On May 1. 2024 I moseyed down the highway to catch the phenomenal Violent Femmes. The destination was The Warfield in San Francisco California. The Violent Femmes were set to perform their first two albums, the 1982 Self-Titled release Violent Femmes, and the 1984 release Hallowed Ground. These two epic releases being performed in one night was an epic time indeed. Plus, it was a sold-out show at The Warfield.
The Violent Femmes started the set with the second album Hallowed Ground. they opened with “Country Death Song” and the crowd went nuts with excitement. With loud screams of excitement, the crowd only got louder from there. Blasting through their set, with hit tracks such as “I Hear the Rain”, “Jesus Walking on the Water” and “I Know It’s True But I’m Sorry to Say” the crowd shot back with equal enthusiasm. When heading into the song “Hallowed Ground”, they were at full speed, and all the primers were firing in unison. Through the first half of their set, everything was laid out with nothing being held back. The Violent Femmes ended the first set with “Black Girls” and “It’s Gonna Rain.”The music was performed with perfection.
The second album was actually the first set. But, the second set of their self-titled album Violent Femmes was a banger. The set started with “Blister in the Sun” and then “Kiss Off”, and it was obvious that this was the audience favorite. “Please Do Not Go” and “Add it Up” were next and these two songs were total sing-along songs and the band had no idea until it happened. The song “Confessions”, was much slower and gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and relax a bit. “Prove My Love” was next up and garnered a round of applause. “Promise”, “To the Kill” and “Gone Daddy Gone” were more of the same, with lots of singing along and revelries around. The Femmes ended the second set with, “Good Feeling” and they absolutely killed it. This was to be the last song but… ENCORE the audience cheered!
After a short break, they came back to the stage to perform three more songs. “Gimme the Car” was recorded in England between the two albums so it was fitting it should be in the program. The last two songs, “Ugly”, and the last song “American Music” made a perfect ending to a great night and the whole crowd sang along.
If you want a good time, go see this band and relive your youth, it would behoove you to be there to witness it.
Follow the Violent Femmes band members:
Gordon Gano – lead vocals, guitars, violin, banjo
Brian Ritchie – bass, backing vocals, guitars, shakuhachi, xylophone, keyboards
John Sparrow – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Blaise Garza – saxophones, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
Setlist:
Set 1 – Hallowed Ground:
Set 2 – First Album:
Encore:
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
