Why Playing Sydney Opera House Is On Their Bucket List

A little over 30 years ago, out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a virtually unknown trio released their debut album. Violent Femmes, named for the band itself, became a phenomenon, one of the most successful debut albums of our time, spawning hits Add It Up, Gone Daddy Gone and perhaps one of the most played songs of all time, Blister In The Sun.

Three decades on and The Violent Femmes are a household name. That debut launched them around the world and despite a few differences of opinion over the years, a couple of breaks and some time apart, the band are still very much a part of the modern musical lexicon.

“It’s a little bit hard to believe,” muses Femmes bassist and also musical curator of Hobart’s MONA FOMA, Brian Ritchie. “To put it in context, thirty years prior to the release of that album, rock‘n’roll barely existed… In those days you just didn’t think, ‘In thirty years I’ll be touring the same music with the same people.’ But here we are.”

Indeed, the Femmes have been around for more than half the lifespan of rock‘n’roll itself - no mean feat. As it stands then, the band – currently comprised of Ritchie and original frontman Gordon Gano, along with newly-minted drummer Brian Viglione – since having reformed in early 2013, have been out and about touring to celebrate three decades since Violent Femmes.

They’ll bring the set to the Woodford Folk Festival over New Year’s (“The Femmes haven’t played Woodford. It’s unlike any other festival, and we’ve always felt an affinity for folk music; we think we’re a good crossover act,” reasons Ritchie), as well as the hallowed confines of the Sydney Opera House (“We’ve never played there, so that was a strong incentive to accept that invitation. We’ve played Carnegie Hall, we’ve played Royal Albert Hall, so playing the Opera House seems like something we should have on our bucket list.”).

Thirty years of playing those same songs though – does the novelty ever wear off? “Well, when you look out there and you see the people going off and having fun, you know for those three minutes all the troubles go away, it’s well worth it."

The album, for the band, has stood the test of time then. “We intentionally stripped the album back from any production tricks that may have been floating around in that era. So if I hear it, it sounds like something a young band might come out with today.”

For fans of course, Violent Femmes has easily stood the test of time, still as relevant as it was in the early ‘80s. As are the band. They’re back, they’re looking to write new material, they’re still keeping on. Thirty or so years in, and The Violent Femmes aren’t looking to hang it up just yet.