Friday, February 27, 2004
The Vineyard - Chattanooga, TN
Opening acts: Beyonce, TVA
_____________________

The Way It's Meant to Be
There's a Million Ways to Sing the Blues
Action
Walk You Home
2 x 2
Situation Gone Bad
Harder 2 Ignore
Me & the Skirts
Exhibit A
Darkroom
Leave It All Behind
The Beginning
Love Is Golden
Exorcising Demons
Thursday
Kari-Ann
God Save Rock'n'Roll
Circus

This was an interesting venue in downtown Chattanooga. It is basically an Italian restaurant with the tables moved aside. The bands set up in a little nook in the front of the restaurant, with the front window behind them.

It was a big crowd, with most there to see the Features, or at least to see music. Two bands opened. The first, Beyonce, was simply the craziest shit I've seen in several years - animal masks, costumes, lots of prerecorded tracks with scripted acting and syncronized dancing, and much more. TVA, the second band, was not really very noteworthy. The Features played their first set on Tennessee soil since returning from England. They seemed to play very aggressively and very confidantly, if not always technically perfect. The very boisterous crowd seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

I had a lovely time visiting with all of the wonderful Features fans who were there!

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 5:44 pm on Feb. 28, 2004)

It's friggin late so I'll keep this short. The show was pretty good, but the venue was set up poorly, the sound was pretty bad, and several of the Chattanoogans were a little violent for my tastes. Maybe I'm just getting too old for the front row. Big ups to Raydavies for keeping the ladies up there with us from getting killed by the moshers.

The show was awesome. I'm glad I made it to the front for my first Features experience. Thanks to Keith and RayDavies for keeping the "dancers" from stomping the womenfolk.

Very good show. The Features were definitely more confident sounding, as JC pointed out, upon returning from their UK conquest. The crowd put a new definition of "suck" in my head. I would much *much* rather have good ol' Sina there than those freaks of nature. Stage diving? Riding on each others shoulders? Crawling in front of all of us during "Circus", acting like a demon, and then shouting "DANCE MUTHAFUCKAHS!"? Well...he got what he asked for in probaby my most violent actions of the past 5 years. Honestly, what is the Nooge's deal? They need to either take a chill pill or make their way to the Metallica concert that they so obviously came from.

wow, this show was crazy...crazy good!
the first band was insane. was their name beyonce? i think we got pictures of everyone but the drummer, so we'll have to post them soon. a few of their songs were enjoyable, but overall it was just hilarious.
the second band, tva, was quite possibly the most average band i've seen in a while. the only interesting song they played was a cover. i don't understand why their fans were so scary. maybe they liked the singer's crotch complex.
the features set was very very good, despite some technical difficulties. that was more violence than is necessary at a features show. and yes, thanks to raydavies for protecting us and trying to reason with some of those hilarious assholes, but that doesn't mean that we didn't get some really good licks in beforehand. when it didn't hurt, i found the whole experience to be really funny. i think this, combined with the amazing set and great energy from the band last night, made for the most exciting features show i've been to in a while.
and welcome, lupe!

First time I've ever seen or heard the Features. Very interesting band. Probably one of the shittiest places in Chatt to play though. Do they always play with thatmuch energy? It seemed like everyone was rockin, havin a good time!!! All these posts make it sound like they don't normally rock out like that, or that this was some pretty hard rock and roll that they don't normally do. Either way I thought it was a great show and will definately see them next time they are in the nooga. Hopefully at a better place.

Spoonie the Features shows are always that energetic the crowds is just not as "mosh pitty" as Chatt towns crowd was. Glad you enjoyed yourself though! GO see the features again when they hit the noog back up.

I enjoyed the show but that show was one of the craziest shows I've been too in a while.. I was making bets that the singer from TVA would have is package whipped out by the 5 song lol but he didn't he just kept giving the crowd and eyeful of pubic hair He was a little sparatic too. I bet you Jason could tells us all if he has bad breath or not too Disgsy I saw you get violent last night I was like I don't think they ready for your Jelly! That guy DANCE MUTHAFUCKAS guy was about to have a stroke! Veins were popping out of his neck really had me laughing and looking clueless too. He made Matt laugh! It's nice to know that the Flashlight carrying security guards were there to protect us if something violent were to pop off I'm sure they were shining their lights on that moshpit crowd.... oh yeah and I plan to email the mayor of chattanooga and tell him how easy is was to find the venue, with all of the street name signs down due to construction And the signs they had up were so big I could have sworn saw brail underneath the huge elderly friendly letters.
Chattanooga was on my "sucks hairy ass" list... maybe it's better during the daytime lol

The Features were great last night. First time I had seen them since December, so I was ready for it. I wasn't ready for the rowdy crowd though. I'm glad I wasn't right in the middle along with ray davies and digsy. If I had been, I probably would have been thrown out. I thought moshing was like so 6 years ago anyways.

