Joek
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Post by Joek on Jul 16, 2004 17:02:33 GMT -5
First post on this board. First Feat shows this week as well (hi, Gary :-)) I was at both the shows in Newport and Wolverhampton. As I had been looking forward to seeing Little Feat for years, & having followed the band's music for about 25 years, expectations were high. & I wasn't disappointed. Newport was fantastic - the Voodoo jam > All That You Dream & the extended Chicken were deliriously beautiful; but I wasn't prepared for the Cajun Girl jam that Fred & Paul became involved in. Having heard the tune quite a few times from various shows, to actually see these two gentlemen locking their musicianship into this jam was a highlight. It was a great show.
Now Wolverhampton was a completely different kettle of fish (kettle of Feat) - only the Dixie Chicken was taken over from the Newport gig, but a different rendition at that. The two shows were very different anyway - Bill played a more prominent role, Sam didn't shine like he did in Newport. Yes, the sound wasn't very good, although it improved; yes, security was ordered to keep people seated at first (during the moe. opener) - but things got better. The sound somewhat improved (although I agree with a previous post in that it might be that we got used to it), security loosened up slightly. The music, however, I thought was extraordinary. The Easy To Slip > I Know You Rider > Easy To Slip rocked; the One Clear Moment > Just Another Sunday was gorgeous; the Chicken with a tiny dose of Gringo was great; the Fatman encore rocked.
I have always liked Little Feat, whether the 'old' band with Lowell or the current touring band - or the previous versions from the '80s & early '90s. This is a hard-working outfit who play very professionally but also show what fun it is to explore new territory together. I respect them for that. There aren't that many bands around nowadays who walk the line of exploration & populism. Seeing Little Feat made me realize that there are still people who can give me a live-music experience that is fully satisfying.
Joek
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Post by featcovers on Jul 17, 2004 3:05:53 GMT -5
What He Said!!!
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Post by phishtez on Jul 17, 2004 3:41:55 GMT -5
So ZmC took time off work his choice he travelled over 5 hours his choice he would only see Bonnie Raitt or Jackson Browne his choice So the feat have their choice of what to play!!!!!!!!! I take it if he sees Jackson he wants him to play the whole of Running on Empty and Bonnie to play the whole of Nick of Time If you go through all the feat''classics' most were written by lowell So what do the band do Change names so not to dissapoint a few nostalgia merchants? so ZMC can live in a warm bubble this is not a personal attack on you what I have said about 4 times is music is for living to John Peel said music is like a newpaper who wants to read headlines from 5 years ago Neil Young has had many different musical lives Jeff Buckley was truely awesome Richard Thompson a genius Jeff Beck takes chances So do the King crimson line ups Listen to record/cds they are of a time and a place but please do not critisise artists for moving on without that movement forwards everything would be stale
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ZMG
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Post by ZMG on Jul 17, 2004 12:59:52 GMT -5
Phistez
With all due respect
I don't know where you found in my post what you base most of your comments on
I said I do not care if they play old or new stuff. By this I mean I am happy to listen to all or any of their music. Their choice of music at the concert did not disappoint me. I am happy to listen to whatever they choose to play and respect their freedom to choose. It was the sound quality that let things down.
I simply wanted to say that I have listened to them for 30 years (my choice) I have bought their lp's and cd's for 30 years (my choice) and my chances of seeing them again are diminishing.
I have also, in the last year been to see Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt and was equally happy to listen to whatever they chose to play. As with Little Feat I did not stop buying their lp's and cd's because they 'moved on'.
Because I can choose who I listen to, who I stop listening to, who I go to see etc. surely the fact that I stated that for 30 years I have been a Little Feat fan means that I have a right to say that my only chance (so far) to see the band live was let down by the sound quality
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Post by scooter on Jul 17, 2004 19:02:22 GMT -5
I intended to go to the Wolves Civic show, but missed it. Having read the comments on here i am glad I didn't go. I have been to plenty of gigs there, and the sound has almost always been good, so there must have been a problem somewhere (band or equipt ?) Also, I have never known them have people sitting at tables before, but it was advertised on this website as soon as the dates were announced, so I assume the band (or their management) requested it or ok'd it. Best solution next time would be to go to the Robin2 at Bilston, only 2/3 miles away. It was fine for Bob Weir's Ratdog and Starship. A few hundred people in a friendly atmosphere is much better than a half full hall. I promise to go if they come back and play there
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Post by featphoto on Jul 17, 2004 19:35:57 GMT -5
If you go through all the feat''classics' most were written by lowell this is a common misconception ... actually, if you look at the songwriting credits on the Lowell era albums (Little Feat through Down On The Farm), Lowell has either sole or shared credit on barely half of the songs, and if you count sole credit only it drops to well below half. his output dropped off sharply after Dixie Chicken. h()
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Guy
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Post by Guy on Jul 17, 2004 20:46:51 GMT -5
Time, perhaps, to clarify some issues.
Firstly, I was POC for the Wolverhampton show which gave me the opportunity (which I took) to visit every part of the Hall upstairs and down to check out whether the sound was any better anywhere else than at the mixing desk where I was standing.
