@@sydglover4842 It reminds me of some of The Pixies shows I’ve gone to, the band is giving it their all and the crowd acts like a bunch of half asleep old folk, it’s honestly sad :/
I saw them in concert around Christmas time, 1996 or so in Arizona. It was Fun Loving Criminals, POE and then Violent Femmes as headliners. It was a fairly intimate setting with a theatre in the round set up; and the stage rotated. They came out and played 3-4 songs and said nothing. just right into the songs like they were miserable being there. Then Gordon began telling a story. Brain Ritchie was a giant on the stage with his giant upright bass. He looked like he was ignoring the story and just waiting for it the whole night to be over. About halfway into Gordon's story, Brian bellows at the top of his lungs "When I say Dance, you best Dance m----f-----!" The whole place went electric screaming and the Violent Femmes launched right into the song. It was amazing.
Jomamk, go listen to the early albums first in particular. he plays 4 string chords on the bass, notes everhwere. his early live shows were just unbelievable. . this guy Brian Ritchie, is the undisputed KING of bass. he's literally the Jimi Hendrix of the bass. getting a tad older now. solo here wasnt his best. but his legacy lies before him !
The Violent Femmes are the greatest! I love that they picked a kid from the audience and had him stand with them during the whole song. I'm jealous of that kid. 😊
I love how they launch from the feel good vibes of "American Music" right smack into one of the darkest songs of their entire discography "Country Death Song". The crowd was so confused, they had no idea what to do.
One of the most original bands ever, a sound so unique no fucker ever attempted to copy it or draw inspirattion from it. An incredibly intelligent mish-mash of Americana and The Velvet Underground, bolted with shards of Free Jazz and wrapped up with the finest pop sensibility. Just unbrlievable! The first three albums should be in every self-respecting record collection...
From buskers to massive success where I live in new Zealand they played in 1990 I was like 12 and the I smoked weed at the show first time ever and this band blew me away
I have attended these guys concerts, when available 6 times over the past 30 years... Have not changed a bit... I remember when Nirvana supported them, not a person was interested in Nirvana (all at the bar) but it was a great night when the Femmes cames on.
@@mishaelsands5972 That's what's so beautiful about it. I bet Kurt was overwhelmed by it thinking 'wow, if only we could be this well revered someday.' I heard Violent Femmes years after hearing Nirvana. Am making a massive assumption, but there was an element to Nirvana that harkened to them a lot. Post Bleach. Songs like Polly etc. Stripped down and raw. The storytelling was present on Bleach too; 'Swap Meet', but it's what they dropped and fleshed out on Nevermind that was very Femmes. I couldn't believe I didn't know the Femmes, when first heard them. Was like a jigsaw piece that fit into my realm of understanding with Nirvana. Just fit and made sense.
It takes me back when I was learning the bass. I learnt every single line Brian Ritchie ever played and I just devoured those records (we are talking early 1980s, kiddies). I managed to finally see them live in the late 1990s when they reformed and started touring again. I also loved Gano’s offshoot band The Mercy Seat and saw them live in 1987. It was one of the best gigs I have ever seen.....
I saw them in the 80's from the start, and my band opened for them twice. After the gig, we went out for a drink, and in the mall, there was a large crowd gathered. In the center were the Femmes playing an acoustic set - this is after they did their paid gig lol - I will never forget that. When I asked them why, they said that was how they started (busking) and they miss it.
I saw this band in LA a few months ago and wow, the best band Ive seen live and i’ve seen so many man. This song warmed my heart live as did many others
I like the Violent Femmes. I love a lot of their songs. At the same time, I could also see how if you didn't like them their music would drive you insane.
What a great band, one of the best ever, doesn't matter where you are and one of there songs comes on you just have to sing along. brings me joy, thank you guys.
This is so awesome! I didn't know that the Violent Femmes were on KEXP. How did I miss this? I'm also surprised they never did a bluegrass album. Thank you for sharing this!
Loved seeing the kid during Blister in the Sun....I was 7 when I started listening to the Violent Femmes and I'm 46 now and would have loved to be on that stage at that age.