I never saw the first band. I was just sitting in the back of the bar, but what I heard was funny. I'd really like to see the pictures when you guys get them back.

TVA... wow... what can I say? The singer kept saying, "My pants are falling down" and all I could think was, "If you keep pulling on them they are bound to fall down you fucking moron!" I saw a little more of him than I wanted to see, that's for sure. But all in all, they were just pretty average/blah in my opinion.

Oh, and I'd like to know if I was the only one that got lost finding the place? Half of the street signs I was looking for were missing!

Thanks. Good to be here.
____________________

It seems like the slam dancing was an anomaly, and that's good to hear. I'm all for dancing as long as people who don't want to do that aren't getting pushed around. Some girl behind me poured her water down my back when I wouldn't let her get in front of me. I think I told the girl next to me that I was going to mess up watergirl's baby-making parts or something (throw them 'bows).
I'm really looking forward to the next show. If the sound/set up at the Vineyard wasn't that great, then the next one should be even more kick ass.

Can't say much for Beyounce's music (I think that's how they spelled it?). I did enjoy their visual shenanigans though. I think I have the same hood that the singer was wearing. It comes off of a faux fur coat that I had in 2nd grade.

Ha! When I called the venue and asked about the opening band, I thought the guy said "TBA" (to be announced). What a terrible name! Does the Tennessee Valley Authority know about this!

Sorry I missed the show.

That was the joke of the night..

Oh god...Beonsay were just...wrong. SO wrong. Whatever they were on, I want some.
And TVA...yeah, I definitely exceeded my quota of pubic hair for the night.
But the Features were excellent as always. The last time I saw them was at the Attic (which I liked better & had better sound) but the band were just as great this time. And oh my god, HOW CUTE is Rollum? I have this major crush on him. And they played my two favourite songs (walk you home & god save rock and roll) so I was happy. I suffered through front-row duty on the first two acts so I could remain in the front row for the Features. It was worth it. I got slammed in the back by a few moshers, but overall a good night out.

The Features were absolutely wonderful at this show. It was one of the best shows I've seen in a while, even though the stage setup was kind of strange. Had there not been an actual fence separating the crowd and the band, I would have fallen into them several times, so I was very thankful for that. I was hoping for an encore, but I cannot complain with such a fabulous show.

The crowd was INSANE. My heels, elbows, and jumping/dancing served as weapons. Perhaps the highlight of the night was seeing Digsy going at "Demonic Snake-Face" with both fists. HA! Ignoring them was impossible. I got pictures of the crazies, and I'm extremely anxious to see how they came out.

Welcome to the board, Lupe!

No, afraid it's not...

were the freakishly skinny "tribal" dancers there? you can count on them to be at every chattanooga show. and count on getting a sharp elbow in the rib now and then.

(Edited by Bowl of Fire at 2:40 pm on Feb. 29, 2004)

good show as always. the crowd, however.... you just dont try to knock over the ladies in the front like that. i had had enough of it. i tackled the demon guy down to the ground during "circus" and screamed at him to "stop, you fuckface!" (which he did) and i had to punch four or five people. one of them in the face.

chattanooga is very rowdy.

no tribal dancers. just assholes.

How did I miss all of that? I guess being at the front I just didn't notice anything...

I enjoyed the show. It was nice talking to JC and RD. I posted my picture of the crazy bassist. I was pretty far back so the picture is not the best but you get the idea. Can you post a video, b/c i took a short one that is really funny.




(Edited by iwantelvis at 1:57 pm on Mar. 1, 2004)

here is a picture of the lead singer/dancer. he is in mid-interpretive dance in this photo:

it's a digital picture of an actual picture, but it's the best i can do. my picture of the guitartist/sasquatch came out dark.

edit: yes, that is fake hair extensions attatched to the shoulders of his sweater.

(Edited by HaveSomeSoma at 6:36 pm on Mar. 1, 2004)

Thanks for clearing that up lol.. I never saw this band I was sitting at a table in the back while they were playing...

They put on a badass, captivating show. I liked quite a few of the songs. To me, I heard Devo, Joy Division, and Whirlwind Heat in their music, but when asked, the guy with the jacket of hair extensions said that he had never heard of Joy Division. He has a Devo DVD, though. Back to you Demetria...

Yeah, in my journal I described them as "a sort of hardcore Devo." Some weird shit.

man, maybe i was just distracted by all the fake hair and light brights, but i didn't really hear any of that. well, maybe in one of their 2-3 actual songs there may have been traces, but not enough for me to actually notice. i took them more as comedians during their interludes, so it was hard going back and forth. maybe i just don't have as keen an ear as rd. i'd be interested in seeing them again just to find out.

i heard a hint of peter hook bassline in one or two of their songs. they didnt sound a thing like devo or whirlwind heat.

any features pictures? we need solid documentation of matt's hair incarnations AS THEY HAPPEN, people.

