Concert Review: The Violent Femmes

There’s something mighty depressing about seeing bands that have zero interest in staying creative in the twilight years of their career. The Violent Femmes abandoned the idea of writing new material at about the turn of the century, conceding to the pressures of nostalgia and playing their half-dozen hits into a distant “Live in Iceland” abyss.

Granted, no one who braved the pre-07-07-07 slot junkies at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino last night wanted to hear a whole set of new material. For the most part, it was a crowd of 30- and 40somethings willing to spend $5 on a whiskey and Coke and risk a fatal head wound at the hands of a clumsy flair bartender (seriously, is anyone still amused by that shit?). If the Femmes had walked out and played 10-minute versions of “Add It Up”, “Gone Daddy Gone” and “Blister in the Sun”, 90 percent of the crowd would have gone home happy.

“Stop us if you’ve heard this one bef—…never mind.”