I wish I was there 😢 amazing performance. I’m so glad you did CD song. People don’t believe me when I say I can make them cry with one single song. Anyone can see how much love and passion you guys put into your music. I’m still weeping from cds.
I was really surprised they did CDS at the end. I didn't think that song could get any creepier, but it did! (notice not a single person singing along to that song - LOL!) Great set. Thanks for posting.
Right! I was hoping they'd play Add it Up or Kiss Off, but CDS is a real treat. It's one of my favs, but it's really a creepy / edgy song and seems out of place for this concert.
I remember seeing them in the late 90s in Pensacola. Someone hit Gordon with a can and split him open. He threatened to end the show if anything else hit him. They finished the show and it was amazing. Such a great band!
Hopefully someone found the asshole who threw it and made him eat his own turds in an alley with nothing but his own pee to wash it down. What an asshole.
love these guys, seein them at 15 with my family was awesome. i credit alot of bands ive seen and grew up with for my interest in playing guitar and music but the more i think, i realize these guys were my first band to make me dance and was my first "rock" band live. Still tourin and still jammin, love it.
Only time I saw the Femmes was in 95 or 96 at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl near Portland Oregon. Some dude got thrown into the air by his friends and broke his leg coming down! When they realized what happened, they stopped singing and called for folks to clear a path so paramedics could come through and help the guy. Great show also featuring the Afghan Whigs and MC 900 foot Jesus!!
Gordon's voice has not changed a bit since the first album. Incredible.
Adam Pell - could not agree more. Very spot on.
Do you like American music?
He did put on weight though…
Nicholas Shanks so will you... or maybe you will wilt
Nicholas Shanks he looks pretty fucking good to be a 57 y/o rock star...so fuck off??
Most underrated band in history...
I'll second tat man.
I normally don't agree with "most underrated blah blah", but agree with this one
Their music never fails to take me back to simpler times. Legends!
@@goober8798 Same but this is an objective FACT lol
You are correct.
1:09 Blister In The Sun
4:38 Please Do Not Go
10:15 American Music
16:12 Country Death Song
MVP
@@JorshWarshington1 got u
These guys belong in the RnR Hall of Fame!
Could not agree more!!
Them joking about playing blister in the sun a second time had me in stitches, one of the best bands ever period.
yeah it's a shame the audience look like there waiting for the bus and the femmes are so energetic.
@@sydglover4842
It reminds me of some of The Pixies shows I’ve gone to, the band is giving it their all and the crowd acts like a bunch of half asleep old folk, it’s honestly sad :/
Think my dream lineup is simply a Violent Femmes and Pixies dual show.
MST3Killa same tho
violent femmes opening for pixies and weezer would be crazy
@@JkNttr Weezer opening for Violent femmes and the Pixes...please dude!
Same but velvet underground as well
Femmes and TMBG
Cargo pants, white socks, grey hair...omg! I can feel my old balls sagging even more
hahahahahaha
Fashion went down the well too! But they still sound cool.
Im 55 years old and have been to literally hundreds of concerts. The bass player in VF is the best I've seen.
He really is so good. Thought it was just me who loved so many of their basslines.
interesting pfp for a 55 year old
Totally! And, yet, under-rated and almost forgot by many. His riffs are amazing.
I saw them in concert around Christmas time, 1996 or so in Arizona. It was Fun Loving Criminals, POE and then Violent Femmes as headliners. It was a fairly intimate setting with a theatre in the round set up; and the stage rotated. They came out and played 3-4 songs and said nothing. just right into the songs like they were miserable being there. Then Gordon began telling a story. Brain Ritchie was a giant on the stage with his giant upright bass. He looked like he was ignoring the story and just waiting for it the whole night to be over. About halfway into Gordon's story, Brian bellows at the top of his lungs "When I say Dance, you best Dance m----f-----!" The whole place went electric screaming and the Violent Femmes launched right into the song. It was amazing.
@@revalone3944 I filled up on Helium to fit my brain in better.
