“Behind the poppy hits, you might not know how their music can strike a chord with you," he said. "You might have an entirely different conception of the kind of band they are if you only know their more popular songs.” However, he added that it’s possible that the better-known songs “might be the foot in the door for the new generations of fans.”

Regardless of how one becomes a fan of the Femmes, fans old and young say their live concerts take the fan experience to a new level.

“We like to drive the audience past their expectations and to the point where they forget their everyday lives,” Ritchie said.

Having attended roughly 25 shows combined, Dietz, Armiros and Kopplin all agreed that every concert they have attended has exceeded their expectations.

“For me, seeing them today brings back so many great memories," Dietz said. "I know and love all the music, so seeing them live is so much fun. The best part of any Femmes show is the countdown during ‘Kiss Off.’ It’s great to hear everyone counting down as everyone is jumping up and down and then lose it as the count reaches 10. Great concert moment.”

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Drummer DeLorenzo, although taking some time off to pursue a solo career, rejoined the Violent Femmes in 2002.

“When I’m at their concerts it feels so familiar," Kopplin said. "I get the most excited when older, obscure songs are played.”

Although Dietz, Kopplin and Armiros represent different generations of Femmes fans and are all inspired by familiar elements of the music, they also experience a great sense of pride at concerts that not many other fans can say they feel. This sense of pride, expressed by all three men, exists because they all grew up in or around the Femmes’ home town of Milwaukee.

“I’m a fan of a lot of bands, but the Femmes hold a special place for me because they come from my hometown,” Armiros said.

For all three men, this unique personal connection to the band intensifies their fan experience. Kopplin excitedly described the Femmes as “the rock 'n' roll home team.”

“The boredom inspired us to get out and see the world," Ritchie said. "Then after seeing the world, we realized Milwaukee was not so bad after all."

The Femmes are one of the rare musical groups that are able to relate better to their fans because they speak to true human experience. According to Ritchie, the Femmes’ formula for success is to “play the music you love, don’t compromise, and don’t worry about what other people think.”