what an interesting night! i came from mboro to the show and discovered that the doors really opened at 9:00 instead of 8:00, that really set the tone for what would be the shortest concert i've ever seen.after waiting and waiting, the people i came with decided to leave early (4 songs into the first band) so they could get back and get some sleep. completely understandable since one of them had to fly a plane early sunday morning. nonetheless, i didn't think the first band wasn't all that great, i liked the violin thing, and they reminded me of dave matthews in a way. maybe it was the circumstances surronding it all, but for some reason i couldn't really get into their music. and thats all the show i got to see... hope everyone had a blast!!! i'm sure the features rocked! by the way, i loved the setup at blue cats!!!!

There are so many things I want to say about the show tonight. The band performed magnificently, and both of the Features virgins I brought along loved them. Yay for that. The sound was great, as lw told me before the show started. And, I got to hear "Serious" live. I had never heard it until tonight, and I was SO pleased. mike_D and I also made accurate predictions for the encore, with The Beginning and Me & the Skirts getting played. SWSA was an added bonus, as well as Action. Thanks to The Features for a show that rocked my face off.

I'm so glad I got to talk to you all, as always. I get more and more comfortable approaching each of you as each show passes.
Now, let me comment on the opening bands. Wow. The first one was mediocre...Not really my style, but the fiddle/violin was neat.

But, oh my goodness. The second band is something to talk about. I've never been into bashing bands for the most part. And, I'm not going to bash them here. But, I will give you examples of things they did tonight. Draw your own conclusions.
1. They had groupies...hardcore groupies that screamed at the top of their lungs. Ray davies, Sexy Sadie, richard dawson, and company got the pleasure of standing right next to them. You guys are SO lucky. They really tickled me.
2. The lead singer, near the end of the set, took the bottom of his shirt and wiped his forehead, exposing this abs for the ladies up front swooning over him. I had two guys with me, and both agreed that he was trying to show off a little something. But, hell, if I was a guy and had abs, I guess I would show them off. Oh wait. No, I wouldn't. Then, he mentioned how he would like to get to know everyone's name in the crowd, then he turned to the ladies who were big fans. I read him loud and clear. I bet that guy gets a ton of action.
3. Finally, my friends, they covered Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad", and then they moved straight into Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird". That's right...Outkast meets Skynyrd. I was speechless.
I noticed that a few of the messageboard members such as mike_D, thelawnwrangler, jamiecarroll, and BrianW all decided to stand outside and hang out (and perhaps freeze) while the second band was playing. Good thinking, guys. I should have picked up on that, huh?

I was thinking about this in the car on the way here, and I wanted to get it all out tonight while I was still thinking of it. So, it's bedtime for me. And, when I wake up the morning/afternoon, I will be sure to check back and add in what I have forgotten tonight.

Great show, guys. I wish all of you could have been there.

Saturday, March 8, 2003
Blue Cat's - Knoxville, TN
___________________

Circus
Walk You Home
Leave It All Behind
Exorcising Demons
There's a Million Ways to Sing the Blues
The Idea of Growing Old
See You Thru
God Save Rock'n'Roll
Kari-Ann
Armani Suede
That's the Way it's Meant to Be
Blow It Out
Someway, Somehow
Exhibit A
Darkroom
Thursday

ENCORE:
The Beginning
Stark White Stork Approaching ->
Me & the Skirts
Serious
Action

This Features show was the best that I have seen in a long, long time. Perfect, ya'll.

This was by far the best show I've seen in Knoxville. Made it to part of the 2nd opener...not terribly exciting, but not the worst opener I've ever seen.

They were on fire and it'd been a long time since I've seen them, so all in all it couldn't have been better. I loved that Matt struggled with some words...quite laughable.

Favorite part? Someone had brought a Features virgin to the show and he just kept leaning over to his friend and saying, "God DAMN...God DAMN they're good." Over and over. haha.....fantastic.

That second band reminded me a lot of Ingram Hill, the band who opened for the Features at Bluecats the last time they were there. Their stage presence was the same: "Hey I'm cool, hey I'm in a band, hey girls, I'm single and relatively good looking and I know you can't resist me just because of my sappy love songs and my tight T-shirt. I'm gonna jack off as soon as I get back to the van."

I arrived on the scene at the last couple of songs of the first band... a little too frenetic for me. There were more people at this show that I knew than any other. I had 3 Features virgins with me, and I saw at least 5 people I knew from my architecture studios, my hall director, like 10 people from my high school, and a friend of mine who works at WIMZ. Plus I saw some people from the board.

The Features were flawless as usual. I heard a lot of stuff I've never heard before....a million ways to sing the blues, exhibit a, the way it's meant to be, and someway somehow. It's easier for me to rant than it is for me to rave, so all I can say about The Features is that they're awesome, and I'm really glad I got to see them again. Every show is better than the last.

very great show! i've never really been a fan of "god save" but i thought it sounded excellent the past two nights. i'm loving exhibit a and the way it's meant to be more and more each time i hear them, but i was disappointed we didn't get to hear damage is done, temporary blues, and the design. oh well, maybe next time.

