The Violent Femmes – June 11th – Denver Botanic Gardens

Photos by Tim Dwenger

Monday’s Violent Femmes show at The Botanic Gardens was a bit of a departure from the typical acts that play the idyllic venue.  The Femmes burst onto the scene in the early 80’s when they released their now classic eponymous album that birthed many of the songs the band is so well known for.   Their Punk influenced sound resonated then as much as it does now and somehow it worked at the gardens despite the fact that the crowd is more used to band’s like The Gypsy Kings or Bruce Hornsby.

While the usual “Wine and Cheesers” were present and abundant, there was also a strong contingent of Gardens newbies who were uninitiated into the ways of shows at the venue.  I overheard several folks bemoaning the fact that the gardens doesn’t sell alcohol, and that they had to sit “behind” the stage, but, in the end, if the energy that poured from the crowd was any indication, most got over these issues and enjoyed the show just the same.

After an opening set from The Dirty Femmes, a local Violent Femmes cover band that Gordon Gano himself introduced (and said that he instructed “not to play the hits”), the Violent Femmes took the stage and dove right into “Prove My Love” and “Promise” from the Violent Femmes record to the delight of the crowd.  Over the course of the next 75 minutes or so, the band delivered sing-along favorites like “Kiss Off” and “Blister In The Sun” which proved that just about everyone in the crowd was in fine voice and knew what they had gotten into when they bought their tickets.

Midway through the performance Gano and company brought up local bands Animal / object and MicroGrass to join them.  Being a current Denver resident, it was clear that Gano is embedded in the local music scene and keen on sharing the love of the sold-out crowd with these lesser known bands.  It was a gallant gesture and one that didn’t go unnoticed.

The show closed with the one-two punch of “Gone Daddy Gone” and “American Music” before the band took a brief encore break and returned with Goebel Leon Reeves’ “Hobo’s Lullaby” and finally the song that many had been waiting for; “Add It Up.”  While The Gardens may not recover from that “Why can’t I get, just one fuck” line for a long time to come, The Femmes put on a great show and left a lasting impression on “wine and cheesers.”