Saturday, October 19, 2002
12th & Porter - Nashville, TN
______________________

Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire opened.

Setbreak music: Sloan - umm...

The Features:

See You Thru
Walk You Home
Me & the Skirts
God Save Rock'n'Roll
Kari-Ann
Oh My Love
Look Out Below
Exorcising Demons
The Design
Buffalo Head
2 x 2
33 1/3
Circus*
Darkroom
Someway, Somehow
Bumblebee**
Blow It Out
The Damage is Done
Leave It All Behind
Thursday

ENCORE:
The Idea of Growing Old
Action

*dedicated to Peter Swanson on the eve of his 24th birthday
**dedicated to "all the newlyweds"


And so the kick-ass rock tour came to Nashville. Andrew Bird and his gang were great. Like Keith said, very original. He had a great voice and great songs. I thought they could've maybe used a couple of more musicians on stage, though, to fill out the sound and whatnot.

The Features took the stage in front of a pretty much packed house. I thought that they played with alot of confidence, more confidence than I've seen from them maybe ever. Matt was "on"...jumpingaroundthestageandknockingintothingsandscreamingandwhatnot...moreso than I've seen him be "on" since, I dunno the Exit/In show or so. The band seemed very on top of their game, not timid at all. Some random notes:
-Roger's vocals on "Me & the Skirts" were louder than I have ever heard his vocals ever before.
-Roger's background vocals on "The Design" have changed from "NaNaNa, NaNaNa, NaNaNa" to "Wake up to the design." Also, Parrish's keyboard sound on this song seems to have changed.
-"The Damage is Done" has a new part just before the breakdown part of the song.
-Best "Bumblebee" ever. This song seems to be getting more and more "rock."
-Rollum threw candy (yes, candy!) out to the crowd during his cymbal crashes in the second verse of "Thursday."
-Featuresgirl rules for getting me one of those killa Hatch Show Prints made for this tour. Thank you again!

That is all for now. I don't suppose I'll be catching up with this tour until Chicago, but maybe I can make it up to Louisville next weekend.

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 1:16 am on Oct. 21, 2002)

No "Bring on the Night"? I bet it was sweet anyway. Wish I could have been there.

And that was the 6000 post. Sorry I just noticed that.

Anywho, sounds like a great show. I just wish life wasn't so cruel to use under 21 people sometimes (I'm just kidding, Friday was stellar).

Looks good to me! i kept track too (for my own personal enjoyment) and i must say it was a killer yet odd set! (no beginning!) i loved it. only i had to stand out in the rain to hear it. being only 20 and not 21 i could not get in. even after speaking to the band and rory speaking to the club they would not let me in the door. so i hung out in the hall next to the door until about god save rock and roll, they were complete bitches and made me leave. (i even offered to pay the cover just to stand in the back and watch) i was able to listen outside and rock out. i was singing along and people across the street at 123 Cafe were making fun of me. (fuck you guys!) even though the night sucked....it was alot of fun! i met alot of people and just hung around. i walked away with 7inches (5 to be exact) and a poster. it was a great show!

I'm sorry that you didn't get in, ghostflower. I can say that I've been there (standing outside of the club listening to the band because I was underage) more than once. I'm sorry if anything that I've posted about 12th&P made you think that you could get in. It REALLY DID used to be that way. But I'm hearing more and more stories like yours. I guess 12th&Porter is now REALLY 21+.

bowl of fire was great too. they were a really good opener to have. and there was a really good crowd reception for them. what a good show!

What a great show!! Andrew Bird and his Bowl of Fire seemed much more enthusiastic and less drunk than they did in 'nooga. They were on top of it last night. And our mighty Features, what can I say? The sound was excellent, Matt was totally into it, and the audience was great. So glad I video taped it! And now Rollum is the candyman.

no need to apologize JC. i took my chances. i mostly made the trip to buy the new record. possibly getting in would have been a bonus. i didn't mind standing out in the rain. it was like a protest! even though i was soaking wet, i think i made a statement!

JC, you're right. The Features played with a lot of confidence. The biggest surprise of all was that Matt talked to the audience... just like the good ol' days. I'm not making this up! He actually said more than, "Thanks. Please be careful going home." It was wonderful.

"Bumblebee" sounds great. They've really spiced it up. "The Damage Is Done" is getting tighter and sounds more complete now. "Me and the Skirts" hasn't changed much during the four or five times that it's been played, but it didn't need much improvement. I do, however, wish that they would get Parrish to sing on it, too.

I couldn't tell what Rollum was throwing during "Thursday." I thought it might be some of the buttons. But it was a hilarious turn of events.

