05-25-98

************************************************************************ TOUR DATES: (NEW DATES MARKED WITH A **) May 30- Drexel University Festival, Philadelphia, PA (O) June 21- City Fest, Birmingham AL (O,P) June 26- Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI (O,P) July 30- Newport Folk Fest, Atlanta, GA (O) August 1- Newport Folk Fest, Philadelphia, PA (O) August 2- Newport Folk Fest, Jones Beach, NY (O) August 18- Newport Folk Fest, Washington, DC (O) August 20- Newport Folk Fest, Indianapolis, IN (O) August 21- Newport Folk Fest, Chicago, IL (O) August 22- Newport Folk Fest, Detroit, MI (O) August 23- Newport Folk Fest, Pittsburg, PA (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: If I eat a chocolate turtle, I'm happy When the box is empty, I'm unhappy When I get another box, I'm happy again -From Happiness Is -Submitted by ************************************************************************ WHO/WHERE Going to a VF concert? Want to know if anyone else on the list also going? Check here first! Philadelphia, PA ---------------- ************************************************************************ ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS LETTER SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO ************************************************************************ WEB PAGES: Official: http://www.vfemmes.com Unofficial: http://vf.scopemag.com if this doesn't work, try: http://206.103.163.50 http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/6918 Past Tour Dates: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/1725/femmes.html Guitar: http://www.bucknell.edu/~wtorres/violent_femmes http://www.olga.net Une banane:Send in your top five faves each week to: . HERE I AM: Tell me where you live for the Here I Am list. ************************************************************************ In Today's Issue: I Got Blisters on My Fingers! Newport Folk Fest Tour Info Needed The Pensacola Show The Milwaukee Show The Biloxi Show The Dallas Show Thanks Rare Acquisitions Lyrics, Quotes, and a Little Freak Magnet Freak Magnet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I Got Blisters on My Fingers! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today's issue is late, because I didn't realize it was so late in the afternoon..been spending the past two days typing up a study guide for a chem final for a girl I've been tutoring all year. If the gods smile on her, she won't flunk too badly. I just wish she had gotten it through her lazy head that one has to actually read the book and do the homework in order to pass. Oh, so due to the fact that I still have a lot more to do on that study guide, and not much more time till this evening, there won't be a Classifieds section this week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Newport Folk Fest Tour Info Needed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey, i went to the Newport Folk Festival page (sorry i dont recall the address), but there was nothing mentioned about any Newport concerts aside from the one in Rhode Island that they have had every year. Does anyone know if the shows in Philadelphia and Jones Beach are affiliated with Newport's festival, if they are independent projects, or if they are scheduled at all? Please keep us posted. oh yeah, has anyone heard of the femmes playing "jesus walking on the water" in concert? i have always wondered. guy schaafs-- -Pat. Says: From what I have heard, the Folk Fest is indeed touring this year, and the shows listed above should be valid. I have been promised that the tourdates will be eventually placed on the webpage at http://www.newportfolk.com so keep looking, and if I find anything more, I'll be sure to let you all know about it. I can hardly wait for chunky monkey popsicles again! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Pensacola Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ hey! the pensacola show was good. ive seen them put on a better show before, but i have also seen them put on a worse show. they had more energy than they did in atlanta. the best part was that they played some stuff from their new ablum, freak magnet. i LOVE it, its a combination of their old stuff and their newer stuff. i think their old music kicks ass...the new stuff is cool too, but not like the old stuff. freak magnet is a good compromise. it kinda reminded me of kiss off a little bit. the highlight was some ass threw a fosters beer can and hit either a band member or a security guard. the band stopped in the middle of gimme the car. gordon and brian were really pissed. i think gordon and brian had an attitude from the very beginning though. but what the hell? i LOVE their attitude. if i remember correctly the drummer from cowboy mouth (cowboy mouth played before them) played with the femmes for the first couple of songs. im a shortie and have a hard time seeing in large crowds so i could have been mistaken. it was the weekend of my birthday so i spent most of the time at the beach. i my roommate went with me bc i was NOT leaving until i had seen the femmes. she doesnt do well in crowds so i was forced to spend most of my time in the back :( i was really impressed that there were some true fans there. but there were also some dumbasses as well. what freaked me out most was when 2 elderly people