The sound of that bass is amazing
Jomamk kehau except when he botched the solo, really tight otherwise
Jomamk, go listen to the early albums first in particular. he plays 4 string chords on the bass, notes everhwere. his early live shows were just unbelievable. . this guy Brian Ritchie, is the undisputed KING of bass. he's literally the Jimi Hendrix of the bass. getting a tad older now. solo here wasnt his best. but his legacy lies before him !
@Rod H I met him years ago after a show and complimented his playing and he said "well, I've been doing it a long time" haha
To be fair, Victor Wooten is the king of the bass guitar. No offense to Brian, but he's merely a fantastistic player, whereas Wooten is a literal god.
The Ernie Ball Earthwood bass some history behind it. Google it
lol when the 10 year old kid sings about being strung out
Me, remembering being 10 and listening to this song.
The Violent Femmes are the greatest! I love that they picked a kid from the audience and had him stand with them during the whole song. I'm jealous of that kid. 😊
Complete with the little alfalfa hairs. Such a big smile. Too cute.
Good to know yet another generation of fans are out there, such a great band
and that kid knew all the words!
And they take their instrument on the bus.
After all these years, I can't listen to the Femmes without singing along.
I'm listening to this on the bus tapping along on a metal teapot and grooving and I don't care who sees
And laughing! 😂
Literally. I never sing along. But if I drive to the Femmes, I'm singing loud.
bbq is out of tune
their mistake was not tuning to it.
I laughed out loud at that comment thank you
Clearly needed to adjust the bottom vents. NEVER the top one, never the top ... That one needs to stay all the way open. Weber rules ...
lol , that was something special
as long as it's not Auto Tune I'm down with it
Sounds great. This is how it's done kids. 2 acoustic guitars, a bbq and great songs.
Don't forget the great mics and matching engineers who knew what they were doing! Big Kudos for them.
@@ghanus2009 that mic set up is so organic. It's got to be an engineering nightmare though.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💞❤️❤️❤️❤️
@@MrMetalclay its so perfectly Violent Femmes though. its awesome. You're right tho. EQ/gain/etc has to be murderous.
that's not a guitar it's an acoustic bass
I love how they launch from the feel good vibes of "American Music" right smack into one of the darkest songs of their entire discography "Country Death Song". The crowd was so confused, they had no idea what to do.
His voice hasn't changed . Same key ! That's awesome
One of the most original bands ever, a sound so unique no fucker ever attempted to copy it or draw inspirattion from it. An incredibly intelligent mish-mash of Americana and The Velvet Underground, bolted with shards of Free Jazz and wrapped up with the finest pop sensibility. Just unbrlievable! The first three albums should be in every self-respecting record collection...
the drummer is my dad
cool
Does he BBQ as good as he drums?
That is awesome..
He is !!! Lucky you !!!
you got a cool dad kid!!!!
Weber has its new commercial. This is a phenomenal performance. The recording sounds fantastic. A++
From buskers to massive success where I live in new Zealand they played in 1990 I was like 12 and the I smoked weed at the show first time ever and this band blew me away
Huge in NZ. Primary school to Form 7, the ultimate high school band.
I have attended these guys concerts, when available 6 times over the past 30 years... Have not changed a bit... I remember when Nirvana supported them, not a person was interested in Nirvana (all at the bar) but it was a great night when the Femmes cames on.
Wow. Hearing Nirvana supoorted them just made my day. Thank you!
@@WhereTheyLay to be fair - no one even knew who Nirvana was at the time.
@@mishaelsands5972 That's what's so beautiful about it. I bet Kurt was overwhelmed by it thinking 'wow, if only we could be this well revered someday.' I heard Violent Femmes years after hearing Nirvana. Am making a massive assumption, but there was an element to Nirvana that harkened to them a lot. Post Bleach. Songs like Polly etc. Stripped down and raw. The storytelling was present on Bleach too; 'Swap Meet', but it's what they dropped and fleshed out on Nevermind that was very Femmes. I couldn't believe I didn't know the Femmes, when first heard them. Was like a jigsaw piece that fit into my realm of understanding with Nirvana. Just fit and made sense.
What a mind-blowing band! The connection between them. How organic this music is...just amazing.
