Live Review: Violent Femmes

Opening a concert with the biggest hit of your career is always a ballsy move; it really forces the group to bring their A game for the entire show.

Being an album retrospective show, there was no other option for the Violent Femmes to kick off with anything other than Blister In The Sun. Unsurprisingly, this went off like a rocket and got the seated crowd of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on their feet dancing and singing along. Maintaining this level of energy and enthusiasm would be a daunting prospect for many other bands, but the Femmes are no ordinary act and the group’s 1983 debut record is a stone cold classic that is packed with brilliance.

A relatively straightforward, yet consistently exciting, play through followed - with the bizarre and wonderful exception coming towards the end of high school melancholic classic Confessions, which saw the addition of a three piece horn and two piece theremin accompaniment. It shouldn’t have worked have as well as it did. On interesting contributions to the band, new drummer and ex-Dresden Doll Brian Viglione’s presence has reinvigorated the band’s youthfulness. His powerful, high octane drumming style solidifies the bratty punk-ness of the band’s best tunes, and the sheer joy on his face at playing with what are clearly musical heroes of his was infectious.

The fact that Gordon Gano’s voice has seemingly not aged a day in over 30 years was obvious during rousing renditions of Add It Up and religious influenced Jesus Walking On The Water, performed as a part of the hour plus collection of songs performed following the album’s conclusion.

As wonderful as it is to hear songs like American Music and Country Death Song performed in the Opera House, it was the the odd-ball inclusions of tunes like Old Mother Reagan that made the night seem beyond special.