CONCERT REVIEW: 1/14/2012 - Mercy Lounge, Nashville

[Tom Foolery]

Saturday, January 14, 2012
Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN
opening acts: Evan P. Donohue, The Kingston Springs
______________________

Circus
The Way It's Meant to Be
Whatever Gets You By
The Drawing Board
Kids
Another One
Golden Comb
*NEW SONG* ("What's happening to me?/I need some answers.")
Exhibit A
The Temporary Blues
How It Starts
From Now On
Love Is
The Idea of Growing Old
Tenderly
Lions
Big Mama Gonna Whip Us Good

ENCORE:
Content
Blow It Out
Thursday

SECOND ENCORE:
Me & the Skirts
Exorcising Demons
Mosis Tosis

Observations and Comments

• Another SOLD OUT show for The Features here in Nashville.  I arrived to the show a bit late, and when I walked in, the place was packed.  It warms my heart to see the band have such a large, dedicated fan base.
• The band used the rare "reverse layout" on stage.  Mark was set up on the right side of the stage, and Roger was pounding the thud staff over on the left side.
• Does anyone know the name of the "new" song mentioned in the set list?  I think Pelham may have said its name before playing it, but I didn't catch it.  I also don't think this song is very new.  The first few times the band plays a song (and it's still in the development phase), Pelham sings it very tentatively.  He mumbles through parts of it and stands away from the mic.  For this one, though, he sang all of the lyrics confidently.  This leads me to believe that it could be one of the songs written and recorded last year for the "next" album.
• I enjoyed both the "new song" and "Tenderly".  It sounds like the next album will build off the strength of Wilderness.
• "From Now On" is much better live than on a record.  After hearing the song on the Twilight soundtrack, I didn't think it sounded much like a Features song.  I didn't think it fit with Wilderness at all and it seemed like a no-brainer that they would leave it off of the album.  In fact, it seemed so out of place that I wondered why they even bothered to record it.  However, after hearing the live version, it makes more sense to me, and I can see how it fits into their catalog.
• "Big Mama" really rocked, and the guys seemed to have a lot of fun playing it.  Both Roger and Matt were playing their guitars held way up in the air in a classic rock god pose.  I was hoping they'd complete the image by leaning on each other back-to-back while playing.
• During "Content" Matt looked as if he wanted to break into the "Pelham Shuffle" we saw in the song's video.  However, I think the guitar prevented his all-out dancing.
• You read that right... TWO encores.  After "Big Mama" they left the stage for a few minutes, but we all knew they'd be back for an encore.  They came out, played a few songs (including "Thursday")... so that seemed like the end of it.  A notable number of people started heading for the exit.  But then, after a couple of minutes, they came out again and gave us another rock and roll beat-down.  In all of my years, I can't remember a double encore from this band.
• The show continued a long-standing Features hometown tradition of long sets.  23 songs.  Classic!
• I was very surprised by the age of the setlist.  They reached way back into their catalog for the Nashville crowd.  By my count, 11 of the 23 songs were over 8 years old.  As an old school fan, it made me happy to hear the classics, but this can't be the same set they play out on the road.

[Juan Horsetown]

My continual problem (about which I've probably posted before...) is that I'd really prefer to hear newer stuff as opposed to old.  I was really hoping for a "Chapter III" or "Offer Up" as opposed to so many older songs.  I feel like I've had my fill of Exhibit A songs, and while I love them, I could've had the number of them played cut in half and been fine.  I'd love to see more setlists from the road to see how they compare.  Maybe some wiki readers will help answer that.

Still, it's always great to hear the Features again.  The new songs are up to their standards.  That was the first time I'd heard "From Now On" since I can't get it from iTunes, and I really liked it.

I also noticed what seemed to be subtle changes in songs--a new coda to TTWIMtB, a new transition near the end of "Thursday," little things that I wonder if are signs that they're re-tooling them, if I'm imagining them, or if they made some mistakes and recovered really well.  I don't know, but I'd be curious if anyone else noticed.