These guys are still fire. Probably the best party music of the 80s. I wore this cassette out. Amazing songs.
such a classic voice!!
Awesome. Gordon's starting to look like Stephen King.
Or Garrison Keillor.
Not a bad thing..
yes he is.
ever hear and or see Stephen King, sing "SURFIN BIRD" ?
i suggest anyone and everyone look that up here after this video...
nick cave is starting to look like neil diamond ....
Legendary. One of the greatest bands to ever do it.
A day of joy and song seeing these guys playing. Brian was the reason why I started playing bass. Still awesome all these years later.
They still sound like they did in the 80s! That's amazing that they're still together, and still sound so damn good!
One of the most important bands of all time
Violent Femmes are one the best things to ever happen to music.
These cats were cool before weird was cool!!!
Discovered this band just today! Absolutely amazing ❤
1985. my roomate in military school strolls in with a cassette and a bag of weed..... first time i heard this song. what a wonderful day that was.
World's most under-rated bassist!
I wish our drummer had played a grill. It'd have been nice to get some nice kabobs right at the end of our sets...
I know the first record was the huge hit, but Hallowed Ground is a musical masterpiece.
Sorry 25 yrs later , you all sound awesome so many memories 🍻🍻🍻🍻🍻
It takes me back when I was learning the bass. I learnt every single line Brian Ritchie ever played and I just devoured those records (we are talking early 1980s, kiddies). I managed to finally see them live in the late 1990s when they reformed and started touring again. I also loved Gano’s offshoot band The Mercy Seat and saw them live in 1987. It was one of the best gigs I have ever seen.....
I saw them in the 80's from the start, and my band opened for them twice. After the gig, we went out for a drink, and in the mall, there was a large crowd gathered. In the center were the Femmes playing an acoustic set - this is after they did their paid gig lol - I will never forget that. When I asked them why, they said that was how they started (busking) and they miss it.
I 1st heard VF in college, 20 years later moving family into dorm another room was playing VF.timeless music...
just , beautiful. This actually is art in the true sense. They create a world, they bring you in, but they don't answer questions.
Soundtrack to my and many of my mates lives. Great to see them still doing what they do best.Nothing brings back memories like music. Keep on guys :)
The great part of this is they play the brilliant songs just how we know remember and love them..
Damn good god, he sounds so fucking good! Wish they played good feeling. Depressing but my favorite.
They sound perfect - even after all these years. Cheers!
I've loved the Femmes since they first started, and they still rock the fluck out of most any younger bands.
I saw this band in LA a few months ago and wow, the best band Ive seen live and i’ve seen so many man. This song warmed my heart live as did many others
One of the greatest bands ever. Never about the $$$ all about us good feeling.
This band is fucking incredible
Very engaging as usual, a masterclass in lo-fi songwriting....
I like the Violent Femmes. I love a lot of their songs. At the same time, I could also see how if you didn't like them their music would drive you insane.
Ok,...he actually played the Weber grill.
and it's f-ing amazing!
fuck ya dude.
I've been cooking burgers on mine I need to catch up
Weber seems to be grungy enough
so definitely in tune
What a great band, one of the best ever, doesn't matter where you are and one of there songs comes on you just have to sing along. brings me joy, thank you guys.
Country death song was epic. They are still as weird as they were in '84 when i first saw them.
Gotta love them.
It’s good that Gordon and the gang get along well nowadays.. Their blistering live extended improv back in the day was mindblowing.
So goddam wholesome and heartwarming. Wonderful.
Nothing but pure love and joy when listening to these guys ♡
I’ve would of given anything to see this live! What great group of songs to hear them play.
OMG that's amazing. Never saw them live but listened to the cassette religiously
Acoustic performances touch the soul...especially acoustic base! This was an awesome reminder of my twenties!
This is so awesome! I didn't know that the Violent Femmes were on KEXP. How did I miss this? I'm also surprised they never did a bluegrass album. Thank you for sharing this!
Great band!!
Love all of it
Love how clueless everyone was with American Music
Wow country death live !! These guys are epic. I love The VF.
