LIVE: Violent Femmes Turn Massey Hall Into Party Hall
Thursday March 09, 2006 @ 05:00 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

March 8, 2006
Massey Hall
Toronto, ON
by Steve McLean

I arrived at Massey Hall at 8 p.m., just as Shane Koyczan took the stage to throw down some poetry. It wasn't what I had expected for an opening act, but his 30-minute set was full of thought-provoking, insightful, intelligent and witty words that drew quite a favourable response from the early-arriving audience members. Koyczan was the first non-American to win the U.S.-based National Poetry Slam in 2000 and, if you ever see his name on a local listing, check him out.

The Violent Femmes received a standing ovation just for walking on the stage, and the applause and hollering only grew when the trio tore into "Mother Of A Girl" and then "Nightmares." It's amazing how loud Brian Ritchie on an acoustic bass and Victor De Lorenzo playing a snare, a tom and a cymbal with brushes can sound, but it's their rhythmic connection that drives most Femmes songs underneath Gord Gano's guitar and whiny vocals.

Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Hamilton joined the core trio on mandolin for "Country Death Song," which combines a catchy melody with creepy lyrics as well as any song ever has. The group segued into "Blister In The Sun" and got folks out of their seats, and many people rushed to the base of the stage to dance. They stayed there the rest of the night as the Femmes kept rolling through "Prove My Love," "Waiting For The Bus" and "Jesus Walking On The Water," which saw Gano switch from guitar to fiddle.

Things mellowed with "Good Feeling," which showed the Milwaukee, Wisconsin band's Velvet Underground influence, and a further nod to an earlier era appeared afterward with a strident cover of T. Rex's "Children Of The Revolution."

The first words out of Gano's mouth, other than song lyrics, were those of congratulations because Canada had earlier defeated the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic. That was right before "American Music," which was followed by a rollicking "I Held Her In My Arms."

There was a bit of a lull at that point, as the Horns Of Dilemma came on stage to skronk on a few songs and De Lorenzo and Ritchie each played somewhat indulgent solos. It was at this point that I reflected that Gano is the lyrical mastermind, Ritchie is the multiple-instrument-playing musical genius and De Lorenzo is the fun-loving personality (he vaguely reminded me of comedian Gilbert Gottfried the way he looked and smiled in a certain light).

Ritchie showed his diversity, and helped pick up the show again, when he stepped behind the vibes for "Gone Daddy Gone." Gano led off "Add It Up" a cappella, but had the whole theatre singing along with him. When the rest of the band (including Hamilton on a second guitar) kicked in, it took things to another level to end the 100-minute set.

The band returned to do "Outside The Palace" and Gano asked an audience member to join him on stage who sang the song better than its writer. A request for "Old Mother Reagan," in all its minute-long glory, was granted before the show ended with a gloriously extended version of "Kiss Off."

It was a great concert, and Massey Hall is one of my favourite places to see a show. But the theatre was only about half-full. And since the Femmes are one of the ultimate party music bands, it might have made more sense to stage the show at a large club at a later hour where more alcohol could be consumed. But it says something when most people in the audience could dance and sing along to almost everything in the 25-song set — from a band that's been around that same amount of years — even though none of them could be called hits in the traditional sense. The Femmes are living proof that successful careers can be made out of cult stardom.