REVIEW AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY NADINE SWIGER

Violent Femmes brought their quirky, offbeat sound to the Suburban Park Stage at the New York State Fair Friday night, giving fans a show filled with songs that were hard not to move along to.

The band has always had a sound that is difficult to place into just one category. Mixing folk, punk and alternative rock, Violent Femmes built a style that is unmistakably their own. Their music can be raw, playful, strange and catchy all at the same time, and that personality came through throughout their Fair performance.

The set included some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Add It Up,” “Kiss Off,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “American Music” and, of course, “Blister in the Sun.” They also performed songs like “Prove My Love,” “Country Death Song,” “I Held Her in My Arms,” “Gimme the Car” and “Black Girls,” giving longtime fans plenty of favorites from across their career.

There is something about Violent Femmes’ music that makes even some of their darker or stranger songs feel fun in a live setting. Between the acoustic-driven rhythms, Gordon Gano’s distinctive vocals and the band’s unconventional style, the songs have a bounce to them that makes it difficult to stand completely still.

“Blister in the Sun” was naturally one of the biggest moments of the night. The song has become the band’s signature track and remains one of the most recognizable alternative songs of the 1980s.

“Kiss Off” and “Add It Up” were also crowd favorites, while “Gone Daddy Gone” and encore closer “American Music” kept the energy going as the night came to an end.

The set even included a couple of unexpected covers, with the band putting their own spin on T. Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” and George Jones’ “Small Time Laboring Man.”

Violent Femmes first gained attention in the early 1980s with a stripped-down sound that blended acoustic instruments with the attitude and energy of punk rock. More than 40 years later, that unusual combination still works.

Their show at Suburban Park was quirky, energetic and just plain fun. Violent Femmes have a way of making songs feel loose, unpredictable and completely their own, which is a big part of what has kept fans coming back for decades.

Some bands make you want to sing along. Violent Femmes make you want to sing, dance and just enjoy the weirdness of it all.

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