Answer: apart from right up front and in the side balconies it was uniformly dreadful. I saw people walking out after the first 2 songs. I didn't ask them why but I suspect it was a combination of the terrible sound and the fact that Feat opened with two "new" songs, One Clear Moment from 1987 and Just Another Sunday from 2000. As POC I had the unique opportunity of approaching people before the show to get them to sign up and fully 80% of them said they hadn't heard or seen the Feat since the Seventies and enquired who was in the band now. In that context, the opening was clearly not designed to appeal to the crowd and as the sound made the songs very hard to hear, disappointment was inevitable.
Second, if you haven't heard Little Feat since the Seventies, what do you expect to hear if you come to see them in 2004? They are not catering to the oldies market, they have their eye firmly fixed on the Jamband market in the States (hence the moe. opening act). Personally, I am no great fan of the jamming and think it a shame that with the wealth of material from all eras of the band available to them they choose to extend their songs to double or triple length instead of playing a few more. BUT...it's their music, their careers, their JOB night after night and jamming fulfils them and gives them a place to feel comfortable in the market. They don't have to do an Eagles or a Skynyrd. And to give them their dues, if you see them over 3 consecutive nights you will get very little repetition ('cept the Chicken and Fatman). So in three shows they do play a good depth of their material. On any given night you may not get your favourite song, but if you are a real fan of the living, breathing entity that is Little Feat, the setlist in Wolves was wonderful. Easy To Slip, Down On The Farm, Under The Radar, Gringo and Stomp in one show!! Such a shame about the sound.
Thirdly, I've seen 3 shows at the Civic. 2 (this and the Black Crowes) are bottom of the all time list for sound. Only Marillion managed a decent sound and even then it was the worst of 6 shows I saw them play in 2 weeks. Howard, the Feat sound engineer, has to tackle a different hall and desk every day. He did the best he could with a cavernous 60's built Hall half filled with wooden tables and seated audience. He said to me "until they invent the anti-reverb knob I'm f**ked".
Fourthly, don't even get me started on respect for their audience. A different set list every night? New material every couple of years? Allowing fans to tape and trade EVERY show from the soundboard? Regular releases of live and archive material? An annual fan convention in Jamaica (and maybe elsewhere next year as well)? I would say that anyone who goes along to a rock show in 2004 having not heard the band (or much of the band) since the Seventies is the one showing a lack of respect, both for the band and themselves. As I said before, what did you expect? A golden Oldies package trading off the memory of Lowell George?
If this was just about the sound I'd be in agreement with anyone disappoinnted in Wolverhampton. My heart sank when I heard the souind and looked around at all the unsmiling faces clearly not recognising a lot of the material and hating the sound. I was unaware of the bouncers' strict enforcement of the no dancing rule and it seems that this also contributed to a bad taste in peoples' mouth (and ears). But, despite their exhaustion, the band played their usual 2 hours of tightly integrated jamming which is what they want to do now and they are not to blame for the sound or the audience's expectation that they would be getting a show from something other than the Little Feat of today.
Sadly my attemnpts to record the show were defeated by a jammed DAT tape; but I have a line on a moe. fan who taped it so maybe it'll become available and I can circulate it so that people who were there can reappraise the music by being able to actually hear it!! Watch this space.
Fifthly, and finally, Tennessee Jed was not played just for the GD fans. Feat slip it into Dixie Chicken almost every night and play I Know You Rider whenever they play Easy To Slip. There were no deviations from the printed setlist in Wolverhampton. But I'm glad the Dead fans dug it cos they were up front, dancing and having a high old time and it was good to see someone getting the entertainment they wanted. To everyone else, I'm sorry for the bad experience but don't give up on the Feat cos in the right venue (like the next night at the Astoria) they rock.
Guy
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Post by tenntwister on Jul 17, 2004 22:50:52 GMT -5
Thank you, Guy. He knows where of he speaks, I can assure you. At least some folks knew how to have a good time at the show, right?
Guy, let me know how the recording comes out, if you would.
md
ps - We had a Gawd awful sounding Feat show here in my hometown of Nashville a few years ago... at a now defunct basement of a venue. The band's setlist was fabulous (One Clear Moment>Just Another Sunday, Down The Road & Just Kissed My Baby, Voices On The Wind..., Craig Fuller sitting in on Willin') but the sound in the room was nasty. One of those nights...
AND, about the tables - don't you dare think that the Feat OK'ed that. The promoter or venue has way so much control, and the band does not fiddle with those details. In fact, they don't get asked. That was someone else's disaster.
