The legendary Violent Femmes stopped in Atlanta playing the lovely Chastain Park (now State Bank Amphitheatre) on July 18, 2018. Opening for the Femmes were Echo & The Bunnymen. The two bands have been touring together across the U.S. this summer and continue their tour through July. Both bands have been playing music for over 30 years yet they still feel fresh and sound really great.
The English rock band, Echo and the Bunnymen, opened the show for Violent Femmes at Chastain Park. Impressively, the band has been recording music since 1980 and their latest release came out just this year. The Stars, The Oceans, & The Moon came out in May of this year. Echo’s first big hit was in 1982 with the single “The Back of Love” but the songs they are probably most noted for are “The Killing Moon” and “Lips Like Sugar”. The band’s music is still leaving an impact to this day, including their song, “Nocturnal Me”, being used to close out a Stranger Things episode.
Echo and Bunnymen’s original founding member and lead singer, Ian McCulloch embodies the rock star vibe. He performed wearing leather in truerock star fashion, despite the 90+ degree heat. He also spoke to the crowd a few times, though what he uttered was pretty unrecognizable banter. Performance-wise, McCulloch sounded pretty darn clear and as amazing as ever.
The Violent Femmes have been consistently influencing music since 1981 with their original folk/punk aesthetic. The American rock legends did take a hiatus, but thankfully returned to touring after playing Coachella in 2013. Violent Femmes indie rock timelessness is because they were pioneers, who are still staying true to their sound and not conforming to current music trends. Although The Violent Femmes have their classic songs that they continue to perform the guys are staying fresh too. The Femmes released a new album in 2016, We Can Do Anything, and also, in July of this year they released a live album: 2 Mics and The Truth: Unplugged and Unhinged in America.
In 2013 John Sparrow joined on as the drummer for the band, replacing original drummer and founding member Victor DeLorenzo. It turned out this was a special night for John with The Femmes lead singer, Gordon Gano leading the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to John.
Overall the band sounded great and played seamlessly together. I caught a Violent Femmes show a couple of years ago and they sounded fantastic then. They seem to put on consistently solid shows playing their hits and engaging the crowd. It is hard to believe that these guys have been playing and touring for 35 years! With the crowd enthusiastically singing along at Chastain, the Violent Femmes played the classics like “Gone Daddy Gone”, “Blister in the Sun” and “Kiss Off”. The legends even played a personal all time favorite, “ I Could be Anything”. ~ Christina Pradhan
All photos by Christina Pradhan
Violent Femmes Online:
Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
Echo & the Bunnyman Online:
Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter
Upcoming Violent Femmes Tour Dates:
Oct 26- Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 27- Philadelphia, PA
Oct 28- Brooklyn, NY
Oct 30- Boston, MA
Oct 31- Montreal, Canada
Nov 02- Toronto, Canada
Nov 03- Detroit, MI
Nov 04- Chicago, IL
