Violent Femmes took the Suburban Park stage at 8 p.m. on Friday, September 4, as part of The Great New York State Fair’s concert lineup. The acoustic pop-punk band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin drew a strong crowd of fans of all ages, all ready to have a good time. From the opening notes, the band had the State Fair crowd singing and dancing along to all of their hits.

Violent Femmes at fair — *Photo: Mandy Lain – Violent Femmes at Suburban Park*

Starting the set off strong, they opened with ‘Prove My Love’, ‘Add It Up’, and ‘Memory’, just enough to warm fans up for the night. Bassist Brian Ritchie shouted out the State Fair, having an interpreter. “ I didn’t know we were going to have a sign language interpretation here tonight. Very classy thing for the New York State Fair.”

He didn’t stop there in his praise. Calling for the crowd to give that night’s interpreter, Amber Galloway, a round of applause, as her job is difficult. Additionally, he added, “We don’t use a set list, so we don’t even know what we are going to do next, and that makes it very difficult for someone like Amber, who has to listen and translate on the spot.”

*Photo: Mandy Lain – Violent Femmes at Suburban Park*

Gordon Gano followed up by saying that the band had to feel out what they would play next, and they picked right. The Syracuse crowd enjoyed every second as they moved from ‘Kiss Off’ into ‘Please Don’t Go,’ keeping the energy high throughout the set.

What was most impressive was the instrumental versatility throughout the set. Multi-instrumentalist Gordon Gano switched between piano, guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo, adding a different layer to each song. John Sparrow kept the rhythm moving on snare, barbecue, and percussion. Ritchie handled bass, baritone guitar, and percussion. Blaise Garza also joined the band on saxophone, adding another layer to their sound.

They finished out the night with an encore of ‘Small Time Laboring Man’ by George Jones. At the same time, Gano said he “would be watching his fingers,” as it was something he’d never done before. After they finished their set with their 1991 hit ‘American Music,’ the crowd continued cheering as they left the stage for the final time that night.