On Tuesday, March 3 Santa Cruz was graced by 1980’s punk rock royalty when seminal folk punks, the Violent Femmes played the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Led by Gordon Gano, the Violent Femmes are celebrating their 45th year as a band with a very special, nine-date tour spanning the gamut of their catalogue. It’s an impressive landmark for any group, particularly one that spawned from the early days of the 1980s punk scene from the most unlikely of places, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Of course, the Femmes really need no introduction. Songs like “American Music,” “Blister in the Sun,” and “Kiss Off” have blasted from stereos, radio stations and ear buds since their inception. While it’s not unheard of, for a band to have a perfect debut album is often a very rare thing. But the self-titled Violent Femmes full-length can go toe-to-toe up against some of the more mainstream fixtures and outlast them every time.
And just like their hometown, the Violent Femmes became the most unlikely of rock stars, or–at the very least–celebrated musicians. They were first discovered busking on the street by Pretenders’ guitar player, James Honeyman-Scott and immediately given a chance to play an acoustic set opening for the band. The rest is history as the Violent Femmes have lasted through hits, break-ups, reunions, festivals and even a lawsuit or two. Yet, through it all the fans never lost their love for the band as Santa Cruz proved on Tuesday.
The line to get in stretched around the block as Santa Cruzans eagerly awaited to get inside and pack the 2000-person capacity venue to the rafters. From the seats to the standing-room only floor, fans of all ages waited with anticipation for the band that has been the soundtrack for so many of their memories, whether they were there in the 80s or received the band secondhand from parents or even grandparents.
With no opener, the Violent Femmes played a blistering 90-minute set with their signature, odd style and flair. The night started with Gano coming on stage while the rest of the band marched from the back of the auditorium to the stage, playing an Irish hymn that could easily be taken for a Civil War battle song.
Armed with their signature snare drum, Gano’s angst-ridden voice, xylophone, acoustic bass guitar, brass horns and–yes–a barbeque, the Violent Femmes played fan favorites while still keeping the songs fresh and fun for both audience and band. Throughout the set, the long-haired, bathrobe-wearing Gano jumped between acoustic and electric guitar, banjo, mandolin and fiddle with ease. Along with the tracks listed above they played versions of “Black Girls,” “Jesus Walking on ‘Water,” “I Held Her In My Arms,” “Good Feeling,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “Gimme the Car,” and “No Killing” just to name a few.
However, the cherry on top of the already delicious sundae of a show was the encore when the band brought out Santa Cruz’s own legendary Ashwin Batish on sitar and his son Keshav Batish on tabla. Son and grandson of Shiv Dayal (SD) Batish, the Batishes are world-renowned musicians and have been a pillar in the Santa Cruz music scene since 1970 when SD moved the family to Santa Cruz so he could teach music at the U.C. (where Ashwin still teaches). Three years after the Batishes moved to Santa Cruz, they opened the Batish Institute of Indian Music on Mission Street, where it still stands today.
With the Batishes, the Violent Femmes drifted through a 10-minute song which I believe is called “My Living Body” (but could be wrong), before ending with a raucous treatment of “Add It Up.” Looking out into the sea of dancing faces, there wasn’t a single person not singing along.
It was my third time seeing the Femmes since 2022 and they have never disappointed. The group might be older and wiser, but they still bring the same chaotic yet refined energy to the stage. Rest assured, no matter how old the songs might be, they are guaranteed to draw out the angsty teenager in every fan.