OK, maybe I saw some Devo-esque stuff with that band, but I know for damn sure that their first two songs sounded like Whirlwind Heat. exactly.

not that it matters...

(Edited by richarddawson at 11:37 am on Mar. 2, 2004)

Give it up Dick, you obviously don't know shit.

come on Ceeze, baby, we can work it out

Yeah, for me the Devo comparison was purely visual, nothing to do with the sound. I have no idea WHO they sounded like to be honest.

ask and you shall recieve. again, sorry for the bad quality.

Awesome photos. What a bunch of badasses.

who dares to use a damon avatar?

I believe Sexy Sadie was using her camera flash as a weapon against the moshers. I'd like to see how those photos turned out.

I do! I do!

Indeed I was. If my scanner ever starts working, I shall post them for your viewing enjoyment.

It was great to see the features play again after their long tour. I enjoyed meeting many new mb members and reuniting with some of my favorites. Thanks everyone for cheering me up after a pretty bumming day.

OMG! violence at a features show is a brand new thing! no, it never gets rowdy at a features show ESPECIALLY not at the last 12th & porter show.

and no one mentioned the band saying anything to try and calm the "violent" crowd down like the last time. so, it was so bad that punches were thrown and shit?!?!?! OMG! i mean, don't they have any respect for their fans that camped out at the venue the night before and plant themselves in front at every show?!?! i guess they wanted a change of scenery. i don't know, can someone explain?

i don't mind a little violence. as long as my eyes aren't too swelled shut to drive home, i'm good.

i'd be glad to!!! because of the awkward setup of the stage, the band really couldn't see the crowd at all (or so they said). so they didn't have any idea of what was going on. but hey, i'm not complaining. i got to hit the hell out of some girl to the beat of "harder to ignore." when else would i get the chance to do that?

there is a picture or two of the crowd that should be especially entertaining to keith and lupe. i hope saide can find a way to post them soon.

Whoa whoa easy there Rocky don't make me cut you eye lids how much of a dork am I for making that comment lol

I';ll be sure to be prepared the next time I go to the Noog, I'll bring light weith boxing gloves, some vaseline, a mouth piece, and theme music then I'll be ready to kick some ass.

this is my first time at this freatures site and i was tipped off to it by a friend of mine saying that everyone was getting pretty harsh towards chattanooga. i just want to say sorry that it got a little to wild and i hope that it didnt make for a completely terrible time seeing as how a lot of you came all of the way from nash/murf. i think that a lot of people may have had too much to drink on a friday night, in a smallish town. i also apologize if anyone had to see to much of my pubic hair but honestly, my belt really was broken. sorry for the mediocraty of the show as well. i really didnt know how bad everything went that night because the general feeling from a lot of people was that it was really fun- of course a lot of those people werent in the front row (i got up there once and couldnt stand it). but it wasnt too violent, was it? really? i hope everyone will come back tho - love -nick (tBa/tva)

Welcome to the board, Nick! Your method of handling criticism is superb. Much respect.

And who are the freatures?

Man, the crowd in Chattanooga was probably not even that bad. People tend to take isolated incidents or single individuals and hold them up as representative of "the crowd" at a particular show.

But you know, even if it was a bit rowdy, I'll take that over a bunch of hipsters standing there with their arms crossed like we have so often in Nashville.

It was a fun night.

If you want some constructive criticism about your band, I think that ya'll would be better with a bass player. But I'm kind of biased!

Welcome to the message board!

(Edited by jamiecarroll at 4:00 pm on Mar. 4, 2004)

Duh, they are the Deatures tribute band... I thought you were hip

(Edited by Peace Frog at 4:13 pm on Mar. 4, 2004)

I second that. Mad props to ya!
And don't worry, the hair didn't keep me up at night or nothin'.

Again, I don't blame the city of Chattanooga or their music scene for the 3 or 4 people that were particularly violent at the show. I've seen it plenty in pretty much any area I've seen shows. I was really just annoyed because I was with a girl who is pretty small (and had never seen The Features) and I was seriously worried about her getting hurt, not to mention not enjoying the show. She was pushed around a lot, and someone intentionally poured their drink on her. I thought it kind of crossed the line.

And Nick, it was nice to see you again. That was a surprise. And good job handling the criticism. I really won't judge your band because the sound was pretty bad in there and I was too far back during your set to be able to see anything (including your pubes).

Nick and I actually met in England about 3 years ago, and I never expected to see him again, muchless opening for The Features.

Heh, at the last UK Show I told them they should start playing Karie-Ann again since it's excellent... and there it is in the setlist!