Last night, I realized just how deep the Features catalog is getting. They played twenty-two songs, which is a decent set by most's standards. But they could've easily added "Bring on the Night," "Moonlight," "Temporary Blues," "Armani Suede," "The Beginning (Week One)," and maybe a few others. It's simply amazing how many songs this band has in rotation.

I think this is because you are hearing Rollum.

Anyway, I thought it was an above average show. I have no voice today if that says anything. I like Bowl of Fire for the most part. Very cool voice and original concept. I just thought a)he went on a couple songs too long for an opener and b )I can't see why a mellow band like that would want The Features opening for them. Anyone would have a tough time following The Features, but I think a band like that would have a particularly hard time. But I definitely enjoyed it.

(Edited by Keith at 1:32 pm on Oct. 20, 2002)

yeah, jamiecarroll. i bet from where you were standing you might have not been able to see that rollum was singing really really loud on "me and the skirts" but he's been doign that since they started it... and he adds a lot of volume and power. he sang on another, but i can't remember....
he was just showing off for his grandma. that was pretty cool that she stayed the whole time and the show lasted until like 1:15. i love those features.

No, I know that Rollum sings on the last chorus of "Me & the Skirts." I wasn't talking about the end of the song (where Rollum AND Roger both sing). I was talking about the first choruses where it's just Roger singing harmony with Matt. But yes, it's good to see Rollum singing, too.

for some reason, i thought last night that he was singing on all of the parts when roger was singing... i might be wrong though.

also, andrew bird's bof usually does have the 5 members, but apparently a few days before they left, 2 of them decided they weren't coming. who knows why? but that would've been cool.

Okay, not to be a jerk or anything, but I thought I should correct you on this one. 12th and Porter seems to have some sort of Sloan compliation that includes tracks from Navy Blues, Between the Bridges, and Pretty Together. I definitely dig the songs they selected (Losin' California, If it Feels Good, etc.). They've played this music about 6 times before that I've heard.

As far as the show goes, it was fantastic as always. I don't know what it is, but all of a sudden I really dig "Me and the Skirts". I wasn't sure about it at first, but I finally "get it". And yes, the backing vocals just keep getting better. I'm still coming around on "The Damage is Done". I really missed "Bring on the Night", but "Someway, Somehow" was better than ever.

Oops...I wasn't playing very close attention; I just heard "She Says What She Means" and assumed...

...and you know what happens when you assume...

Thanks for clearing it up, Carl.

Whenever they debuted the song at Blue Sky Court, Parrish, Roger & Rollum all sang backup. It was amazing. Since then I've only noticed Roger doing his usual backup duties...

I noticed this change first at Blue Sky Court, and they may have done it at the 12th show before also. I'll need to check.

Sorry to say I missed this one after I announced otherwise. I have to wait till the Boro most likely.

Sounds like it was a great show! Too bad my 21st birthday isn't until December. Does 12th and Porter allow people into the venue if they are on the guestlist, even if they are under 21? Just wondering because there's a show in Nov. that I'm interested in going to. If that fails, can you hear pretty well outside?

Did you all hear Rollum at all? He sang backup on a number of songs, but I couldn't really hear the mix well on the side of the stage.

nope. even if you're on the guestlist, they still ask for ID. especially since they got busted a while back.

it was really easy to hear rollum on "me and the skirts" and i was watching him and saw that he was singing on other songs, but it was much less apparent. he was hitting sooo hard last night, especially on like "blow it out" and stuff. that was ridiculous.

(Edited by featuresgirl at 10:45 pm on Oct. 20, 2002)

I enjoyed the show quite a bit, looking forward to catching that line-up again, even if it is reversed. Does anyone know if the other two members of bof are supposed to join back up, maybe by the Chicago show? I wish I could comment more on the night, but I was talked into whiskey shots early on, and my memory is fuzzy from then on.

With all due respect Ms. Carroll, you are wrong. Rollum sings 'em all.

he didn't at the blue sky court show, but he definitely did at 12th and porter..... i was looking right at him. he was loooud tooo

its sounds great from outside.......

Fine...I bow to your superior observational skills, oh Sagacious Keith.

Like featuresgirl said, they're a five piece stripped down to three for this tour. they're a lot more rockin' when they're all together, and i agree that they're a bit mellow to be paired with the features, but their full band would've fit better with the tour. they'll probably play all together in chicago.

i'm hearing 10 or so bof songs compared to the features' 20-ish (vice versa when bof was headlining), and i don't think that's too long for an opener, especially on a "bowl of fire" tour. some opening bands (who are terrible) play for much longer.

I saw one show with the features headlining, and one with bof headlining, and i have to say that it's a dream come true seeing a tour with my two favorite bands, no matter who goes first.