Femmes Blister With Eclectic Music Mix Violent Femmes, With 22 Jacks Saturday, June 24, Spokane Opera House

The Violent Femmes seem to take perverse pride in the fact that they’ve never had a true, chart-topping hit.

And yet legions of folks of a certain age know all the words to Femmes songs like “Blister in the Sun,” “Add it Up” and “American Music.” In a high-energy show Saturday at the Opera House, the Violent Femmes proved why, after almost two decades, they remain no-hit wonders: The Femmes defy classification.

Is the trio of singer Gordon Gano, bassist Brian Ritchie and drummer Guy Hoffman a rock band? They sure sounded like one on the catchy tunes “Prove My Love” and “Freak Magnet.” Are they a religious act? They turned the Opera House into a big-tent revival on “Rejoice and Be Happy” and “Jesus Walking on the Water.” Are they a jam band? They morphed many of their most well-known songs into extended, unrecognizable solos.

Are they into rockabilly? It sure seemed like it on the twangy “Country Death Song” and “I Swear It.”

Toss in some blues and jazz riffs courtesy of the Femmes’ Horns of Dilemma players (including Gano’s sister, Cynthia, on trumpet) and it’s easy to see why people just don’t know what to make of this band. But that’s all a part of the Violent Femmes’ charm. The angst-ridden lyrics set to a peppy beat. Gano’s unmistakably nasal voice. The trio’s geeky, un-rock-star-like demeanor. After nearly 20 years of playing “Blister in the Sun,” the band still found some life in it, Gano beaming as he stepped away from the mike to let the audience sing.

Ritchie’s bass-playing stood out during much of the nearly two-hour set.

The Femmes’ Everly Brothers-esque ode to teen ennui “American Music” was the show’s highlight (although hearing a guy old enough to have teenaged kids lament, “Nobody will go to the prom with me,” was a bit jarring.) But the song remains a perfect showcase for Gano’s urgent vocals.

The trio is touring in support of “Freak Magnet,” the band’s first new studio album in six years. The new songs mesh seamlessly with the Femmes’ older material. But some in the audience Saturday were disappointed that the band skipped “All I Want,” the CD’s catchy new single. Maybe, just maybe, that song could become the Violent Femmes’ first hit. But it’s likely that wouldn’t make much difference to the band or to their fans.

Pop-punk rockers 22 Jacks opened the show and did a fine job of getting the Hoopfest-addled crowd to its feet. Their cover of “Message in a Bottle” brought smiles to much of the audience and their Ramones-esque “Medicated” primed folks for the Femmes’ angst to come.