drove through the crowd on their harley. i was like, what the hell? its may 23 and i know the femmes are in biloxi (i think) right now, but i had to go to a friends wedding and had to miss them. id love to know how it went if any of u guys went...they were about 20 minutes late getting on stage but still worth the wait :) thanks for asking my opinion pat :) steph ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Milwaukee Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I've never seen so many youngsters with their parents at a concert before...I felt old & I'm only 20! They sold us wine coolers without carding us! Of course these 12 yr olds were probably all there for Green Day or some of the many one-hit cheap "alternative" prospects. It was strange though not seeing any dope around to be shared. Each band only had like an hour set or so, so the VF setlist had to be a little different than usual. It was the first time I've seen them actually open with BITS, and the first time I think I've seen them NOT play "Gone Daddy Gone."! Here's the setlist (in order!) as good as I can remember: BITS Prove My Love I'M NOTHIN Dahmer's Dead (Milwaukee's song!) 36-24-36 American Music My Way (for Sinatra again) Dance Motherfucker Dance (Brian:"Here's another song popularized by Frank Sinatra") Bad Bad Bad Gimme the Car Black Girls (with the Horns of Dilemma) Freak Magnet Kiss Off Add It Up (Brian: "See you all at Summerfest!") ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Biloxi Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I just saw the Femmes the other day at CPR Fest in Biloxi. It was the second time I've seen them in concert, and it was great! The Femmes rocked! My only complaint was that the crowd was jam-packed with alot of drunks and idiots starting fights. Sigh. Ah well, they still rocked. I was about 3 people away from the stage. It was the first time the Femmes have played Mississippi (last time I saw em was in New Orleans last November). From what I could tell from people I talked to periodically throughout the day, most people came mainly for the Femmes (a couple came for the Femmes, Cowboy Mouth or Better Than Ezra). This is an interesting sign that the Femmes are developing a bigger following. I guess we'll be able to see when the album comes out. I saw Cowboy Mouth, Everything, Toadie (they sucked), and Caroline Spine earlier that day too. Anyway, before I go, here's the songs they played (closest order I can remember)... I'm Nothing Jesus Walking on the Water Blister in the Sun Waiting for the Bus Prove My Love Bad American Music Dahmer is Dead 36-24-36 Rejoice Dance Mother Fucker Dance Kiss Off Color Me Once Freak Magnet Black Girls Add it Up I believe that's all. They might have played 'Promise' but my memory is a little hazy from the middle of the show. I wish they would have played 'Out the Window' and 'Never Tell', though. Otherwise, the show was great. Catch you ppl later. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Dallas Show ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First, I would like to apologize for those who tried to email me. I have been having problems accessing my email, and I was unable to respond to you guys, let alone read my email. I will try to have that situation remedied. (I'm so glad my parents have email.) Dallas show: May 24, 1998 It was exciting to finally see the Femmes in Texas. This was a venue with 3 other bands, all different styles, and the Femmes fit right in. They opened with "Nothing". They played three new songs, one of which I couldn't hear well, but the other 2 were "Bad" and "Freak Magnet". All of us older fans gathered on one side of the ampitheater. The Femmes got the fans all hyped and we were hoping for more, but they only got to play a few songs: Add It Up, Kiss Off, Old Mother Reagan, Dance, Country Death Song, American Music, Black Girls, 36-24-36, and of course Blister In the Sun as well as the ones I mentioned earlier. Afterwards, I met up with Brian and Gordon. I was a little disappointed that Brian was so tired and didn't seem to want to talk very much. But that was understandable, since he had just finished playing. (He played some sort of flute during Black Girls. I think it was a Japanese flute, but he put forth a great sound, and although that was not what some people there wanted to hear, they got into it. Gordon, on the other hand, while sporting a lit cigar, was very nice and relaxed. We talked together in German, which I knew he had been studying. There was no new word on Freak Magnet's release. After a little known local band, The Grand ST. Criers, the Femmes got the crowd good and ready for the harder Toadies. The headliner was the Wallflowers (who, btw, did a wonderful rendition of Rod Stewart's 'Tonight's the Night" and "Tracks of My Tears".) The whole show was so terrific that I didn't want it to end. But in all actuality, it ended earlier than I thought. There were supposed to be 5 bands, but apparently one did not show up, or canceled. None of the bands got to play very long, so the whole show lasted about 6 1/2 hours, including the set ups in between. All in all, a very good show by everyone, especially the Femmes. I cannot wait to see them again. Marie Middleton ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you, everybody, for your encouragement! I've been