Permanent Record - Live & Otherwise - Violent Femmes

Permanent Record - Live & Otherwise - Violent Femmes

"I hope you know," Gordon Gano sings, "That this will go down on your permanent record." The line, which gives title to this live release (and a greatest hits collection), comes from the Violent Femmes' debut. It's also the first in a three-song encore from this 49-minute show, recorded at Virginia's Boat House on July 21, 1991. The Wisconsin trio gives an impassioned performance, pulling out all the stops for a spooky version of "Confessions," for which they bring out Caleb Alexander on saxophone. Throughout the show, singer/guitarist Gano looks like a mischievous choirboy, bass player Brian Ritchie looks like a hillbilly (must be that mullet), and percussionist Victor DeLorenzo looks like Moe Tucker in that he too plays an upright drum kit. Most importantly, though, the band sounds great. <i>Permanent Record</i> includes seven videos spanning the Femmes' career, from 1983-1994, along with a lo-fi street performance of "Kiss Off." <i>--Kathleen C. Fennessy</i>