The Violent Femmes, long known for their dark, acoustic sound, played last Sunday in Leede auditorium to a small crowd of College and high school students.
The Femmes raw, unadorned performance meant very little distortion or other guitar effects. Sunday's show thus lacked the no-holds-barred energy of a band with a harder sound, yet the Femmes were a pleasant diversion from the cacophony of big, loud, overproduced bands.
Opening for the Femmes was Boston-based Buffalo Tom, who lacked the energy and drive of the Femmes themselves, although this may have been due to the fact that few people were actively watching their show.
The crowd of mostly high school and college students crowd surfing and moshing made the Femmes music seem a bit anachronistic and highlighted the fact that the band has been making music for quite some time.
The Femmes started with some newer tunes and slowly moved into their more familiar material, songs such as "Blister in the Sun." The crowd jumped to life at these familiar pieces, shouting, clapping and jumping to singer Gordon Gano's crooning.
The trio also put on a rousing version of "Gimmie the Car Tonight." Gano's voice evoked an acute sense of frustration and desperation that could almost be tasted.
Equally good was "Gone Daddy Gone" in which bass player Brian Ritchie played a xylophone. He even took a solo on the 'phone, hammering it as if it were a piece of meat.
Throughout the performance Ritchie played a variety of instruments, from a single string slide bass to a tinny sounding Indian fakir's flute.
Another song, "Girl Trouble," featured Dartmouth's own Don Glasgo, head of the Barbary Coast, on the trombone.
For an encore the Femmes played "Add It Up." This was easily the crescendo of the performance, the sweaty crowd howling the words freely.
The Femmes put on a great show, performing with consistent drive, although the lack of screaming and distortion on the instruments made for a more subdued crowd. Yet the Femmes delivered the impassioned acoustic power for which they are known.