feeling better, and my parents actually let me go out to breakfast this morning. Also, I hope everyone realizes how awesome this list is--you guys are like a big extended family. Love, Claire "On your knees, boy!" Vannette ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rare Acquisitions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well hey, I have not posted to this list yet... but I thought this would be a good opportunity. I am Josh...I love the femmes! ok..enough of that, I have been able to get my hands on some rare femmes CDs lately and I want to put up some mp3s. I used to run a big They Might Be Giants web site with over 200 megs of mp3s but it was up at school...altho I might have an ethernet port I can connect to over the summer. Anyway, basically I have gotten a couple bootleg CDs...annnnnnnnnnd...a promo copy of Freak Magnet!!!! I will try to put at least some mp3s up soon and possible a whole lot of them. Most of the mp3 will be from the bootleg/radio show stuff because I don't want to put up FM stuff and undercut the eventual sales or make anybody angry....If anybody or pat would like me to post a full track listing/review of FM I would be happy to! Josh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyrics, Quotes, and a Little Freak Magnet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The lyrics for Add It Up, as written, are "share a smoke, make a joke." But when I listen to some versions of it, I could swear it sounds like he's saying "make a toke" instead. But the Femmes would never condone drug use in a song. Never. And if we're going to line AM with our favorite sappy quotes from other bands, I offer the unintentional immortality that is They Might Be Giants: "If it wasn't for disappointment, I wouldn't have any appointment." So far, I haven't read any full review in American Music of the new album. Well, now, thanks to a benevolent force in this universe known as Audrey (thank you Audrey!), I have my own fuzzy copy which i've been able to listen to exactly twice now. So If I may, I'll offer a few humble opinions on songs nobody knows. This album goes in all sorts of nice directions, but each of these comes away sounding a bit reminiscent of something someone else has done. It's still at least as good and probably better than new times, though. Bad - A nifty song, reminds me of Fool in the Full Moon somehow. those of you that live in states the femmes will play have heard it already. Freak Magnet - ditto All I Want - sounds ever so much like "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction. A nice slow lovey sort of song. I think it woulda been the first single. Nice. Rejoice and be Happy - my pick of the album. Happy, fast, uplifting, sounds a lot like some of the Mercy Seat songs or the fastest of Brian Ritchie's solo folk influenced songs. Greatness. I wanna see you again - now i can think of maybe 4 better songs from Rock! off hand. This version has a different arrangement but isn't necessarily any better. Curious that they included it here. I'm Nothing - also an odd selection. They add bass and drums and some nice vocal harmonies from the New Times version but...with all the new material the femmes said they have, why put this on the album??? You've Got a Lot of Nerve (?) - decent, unremarkable A Story - psychotic. It continues in the spirit of freaky femmes songs that began with Country Death Song and continued in Machine and Didgeriblues. This is another bizarre Gordon narrative about a boy and girl who get eaten by a monster at an interstate toll booth. This...is some odd shit. Happiness is - contains the lyric, "When I eat a chocolate turtle, I'm happy, when the box is empty, I'm unhappy." Well, at least it sounds nice. Forbidden - another great and intriguing femmes tune, and has an odd literary feel almost like Hey Nonny Nonny. I don't know if this is a poem or anything. Great song. Mosh Pit - we all know the Femmes just love teenage moshing. This makes fun of lame 90's punk by sounding like lame 90's punk. Gordon has some funny lyrics about being a dork for not wanting to do his homework. Another odd choice. And i'm missing the names for the last 4 songs. One is an interesting version of that prayer "and now i lay me down to sleep..." And the last song on the album is this great instrumental that starts off with the didgerido (or maybe the shakahuchi??) and adds all of these interesting organic sounds in layers, like vancouver except that this song is listenable and actually goes somewhere. Anyway, I've said enough. One more note: If FM is released, I will be first in line to get it on cd. As will anyone with a tape copy. The sound quality is low, lyrics would be nice, and VF deserves our support. exiting the soapbox joshua ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Freak Magnet ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well, I have heard the album, and I like it very much. I really do not think they should have put " I'm Nothing" on it though. Even though its a different version I think it would have been better to leave it as a b-side or something, only cause it was on the last album. The song from Rock is okay, cause that was an import. Anyway I love the music, and Gordon's lyrics still are great. Hope it gets released soon!! Mike ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~