All photos, such as they are, by Allan MacInnis, not to be reused, etc
I commented on social media about how, if you weren't up front for IDLES the other night, the PNE Forum -- a concrete and metal hangar, basically -- is a giant echo chamber (you can hear it more in this clip). I was weirdly reminded of this echo by the sound of a packed Commodore singing along to "Country Death Song," which opened the Violent Femmes' first set last night.
I have heard people sing along to many songs before -- the Pixies especially inspired some serious singing along when I saw one of their first reunion shows, also at the Commodore, some 20 years ago -- but I don't think I've ever heard singing along quite like this. Every lyric, full volume, all the way down the room, and not just for "Country Death Song;" it was the most echo-chambery space I have been in where it wasn't a matter of bad acoustics!
For several songs, the Commodore was 100% human echo last night. You got used to it!
But I didn't expect pogoing to "Jesus Walking on the Water." The sort of song you might expect rattlesnakes to get passed around to, not the sort of subject matter normally associated with mosh pits. (I mean this as a compliment, but it is just as well that no rattlesnakes manifested). I thought my feet were going to be safe from being stomped on.
I might wear boots tonight.
Seems like Gordon Gano is a better banjo player than he is a fiddler, but I don't know if I knew he played as many instruments as he does. Brian Ritchie, I knew, was a multi-instrumentalist, but I was still surprised when he broke out a conch. I think he did some marimba (xylophone?) stuff for "Gone Daddy Gone" but I was moving around the room and stuck behind a corner for that song and didn't get to see that -- I may have to re-position myself for it tonight. One of the touring musicians, with a beard like an Appalachian hipster, switched from whatever that was he was slapping (German carboard? See second photo, above) to electric bass to free up Ritchie, but he was as far to the right as I could see.
Speaking of percussion, John Sparrow, if that was John Sparrow, was actually a ton of fun to watch and hear. I like Victor and am sad he's not in the band anymore, but I completely forgot about him after a couple songs. Is that an actual barbeque? Sparrow didn't use it much -- there was one song where it was absolutely essential but he mostly stuck to drums.
Blaise Garza was almost invisible behind the Guinness-sized contrabass saxophone, when playing other instruments. I think he had a washboard, and was that an alto sax? He should come up front more -- rock concerts are no place to be self-effacing!
High points for me were the longer epics where the band got to really push themselves out there: "Never Tell" and "Black Girls" in the first set (slightly embarrassed smile from Gano on the lyric about wanting to cuddle a faggot white boy; it looks like that song is still a lot of fun for them to play!) and "Confessions" in the second, especially. They're the sorts of song that this whole-album concert phenom is best for. I mean, you will hear "Blister in the Sun" at any given Violent Femmes show, I am guessing, but even though "Never Tell" is a chilling, powerful, clutch-your-guts kind of song, I'm guessing it is not high up there on Violent Femmes setlists (it doesn't even feature on their average setlist for 2023, though "Confessions" and "Black Girls" do). Great, GREAT to hear it, and I'm gonna hear it again.
Mind you, there are also songs that are less exciting on a whole album concert, like "I Know It's True But I'm Sorry to Say," which took the pogoing energy generated by "Jesus Walking by the Water" and dumped a bucket of cold milk on it, but that's the trade-off, I guess. That'un works better on album!
The little guy on all their t-shirts -- the Hallowed Ground guy -- ended up really standing out in some of my photos. Both IDLES and the Femmes were asking $55 for a t-shirt (Billy points out that this is down to LiveNation and added fees), but they both earned that $55. Still, I am glad I already have a Dead Bob shirt, at these prices!
I wondered if I would buy that deluxe box set, but it was $210. You can get it from Amazon.ca with shipping for $140; it was $194.99 at Red Cat, but it sold out immediately. If it's still there at the end of the night tonight I might ask if they'll do price matching (but only if I can get it signed!). We must be a bit shrewd in these matters, but they prolly paid customs duties or such to bring it over here; would be a shame for it go unsold!
I did buy a Hallowed Ground shirt, though. I would have loved to buy an actual crew shirt, they're a bit cooler than the one with the band name and logo, have a bigger image, but it was crew-and-band only. I actually have never read about the cover before tonight: it is not some primitive idol, but a sculpture by 20th century Milwaukee artist Mary Nohl.
This discovery is both initially disappointing (I guess I wanted him to be some sort of ancient charm from an obscure South Seas island tribe, or something -- maybe a singularly dorky pre-contact fertility figure with an enormous penis, not pictured) and impressive (this Mary Nohl is someone I must educate myself on!).
I wonder if the Femmes own this statue, or where it is. Do people make pilgrimages to see it? Is it in the punk rock museum? I love this dorky little guy.
...and now I want to see his penis, if he has one. Victor DeLorenzo writes about visiting Nohl's art space here, describing her work as "farm-raised surrealism," and there is a photo of the Femmes with some of her other work, but not a full on of the little guy. What does the rest of him look like?
Her work doesn't have penises that I'm noticing. No sheela-na-gig stuff, either, but maybe photographers are just shy about that stuff? Sheela-na-giggery would be perfect for her work, fertility statues too. But maybe she wanted a family-friendly environment -- maybe the point wasn't faux neoprimitivism, but magic and delight?
Pausing to Google "Mary Nohl Violent Femmes"... the space is called The Witch's House, I guess? It has a FB presence. Article to read here -- looks like her artspace is or was imperiled? -- but the photos aren't loading. Lots of Youtube content though. Obvious rabbithole. You couldn't do this in 1984, when Hallowed Ground came out.
Back to the Femmes. I sure hope they do "Ugly" tonight. At one point, Brian Ritchie was dedicating a song to the people of the Commodore, explaining that last night was the thirteenth time they've played the room (tonight will be the fourteenth! Thanks, Ty, for correcting me). I thought it would be mildly hilarious if that song proved to be "Ugly," but no, it was "American Music." "Ugly" went unplayed!
You could play "Ugly" three times in the time it took for "I Know it's True but I'm Sorry to Say" (I'm picking on that song a little. Sorry! It's fine, really).
Weirdest thing about the night: even though Hallowed Ground is and will ever be my favourite Femmes album, the sheer enthusiasm of the majority of the crowd for the first album and songs like "Add It Up" -- which seemed to even reach the band, who got tighter and sharper and more playful themselves in the second set, with Gano breaking out his housecoat and letting his hair down and Ritchie smiling more often -- made it the more enjoyable set of the night. Like, that is a cooking second half. I had been mildly disappointed to see that Hallowed Ground, my preferred of the two albums, was relegated to the first set, but now I see the wisdom in it.
$180 max, signed, that's my final offer!
Note: Ticketmaster has released more tickets AT COST for tonight's show, for a mere $93. If you're feeling like you missed out, you can still do something about that! My feet were sore enough after the concrete floors at IDLES that I was contemplating bailing, giving a ticket to a friend, but... nah, I gotta see Brian on marimba (xylophone?), and maybe I'm never gonna get to see "Never Tell" again if I don't go tonight! Trust me, that song was amaaaazing...
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Post-script: I shot it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KsoxE1UOGg
My second night notes are here! I enjoyed the second night more than the first, but I had to get the first out of my system... by the way, if you want to read my interview with Brian Ritchie, from 2009, mostly talking about his OTHER musical interests, it is HERE. See them if you can, folks!
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