Thursday, and I would just like to say that the Femmes rocked! Of course, the opening band sucked in comparison, but I think I heard one of them say that they are usually a four piece band (There were only two members present -- both guitarists.) I was impressed with how many Femmes lyrics the crowd knew. Even on Freak Magnet, I would bet at least 30 percent of the crowd was singing. There were only two songs that I didn't know, and apparently nobody else knew them either because nobody sang along. The encore was pretty short, but it was quality. Brian brought out the top hat, digiridoo, and conch shell in the middle of Kiss Off. I won't take up space with a set list; it was pretty standard, except they didn't play Dance, M.F., Dance. That was kind of disappointing; I have never experienced that song live. Something else that was disappointing was I didn't get to meet the band. My foreign exchange student friend was threatening to drive off with out me. That damn car-key-stealing Belgian. SDavid4810 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Elizabethtown ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi everyone, Well, the Elizabethtown show will go down in my personal memory book as the most memorable show. my son, Dan got to play with the Horns of Dilemma on Confessions, Don't Talk About My Music, and Black Girls. He was only expecting to play Black Girls so the addition of the other two was a real treat for him. It was a vivid lesson in improv and he loved it. There were an extra large number of "horns" I think about 6, including the crews own Darren on some sort of tubular whistling thing. The effect was pretty dramatic from back where I was sitting. One of the best parts of the whole experience was that Brian said he could play again with them anytime. For me, the fact that I was watching one of my favorite people in the world (Dan), play with my favorite band in the world, released enough endorphins to last the rest of my life. I even got to watch a good part of the show from the side/backstage area. That was a whole different experience because instead of hearing the sound through the speakers, you can actually hear the band. It was a wonderful night. The auditorium was a somewhat typical college auditorium with bleacher seating at the opposite end of the room from the stage. The place wasn't so cavernous as to distort the sound and that was a plus. The crowd, after being admonished by Brian not to dare throw anything on stage (as they did for the opening act, Carmaig De Forrest) settled down pretty well. At times I though they were too subdued. College crowds don't always get the idea of applauding for bass, guitar or drum solos and they had to be reminded to do so once in a while. The drum solo during Black Girls was a masterpiece. For the first time ever, I was able to locate a paper, pen and actually write down the set list. So here it is. Out the Window Promise Country Death Song Waitin For the Bus Blister Prove My Love Nothin Confessions (My favorite song of the night) Don't Talk About My Music Jesus Walking On The Water Good Feelings Gimme The Car Rejoice American Music 36-24-36 Held Her In My Arms Never Tell Old Mother Reagan Freak Magnet Black Girls Gone Daddy Gone Add It Up Faith (with Brian on drums and Guy on bass!) Pennsylvania State Song (this is what it must have been because they mentioned PA a lot and it was kind of Rah, Rah) Kiss Off I had fun, I'm happy, all is well with the world. Marylee Rubaiyat -Pat. Says: I was at the show as well, and couldn't give a better review than Marylee just did. The only thing I will add is that the college audience was very very rude to Carmaig. They were booing him, throwing things at him, etc. Which is a sad thing, because I thought he was wonderful. This "chowderhead" from Connecticut enjoyed his act very much, and hope to see him again. Oh, and Brian seems to get a lot of enjoyment out of his theramin hat. What a goof. One more.. Brian and Guy switched instruments during one song..can't find my setlist right now, so I can't tell you which. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gordon at the Wetlands ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hello everyone, My daughter, Rachel and I took a ride up to the Wetlands Preserve in NY last night for the "Feast of Friends" show. Gordon told me at the Elizabethtown show that it had been advertised as a solo gig for him but in fact he was opening for a friend of his from the band Heal! He was hoping they weren't expecting him to be the feature act because he really did want to open for his friend. The venue was a really atmospheric place in the Village which looked to me like half of a renovated warehouse. It had lots of dark wood,and really cool posters and Day-Glo paint on the walls and floor. There were four acts scheduled to go on. When we got there around 8:30, the first set was a singer named Cool Hand Luke. He was so personable and audience friendly and sang about 45 minutes worth of his own songs. Very pleasant and interesting. The second set was 4 piece blues type band called Lil' Mama. They really rocked the place. The lead singer was this very attractive girl who has such a great blues voice and played the electric violin. They were definitely crowd favorites although they said it was their first time playing there. The lead singer from Heal was the announcer and was a most interesting person. He was dressed in back and white zebra striped tights with this kilt-like thing around his waist. He had wild heavy metal hair and this very cool hat on. He started talking about Gordon and all of his musical genius and also about what an incredible friend he was. He told this story about how once when the Femmes were playing in some club, Gordon mentioned to the crowd that Heal was playing down the street and they should all go down and see them. He said that the crowd later came to his gig and filled the place. He was so grateful to Gordon for his generosity. Gordon came on next with his