Thursday At The Square: The Violent Femmes and The Rev

Thursday At The Square: The Violent Femmes and The Rev

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The Violent Femmes, perhaps the quirkiest folk-punk rockers in the world, return to the square this weekend to help teach the young kids what teenage angst is really all about. If you were there last year, or heard about how amazing it was from a friend, it wouldn't surprise me if this years' turn out is even bigger and better.

For those people out there who only know the classic Femmes tune 'Blister in the Sun' (I know theres a lot of you), let me clue you in to what this band is about, and why I circled this date on my calendars the second the square schedule came out.

I personally like to think of the Violent Femmes as Weezer before Weezer mixed with a little country. They have that punk sound, but in a more folksy way. They can't hind behind the feedback or the punk repetition of the electric guitar like other punk bands. Instead they just tell it like it is. The Femmes have a knack for pointing out all the inequities of the world without sounding pompous, or as if they know all the answers. While they might be anti-establishment, anti-parents, and anti-everything, they do it all in jest.

Just look to the lyrics for 'Gimme the Car' for the perfect example of the rebel rock, I-hate-rules attitude, the Femmes have perfected over the last couple decades:

Come on Dad, gimme the car tonight?/Come on Dad, gimme the car tonight?/I got this girl I wanna..../Come on Dad, gimme the car.

At the heart of their music they are jokers, not politicians. Sure they have a message or a point they would like to get across, but at the same time they couldn't care less if you agree or disagree with that point.

Opening up for the Femmes is local power pop rockers The Rev. The Buffalo natives play a fantastic live show that is more vigorous and lively then the energizer bunny on crack. The Rev is straight-up, drum-pounding, feet-stomping rock n' roll. No stranger to the local music scene, The Rev have developed quite a following the couple years they have been around.

That doesn't mean they don't want to attract some more fans at their Thursday in the Square debut. After you see them live once (and this statement rings true with both bands), you'll wonder what took you so long.

Thursday, June 14, 5-9 PM, Free
Thursdays at the Square in Lafayette Square

Rock Harbor

What Others Have To Say

  1. aisu

    0 ratings12345
    Jun 22nd 2007, 14:26

    pictures..??

    that night was so awesome i has sucha a great time haha

    crowd surfing. i havent done it for THAT long in forever the crowd was HUGE, it makes me happy there were that many ppl there to support the femmes

    i wil be back next week to see joan osborne <33

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