{"id":1779,"date":"2006-05-17T20:00:49","date_gmt":"2006-05-17T20:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=1779"},"modified":"2015-10-19T20:27:10","modified_gmt":"2015-10-19T20:27:10","slug":"violent-femmes-numbers-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2006\/05\/17\/violent-femmes-numbers-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Violent Femmes – Numbers – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Jordan Chan <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 17, 2006 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"I\u00a0wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled up to Numbers.\u00a0 It was slightly past 8pm and a line of people already started wrapping around the club.\u00a0 They crowd was a mixture of chains, leather, suits, ties, dress shirts, spikes, collars, “wife beaters”, jeans, and I’m sure a dog collar or two.\u00a0 Sitting idle, the Violent Femme’s tour bus was seen clearly visible in the parking lot next to the small.\u00a0 30 minutes later, the doors finally opened.\u00a0 I walked up to the counter for my pass which has the name Violent Femmes encircling a star that says “25 years, ESTB 1981”.\u00a0 Wow, they have been around for that long?<\/p>\n

Die hard Femmes fans all know the band was discovered by Pretender’s on the streets of Milwaukee in 1981, when Beta was popular.\u00a0 Since then, the Violent Femmes produced over a dozen records and performed countless sold out shows worldwide.\u00a0 Femmes music has also been featured in several soundtracks including “The Crow”, “Mystery Men” and “South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut”.\u00a0 2006 brought about the release of “Archive Series No. 1 Live in Iceland” and a live concert DVD titled “No, Let’s Start Over”.\u00a0 The DVD, based on the description on the website, seems like a bootleg of a bootleg.<\/p>\n

The Femmes took the stage around 10pm or so in the sardine can of a venue.\u00a0 The crowd, packed shoulder to shoulder, somehow managed to throw their hands up in the air when red lights bathe the stage.\u00a0 I have to admit, I’m not a big Violent Femmes follower, so it came to my surprise when I saw them on stage.\u00a0 I had thought they were the roadies or sound techs.\u00a0 No at all what I expected.\u00a0 The Violent Femmes looked like they just got out of their 9 to 5 job at a call center for major credit card company.\u00a0 I guess 25 years on the road caught up to them.\u00a0 But 25 years worth of fans were also present supporting their music.<\/p>\n

It was almost midnight before the Violent Femmes shut down for the night.\u00a0 Some of the more recognizable songs played were “Add it up”, “Blister in the Sun”, “Kiss Off”, and “Confessions”.\u00a0 Femme fans however seems know exactly every song played during the two hour set.\u00a0 There was also a song about Jesus walking on water which apparently is also the song title.\u00a0 Violent Femmes also featured a horn section, The Horns of Dilemma, tooting their way into several songs towards the end of the show.\u00a0 I can’t exactly classify the sounds that the Femmes are popular for.\u00a0 Through the night, I have heard a mixture of horns, spoons, a box, religious rock, folk-rock, bluegrass, jazz, and for a lack of a better word, garage rock.\u00a0 I think however, the most distinctive sound of the night is Brian Ritchie’s bass.\u00a0 He alternated between an electric bass, a stand up bass and his for signature sound, the acoustic bass.\u00a0 They also have no set list and seem to play whatever they feel like randomly.<\/p>\n

Again, the Violent Femmes were not what I expected.\u00a0\u00a0 Though they seem a bit more seasoned than expected, their sounds were timeless.\u00a0 I think fans that were from the first Femmes show over two decades ago, came back with their off-springs, who were also fans of the band.\u00a0 And, like those fans, I would definitely go back to another Violent Femmes show.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Jordan Chan May 17, 2006 at 08:00 PM I\u00a0wasn’t sure what to expect when I pulled up to Numbers.\u00a0 It was slightly past 8pm and a line of people already started wrapping around the club.\u00a0 They crowd was a mixture of chains, leather, suits, ties, dress shirts, spikes, collars, “wife beaters”, jeans, and… <\/p>\n

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