guitar and a book of poetry. His performance was such a treat. He is so easy and relaxed with an intimate crowd and joked with the audience and really seemed to be enjoying himself. When he forgot the first verse of a song he was about to sing, he just sat there until it came to him. Some highlights of the evening were a beautiful version of Used to Be with a friend of his singing harmony, All I Want, the song for George Jones (Son, Don't Take Your Cell Phone To Town), A trilogy of songs written to the poetry of his favorite poet (I think his name was Delmore Schwartz). He played the song from the soundtrack of an upcoming movie, Fast Horses, and the PJ Harvey song from Hitting the Ground. He made a remark that Hitting the Ground featured all of these great artists but they couldn't find anyone to release it. My favorite song of the evening was a beautiful song sung in Spanish from another one of his favorite poets (I couldn't catch the name) which was accompanied by another of his friends playing his violin with such piercing sweetness that the entire audience gasped in unison when he finished. Gordon then read us the translation in English. Such a wonderful experience to see him doing what he does so well. The last band, Heal was a wild and energetic Punk-like band. Unfortunately, Rachel and I had to be in work early today so we left after only two of their songs. We got home around 2:00am and were exhausted today but floating on endorphins! It was a great night. Marylee Rubaiyat ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Baltimore ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will be attending the Baltimore show on June 5th at Pier 6. This will be the closest show to my home ever!! I am very excited! Thanks! Stacey Wood stacey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Hearty Sigh Concerning the J+W Show... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear hopefuls, well, I called the johnson and wales hotline, was put on hold for a few (they have awful hold music...) then transferred to the student activities board. When I finally got to talk to someone, they informed me that the show was FREE and outside in some parking lot! I was ready to die of happiness when she asked that awful question... "Are you a student here at Johnson and Wales?" This is where the hearty sigh comes in (SIGH) because I do not go there, and thus will not be attending this particular femmes show... ugh. Unless...hmmm...well, don't count me out of it yet! I'll give it my best to find a way! til next time! em (potatoe482) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Newark, NJ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey, I'm trying to figure out how to get tickets for the show at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. I know ticketmaster isn't selling them, and it's listed on pollstar, but it doesn't tell you where to get tickets, so i'm wondering if anyone knows. Maybe you have to go to the box office there. Does anyone have the number for NJPAC? Please let me know if any of you guys have any info. Thanks a lot. Beth haziee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FEMMES IN WI??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey all :) i have not written in so long! some good news is that i finally got my VF merchandise from their website. most of you, im sure do not remember, but i waited for like 6 months. o well, its here. ROCK is so good!! Also- does ANYONE happen to know if the femmes will be laying in WI soon? or maybe this summer? any info. would be greatly appreciated! thanx amber PS- brian ritchie and his son where in my dream last nite! strange stuff. Smashkin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RE: Carmaig ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ carmaig deforest fuckin rocked, period. -drew thenewkid ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes! Yes! NO! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sandy posted - <> LOVE IT!!! FFM - Frequent Femmes Miles! There are so many of us who travel we NEED FFM! Lemme see - what would the conversion factor be? One frequent Femme mile for every hundred miles? What with the band's reputation for mosh pits and all we're probably out for Delta participation but we could lobby Greyhound to redeem our FFM points! Are you with me?? I'm sandwiching this shameless plug in between 2 Femmes related notes in the hopes Pat will let it slip... For anyone living within the sound of Boomsday '99 (Knoxville TN) - the good doctor - Chadbourne - will be performing scurgery (yes I meant to put the c in) this Saturday night at the Tomato Head restaurant on Market Square! And lastly - This one REALLY bothered me. I tried to let it slide but I can't. So at the risk of sounding like a complete hypocrite and a total bitch ... therapy posted - >>it's a shame brian and gordon aren't so interested in meeting their fans anymore<< WRONG! As I'm sure many other people here will tell you - Brian and Gordon still do take the time to meet the fans, talk and sign autographs etc. Let me ask you a question - do you often hang around after work? Don't you ever have somewhere to go -family to see - or you're just feeling a little under the weather? yeah yeah yeah - I know they're rock stars and everything - they should to talk to every single fan - every single night?!? Last time I checked the tickets for sale were for the music NOT for the tour bus... Deana ddearry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I Have to Ask ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm curious... I'm a huge fan, but I don't get it. What is so special about the Used to Be Aus. single that it should fetch $137.50 and probably going up? The track listing isn't anything special from what is listed.... I'm confused. LilBoek -Pat. Says: Some people have more money than their brains can handle. They deserve to lose it. I myself bought Used to Be in Albuquerque for about $2.99. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~