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Post by caprani on Jul 18, 2004 2:38:12 GMT -5
Ahoy! Guy writes: "Time, perhaps, to clarify some issues." Which you've done very, very well! Too bad about the DAT. Thanks a lot
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Post by phishtez on Jul 18, 2004 3:58:40 GMT -5
FIRSTLY MY HUMBLE AND CONTRITE APOLOGIES TO ZMC I did what i bollock other people for i read what i thought you wrote rather than what you actually wrote( i really should not read postings on Daturday morning after a friday night out!!
to featphoto iI was expecting some flac for my blanket statement about L i did put classics in inverted commas Lowel wrote cold cold cold roll um easy rocket in my pocket sailin shoes two trains long distance love spanish moon rock and roll doctor honest man trouble my point is not about ownership it was the fact of some fans expect a setlist from 25 years ago to be played everynight!!!!!! Im sorry if im coming over as an asshole but what came out as a one posting defence seemed to have been taken up as a denfnce of the right for a band to play what they want!!!!!!!!!!!
amy everyone smile and be happy
Also can I be top of the list for a copy of the concert love me or lothe me I deserve it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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TonyC
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by TonyC on Jul 18, 2004 4:22:16 GMT -5
To briefly address a couple of the comments that Hank put my way earlier. Firstly, there are two ways that one can approach a gig in which a band that you have invested a lot of time, money and love are playing. You can sit and fawn over them all night and pretend - despite all evidence to the contrary - that they are great and you're having a real good time. Otherwise you can take in the same critical faculties that you adopt to every situation and make an honest assessment. As I'm not a star-struck kid I chose the latter, as I ivariably do, and as there are other similar opinions to mine on this thread it appears I had some kindred spirits at the show. For the record I'd have been equally critical if they had put on a show like this in 1976, so your suggestion that I went to the gig with some kind of post-Lowell hang-up is way off beam.
The real irony of your earlier post, Hank, was your comments on me not 'getting it'. The reason I got to love Little Feat so much thirty plus years ago was because of the songs. They moved me in every way, songs to dance to or listen to or sit and think about or - if you'll excuse the cod hippydom - songs that took me, albeit briefly, to a better place than Manchester on a cold November night. The poster who referred to Little Feat earlier as the 'soundtrack of his life' expressed my feelings to the letter. With Little Feat it always about the songs, the gorgeous chord changes, the heartfelt lyrics, the superb, tight, economical playing. I paid a (relative) fortune in 1976 or thereabouts in sending off to some mail order address in Paris for copies of the legendary 'Aurora Backseat' and 'Electrif Lycanthrope' bootlegs and they were just magnificent and it was all about the songs. How I laughed at those who thought the Allmans or the Dead were the business end of the live rock 'n roll experience with their stiflingly boring extended soloing designed simply to disguise the fact that they had barely a worthwhile song in their repotoire.
I'm not laughing now.
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Post by featphoto on Jul 18, 2004 11:36:06 GMT -5
too bad, laughter's good for your health. in fact, I'm getting healthier by the moment. as I am neither a "star struck kid" (at the age of 51 and having been to at least that many shows in the last 6 years) nor someone who would "fawn over them all night " (ask someone who knows me if I fawn over anything; that'll make 'em healthier), we can dispense with the lame attempts at deprication. despite your protestations to the contrary, in your two posts I still see no evidence you've been keeping up with the band's music since the Lowell era: no mention of familiarity with new albums, newer songs ... the only time period in the music you refer to is "their first five albums", the only specific date you mention is 1976, the only recordings you mention are two ancient bootlegs (by which purchase you violated the band's copyright but, hey, you were young then), the only reference to their music growing or changing is as "the third-rate Weather Report tribute band that Lowell always felt Bill was looking for". with all this focus on the band's first few years, is it any wonder I suspect you're stuck in the mid-70s with a Lowell George shrine in your basement? that fact that you don't like Little Feat's newer music or present style doesn't bother me; that's life, happens to all people with all sorts of things. (however, if you had been keeping up with the band's music over the last 16 years you would have known it had moved in a direction not of your liking, you probably would not have gone to the Wolverhampton show and we wouldn't be having this discussion right now). what does bother me is that instead of just lamenting that they've gone in a direction you don't like, you chose instead to try to belittle them by all manner of snide comments about their age, professionalism and skill. just because they aren't producing music that suits your taste, it makes them the losers, hmmm? ... and then there was the "the major (record) companies may know what they are talking about" comment. if anything proved to me that you just don't get it, that was it. (that, and maybe that whole AWB thing ... ). since when have the major labels been the arbeiters of anything but what puts money in their bank accounts? good grief ... you probably are better off if you "have a drink, put on 'Sailin' Shoes' and cry myself to sleep." the rest of us will be listening to the music (new and old) and having a great time.
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Post by Mike on Jul 18, 2004 21:53:04 GMT -5
Where is the betting window? I'll put my money on Hank! Some people are just happier at an "Oldies but Goldies" show. I wouldn't look for The Feat there tho. AWB-Ha!!!
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Post by EmmaSpencer on Jul 19, 2004 5:30:17 GMT -5
I thought this board was for Feat FANS Anyone would think you ass holes who cant do anything but moan only went so you could slag em off. Get a life you sad old gits.!!
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Post by phishtez on Jul 19, 2004 6:10:03 GMT -5
Hello Emma Ah to be so young and succinct!! You have placed in so few words what many of us were trying to say in subtle ways god bless you ;D
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