The first time I met them, one was wearing a Sonic Youth t-shirt and the other was wearing a Red Sox cap. Baseball fans? Alternative music fans? Beer fans? I want to marry them both.
One evening months ago at a get-together at Lara and Mike's, the iPod came out and discussions of favorite bands ensued between us. After the Pixies (excellent choice), Mike's 2nd favorite band of all time is The Feelies.
Who?
The Feelies.
An alternative band from 1976-1991 that managed to squeeze out 4 albums during that lengthy time. "There'd be no R.E.M. without The Feelies", Mike would declare often. I am intrigued.
Weeks back, Lara sends me a note on Facebook that The Feelies are playing in DC at the 9:30 Club on Saturday March 15th for a reunion concert after an 18-year layoff. I should see if I could go too. Well, it happened that my 3-day weekend fell during that time, so why the hell not? The Feelies it is!
Beforehand Monica and I, Lara and Mike, and Rob and Jeannie meet for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the outskirts of the Adams-Morgan DC neighborhood, Lauriol. Pretty tasty stuff. Some headaches with Mike finding a parking spot, nearly getting a ticket, then just parking at the 9:30 Club and walking a mile back to the Lauriol in the drizzle occur, but then full bellies occur with satisfied smiles. To the 9:30 Club we go!Doors open at 7:00pm, but The Feelies aren't scheduled to go on until, wait for it,....9:30. Opening band The Shrubs (or is it just Shrubs?) waste our time as we wait for the main event (for Mike): the reunion after 18 long years.
I easily heard R.E.M. influence, along with some Velvet Underground, and even a touch of Tom Petty. Eclectic. Fun. A good sized crowd for a band I've never heard of who's been on an 18-year layoff. The review:
Feelies, Closing a Gap of 18 Years
Monday, March 16, 2009; Page C06
The reemergence of the Feelies -- pioneers of hyper-strum, masters of bittersweet indie-rock before it became a genre -- after 18 dormant years shouldn't surprise their followers too much. After all, the New Jersey band's '76-to-'91 career was marked by anti-careerist moves and general shunning of the spotlight. So, showing up at the 9:30 club Saturday night and blazing through an exquisite career overview that delighted fans and gave the impression that the band had never stopped practicing was almost par for the Feelies course.
Reunited last year to perform a Fourth of July show with Sonic Youth and having appeared Wednesday at a Carnegie Hall tribute to R.E.M., the quintet (guitarists Bill Million and Glenn Mercer, percussionists Stanley Demeski and Dave Weckermen and bassist Brenda Sauter) rose to the challenge of all phases of their sound. The totally wired pulsebeats of their classic debut, "Crazy Rhythms" -- "Fa Cé-La," "Raised Eyebrows" and the title track -- were lively and inspired. So were the prickly shimmer of 1986's landmark "The Good Earth": "Let's Go," "The High Road" and the haywire-guitar climax of "Slipping (Into Something)."
Songs from 1988's "Only Life" sounded better than ever; both "Deep Fascination" and "The Final Word" were highlights. The Feelies also played a wonderful series of closing covers, from the Beatles and the Velvet Underground to the Modern Lovers ("I Wanna Sleep in Your Arms") and Patti Smith ("Dancing Barefoot") to R.E.M. ("Carnival of Sorts") and Neil Young ("Barstool Blues"). Those songs came during a five-encore sequence that spoke to the Feelies' idiosyncratic brilliance, the longtime support of the 9:30 club and the perfect way to handle a comeback show.
-- Patrick Foster
They came back out for 5 two-song encores. FIVE! Insane.
A fun evening. A good concert. And with the heavy R.E.M. background/influence/ripoff, I implored Mike to burn me their 4 CD's as they are shockingly not on iTunes. Kept me company on my drive back to Greensboro. What a great Saturday.
3 comments:
This is so funny! I searched under Google for any blog comments about feelies show and this one came up. Started reading it and saw Brannons, beer, Alexandria, then Mike and Lara and thought that's weird. Then I realized it was your blog. Great summary of a great night! Glad you like the cd's.
Something needs to be put straight here.............The Feelies were first, REM was deeply influenced by THEM. There is no REM ripoff, if anyone did the ripping off, it's REM. It was a great show with Slipping (Into Something) being my personal highlight. M.
I was just about to comment but saw that Mark had got it right, the Feelies were first and Peter buck did try to get them better known by producing one of their albums.
regards/
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