March 2026
“That was the song that was supposed to have been on the Austin Powers Soundtrack,” mused Gordon Gano upon finishing the song ‘I’m Nothing’, “but we found out that it was replaced by a Madonna song.”
At just the second song into The Violent Femmes’ set, Gano was setting the tone for the group’s stop inside Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort & Casino on their 45 Years of Violent Femmes Tour; the Femmes’ unconventional songwriting topped off by Gano’s sardonic wit.
Though the first thing Gano said onstage on this evening was that the group’s other founding member, bass player Brian Ritchie, would not be present after being in a motorcycle accident the previous day. (The group’s guitar tech, Mike Kelly, would be filling in on bass duties for the remainder of the tour.)
Nevertheless, a Ritchie-less Violent Femmes persisted in performing with the same sense of painting outside of the lines that made them staples of college radio during their existence throughout the 1980’s. Opening with ‘Olinguito’ as band members marched onstage from the darkened side stage corners, it was made clear from the beginning that the group was not going to give a straightforward show. Over the course of their 22 song set, the group worked songs like ‘Old Mother Reagan’, ‘Gimme The Car’ and a cover of Voot Warnings’ ‘Dance Motherfucker Dance’. The band exercised their knack in alternating between hot and cold, pairing songs like their single ‘Kiss Off’ – the first moment that brought everyone in the sold out room to their feet and audibly yelling along – with its follow up ‘Please Do Not Go’, a song whose meandering folk punk riffing resulted in quieting the room.
However in the end, the hits won, and the group ended the night with a string of well known singles – ‘Blister In The Sun’, ‘Gone Daddy Gone’ and ‘American Music’ – which had the room on its feet and concluding the set with eruptive cheers.
45 Years of Violent Femmes delivered on the folky punk influenced instrumentation the group is known for. Despite the notable absence of one of the two original members of the group, Gano carried the night and sent the packed room home with an exclamation point of a show.
More of Hazel Isla O’Mahoney’s photography can be seen on her Instagram page.
Upcoming concerts at the Grand Sierra Resort include appearances by Devo, The Wallflowers, Chevelle, Megadeth, Social Distortion and LCD Soundsystem. More info can be found here.