God Bless these souls. They have brought so much Joy to a so many people and deserve divine intervention.
So glad they played “Country Death Song” def my favorite of many many favorites.
Terry Murlin this is the reason I clicked the video.
I bought tickets for 2019 and I wanna hear country death song
Loved seeing the kid during Blister in the Sun....I was 7 when I started listening to the Violent Femmes and I'm 46 now and would have loved to be on that stage at that age.
Gordon's voice hasn't changed, but his appearance has, and it's weird to hear that voice coming out of that guy's face lol.
Everyone gets old if they dont die at 27
Like yer dad starts singing this
@@lastnamefirst4035 Like your dad had a baby with Steven Colbert.
@@RCAvhstape 😃
always room for one more....
I wish I was there 😢 amazing performance. I’m so glad you did CD song. People don’t believe me when I say I can make them cry with one single song. Anyone can see how much love and passion you guys put into your music. I’m still weeping from cds.
Saw these guys perform live around 1994. Absolutely ruled the stage.
OH POR DIOSSS, AMO VIOLENT FEMMES, QUE ALEGRÍA EN ESTOS DÍAS QUE ANDO ESTRESADA :')))
I sang along when I first heard them in the early 80's, I still sing along when I hear them today.
Still amazing after all this time!!!!
this is beautiful : )
Man, what an opener of a song. Straight to the classics! :D Love you VF!
lmao the way gordon talks makes me him sound sarcastic even when he's serious
Been to thousands of conserts
I was really surprised they did CDS at the end. I didn't think that song could get any creepier, but it did! (notice not a single person singing along to that song - LOL!) Great set. Thanks for posting.
Right! I was hoping they'd play Add it Up or Kiss Off, but CDS is a real treat. It's one of my favs, but it's really a creepy / edgy song and seems out of place for this concert.
Thank you KEXP for always bringing the raddest tunes!!!🔥🔥🔥
When in Portugal?!?!?!?!?!?
Fantastic…….sounds like in the late 80'´s when i start to ear you!!!!!
The best band to ever feature the acoustics dude, easily. Gordon and Frank Black are my god damn ninjas
I remember seeing them in the late 90s in Pensacola. Someone hit Gordon with a can and split him open. He threatened to end the show if anything else hit him. They finished the show and it was amazing. Such a great band!
Hopefully someone found the asshole who threw it and made him eat his own turds in an alley with nothing but his own pee to wash it down. What an asshole.
Wonderful performance!
Wish I was in the crowd, awesome
Country Death Song 🖤
love these guys, seein them at 15 with my family was awesome. i credit alot of bands ive seen and grew up with for my interest in playing guitar and music but the more i think, i realize these guys were my first band to make me dance and was my first "rock" band live. Still tourin and still jammin, love it.
I love this band.
I'm now old enough to get super nostalgic when I hear this, powerfully so.
Oh my god this set is amazing. They are still so on point.
standing there, I was amazed so few people showed up for the show.... what a great afternoon!
God I wish they would come to New Zealand, somewhere in the South Island would be amazing
Violent Femmes are the ONLY band I've paid to see more than once.
Five times!
3 in Indianapolis
1 in Cincinnati
1 in Phoenix
NEVER DISAPPOINTED!!!
Im 13 again everytime i sing along. Thanks VF
Only time I saw the Femmes was in 95 or 96 at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl near Portland Oregon. Some dude got thrown into the air by his friends and broke his leg coming down! When they realized what happened, they stopped singing and called for folks to clear a path so paramedics could come through and help the guy. Great show also featuring the Afghan Whigs and MC 900 foot Jesus!!
Friggin cool! Love from Brazil!
I do so love the vibe that comes out of Seattle....thanks KEXP.
45 now 16 when I was first introduced, omg love at first hear!!
Gordon's voice has not changed a bit since the first album. Incredible.
yeah...wtf was the laughter about? that was odd..
Beautiful. I needed this. I feel 13 again!
I was sober rocking out to this way more than High with the butthole surfers... Great Band. I like their first 2 albums...
Great intro and song.
Best bbq player in history. Period.