PICS & Video : Violent Femmes – whitey delight
Not only do we have our usual pics on FLICKR [click here] but we’ve now hooked up a short video – so if you missed the concert click here for the video clip! OR here for another video!
For anyone that thinks that young whit…
e people have emigrated en masse from South Africa, think again. The wild bunch of proud and loud South African rockers at the Violent Femmes concerts this past weekend showed that young, enthusiastic whitey’s aren’t going anywhere… they’re en masse and they’re here to stay and loving it. GOOD FOR YOU GUYS – let’s keep up the positive attitude and great moods…. There were even some impressive dance moves… You go Whitey’s…
Panda was there and she has a whole theory on why the Violent Femmes has such a huge appeal to the white children of the 80’s – makes for interesting food for thought… In her words:
“We all knew deep inside of us that something was very wrong in our country, but we had been so well brain-washed and numbed out and cut off by the government that we didn’t know how to express it and do something real about it. Rock n Roll music like the Violent Femmes and their anti-middle class lyrics against lethargy and stinky values was one way we could let out the awkwardness. And boy did we rock out our bad intuition.”
Here’s her review:
It was a dark and stormy night. Fans rocked up in their thousands to stand in long queues, then wait, squashed shoulder to shoulder, while Barney In His Element Simon relived the old rock floor hits.
There was the usual bar area dog show with an even more squashed twenty minute wait for a warm Castle in a plastic cup. There were faces I hadn’t seen since the rampaging mosh-pit club days when, bathed in sweat, we drank Black Label and wanted it painted black.
The concert kicked off with the popular Parlotones. Fuzzy Gish graced the stage next with a rocking set of hard, heartfelt, boyish South African music. It was quite an accolade, I thought, to open for the Violent Femmes and the band very successfully warmed up (and in some cases overheated) the appreciative crowd. Then, amidst screams and dramatic lighting, the Femmes jogged onto the stage and played the first bars of Country Death Song. The crowd went wild.
In an era of oppressive governance, the Femmes were amongst those who gave voice to a youth with an instinctual rebellion to white middle class values but all we knew in those days was that we liked it.
On stage, their aging faces and unfashionable clothes belied their energy and -judging from the crowd – ability to appeal to a wide range of fashion eras. Some people in the audience, it was clear, didn’t get the religious references and hillbilly riffs and looked around with their thought bubbles broadcasting “this isn’t like Blister in the Sun?!?!”
With a grin in the corner of his mouth, Gordon Gano, thanked South Africa for waiting twenty years and told us how happy the previous nights crowd had been when they’d heard the next song – even though it was essentially a sad song. He was in some doubt as to whether to start it but then laughed openly and began to play “You are my sunshine”. Sick bastard.
Other musicians joined them throughout their performance, the guys from Fuzzi Gish, grinning hard and an African drum ensemble, also grinning hard amongst them. In the middle of I Like The Black Girls, Brian Ritchie introduced the band with an infinite and wonderful jamming session and before we knew it our clothes were stuck to us and our hair, sticking to our faces.
Rock n Roll music like the Violent Femmes and their anti-middle class lyrics was one way we could express our rage.
I can’t really remember what happened in the end.
*****************************************************
Any true rocker from the late 80s and 90’s will know these guys – the VIOLENT FEMMES – remember “BLISTER IN THE SUN?”
For some just thinking about them will bring back memories of juggling cheap plastic glasses topped with R1,00 worth of the finest tassies while dancing badly – never mind the hangover lecture-hall dizziness…
At only R80, it’s a must-see – GO GET ‘EM!
The Milwaukee based band, with all time cult hits like “Add it Up”, “Blister in the Sun” “Held her in my arms” and many others will be doing two exclusive shows at the Coca Cola Dome during the upcoming LG Extreme Sports Show on 4th / 5th November.
Working mainly in a punk/rock/alternative/folk alternative genre the band’s albums have become absolute university and college scene classics. The band has sold more that 9 million albums and has played sold out shows worldwide. The announcement of their debut commercial show in South Africa, will delight thousands of their fans, that missed them on their previous visit to South Africa when they performed at various private engagements.
These two shows will be in support of some of South Africa’s worthiest charities including the Topsy Foundation and The St Mary’s Hospital and Unite Against Hunger
The LG Extreme Sports Show, has every year prided itself in bringing its visitors cutting edge music and acts. This year is no exception with announcement of the Violent Femmes, who will be joined by some of South Africa’s finest acts including Fokofpolisiekar and The Narrow on the 4th and Fuzigish and Parlotones on the 5th November.
The LG Extreme Sport Show runs from 4th – 6th November at the Coca-Cola Dome and is South Africa’s premier showcase of Extreme Sport s talent.
It was a dark and stormy night. Fans rocked up in their thousands to stand in long queues, then wait, squashed shoulder to shoulder, while Barney In His Element Simon relived the old rock floor hits. There was the usual bar area dog show with an even more squashed twenty minute wait for a warm Castle in a plastic cup. There were faces I hadn’t seen since the rampaging mosh-pit club days when, bathed in sweat, we drank Black Label and wanted it painted black.
The concert kicked off with the popular Parlotones. Fuzzy Gish graced the stage next with a rocking set of hard, heartfelt, boyish South African music. It was quite an accolade, I thought, to open for the Violent Femmes and the band very successfully warmed up (and in some cases overheated) the appreciative crowd. Then, amidst screams and dramatic lighting, the Femmes jogged onto the stage and played the first bars of Country Death Song. The crowd went wild.
In an era of oppressive governance, the Femmes were amongst those who gave voice to a youth with an instinctual rebellion to white middle class values but all we knew in those days was that we liked it.
On stage, their aging faces and unfashionable clothes belied their energy and -judging from the crowd – ability to appeal to a wide range of fashion eras. Some people in the audience, it was clear, didn’t get the religious references and hillbilly riffs and looked around with their thought bubbles broadcasting “this isn’t like Blister in the Sun?!?!”
With a grin in the corner of his mouth, Gordon Gano, thanked South Africa for waiting twenty years and told us how happy the previous nights crowd had been when they’d heard the next song – even though it was essentially a sad song. He was in some doubt as to whether to start it but then laughed openly and began to play “You are my sunshine”. Sick bastard.
Other musicians joined them throughout their performance, the guys from Fuzzi Gish, grinning hard and an African drum ensemble, also grinning hard amongst them. In the middle of I Like The Black Girls, Brian Ritchie introduced the band with an infinite and wonderful jamming session and before we knew it our clothes were stuck to us and our hair, sticking to our faces.
I can’t really remember what happened in the end.
.
Ticket information
Tickets for the music concerts on both evenings will be R80 each.
Tickets are available at Computicket or Shoprite Checkers stores.