I was hoping for another of those epic two hour Knoxville shows, but I guess the show started too late for that. The way it's meant to be is climbing my favorites ladder fast, I'm really diggin' it. Exhibit A may have taken the top spot. I had a lot of fun with friends and family from the east. I had a whole lot of fun with the human statue standing in front of me, the only 'real' dancing I've done in a long time and he had no idea. Had a blast. I ate bear. Fun night.

man i really thought the second band was cool. best opener ever.

ah whay a great night-from drinking airplane bottles of rum, to the eating the bear leg, to freezing my ass off during that shitty second band, to getting my face rocked off-it was all very wonderful. i got my second doses of "a million ways..." "that's the way..." and "exhibit a" and i am very pleased with these songs, very rocked out. my hetero life mate and features virgin, tim was converted. i'd been playing him various recordings and he was a bit nonplussed, however seeing them live, he finally understood the gospel. sorry i didn't get to meet any of the message boarders. stephanie said you were all front row, but i neglected to push up there with you and say hello. maybe next time.

Mr. Wrong, I could be wrong (as well) but I think I know who you are and I think you were sitting outside during the entire second band's set. What you thought was enjoyable was actually the classic rock trivia stuff that was playing on the big screen TV in the courtyard.

yep that was me. i could hear them pretty well from outside. pretty cool stuff.

Why was everyone so cold outside? I didn't even notice a chill, must have substantially lowered my blood temp by then.

I didn't think it was freezing but it was a little windy and a little cool as a result. I guess if you're naturally a bit more cold natured it could have frozen you a bit, but it didn't for me.

I must say that I really have come to like Blue Cats and I think of it as one of the better places you can play in Tennessee for its size. One of the reasons is the free beer they provide for the bands. I can't think of another club in Tennessee that does that.

I actually wasn't even that hot during the show. I usually burn up. So, the draft from outside was kind of chilly. I'm too cold natured to be able to stand it for too long, so I just suffered through the second act. At least it gave me funny memorable moments to reflect upon.

I had a lot of fun last nite. The Features were awesome, and worth the drive and wait. I was so pumped about this show. Unfortunately, the two opening bands, were, I thought, nearly unendurable and, at times, nauseating (especially when they were in your face or trying to get you in particular to clap). They went on for what felt like forever. Why they opened up for the features i cannot figure out. I was so glad to hear "blow it out" and "serious," which I swear they played b/c they heard me scream it, which before they had only planned on playing "action" (maybe they didn't, but I like to think it anyway). "There's a Million ways..." and "That's the way.." were excellent, as well. The show was so great that I nearly forgot that they didn't play "Look out below" or "Buffalohead" which are some of my favorites. It was a very fulfilling show (despite the crappy preamble of the first two bands), and it was nice getting to speak to Rollum about possible Joy Division covers and Matt about playing in Athens more often. Thanks to all the message board members that I met for saying hello to me...it was nice meeting and talking to you.

Last night was my second Features concert. It was such a great show that I finally had to give in and join the message board.

This show was the fucking shit!!! Oh my God! It was soooo fucking awesome! From the never-ending "bag of dicks" jokes told back and forth in reference to the first two bands, to The Features rocking my God damned face off! Wow! Let the lecture begin...

Wise Child - Ok, I thought their Nickel Creek/DMB stuff sucked, but that's only because I do not like that brand of music. I guess that I respect them as musicians and think that they did that style very well, but I just do not care for that sort of stuff. The violinist's dancing frightened me. It was scary.

Weekend Excursion - HAHAHA!!! Are you fucking kidding me!? They need to take a fucking year-long excursion and get the fuck out of my way, because they were the biggest joke that I may have ever seen. Each of those cocksuckers needed a double-order bag of penises. Where shall I begin...?
1. Guitarist playing his shitty anti-climactic solos in the faces of the attractive girls on the front row and smiling all the while. Give me a God damn break.
2. His teeth.
3. The lead singer's "dancing" or whatever the hell you call that shit.
4. Lead singer trying to make Buckley clap.
5. Buckley not clapping.
6. Brother Love's "get away from me" hand-motions when the guitarist tried to impress us. (for the 50th time)
7. Guitarist pushing his crotch in Ray Davies face (fucking priceless)
8. Ray Davies plucking the guitar while it was in his face.
9. Them knowing full well that we didn't give a damn about their homogeneous music and they still continued the last song forevvverrr!
10. I won't comment on "Bombs Over Baghdad" or "Freebird". Draw your own conclusions and tell your own "bag of dicks" jokes, because we sure as hell did.

PaulFreaksMeOut said it best, "two words: shit sandwich."

Now for the good stuff...
The Features are not human. They are norse gods of rocknroll and we should make idols of them that are to be worshipped day and night. Matt Pelham "showed up" at this concert. Every time that I have seen them since the Exit/In show, he has just kind of stood there and played without moving much. But this time...oh shit. When he started jumping around during Circus, I knew something was up. He had his fucking "game-face" on. This show was probably the best out of the eight or so that I have seen. They even played Stork followed by Me & the Skirts! I love it when they do that! And as Buckley noted, they played Serious and I really like it as well. Great, great show. Boo to all of you who missed it; because, it was a great precursor to SXSW, which I am sure they will do well at. These few words cannot aptly sum up the greatness that was this Features experience. A beautiful time was had by all and it was nice meeting Buckley, Bowl of Fire, and the others. I think this show was also fun because everybody was into the music and not fighting to get in front of somebody else. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be standing where they were (mostly due to the height of the stage). I love the Features.

(Edited by richarddawson at 10:14 pm on Mar. 9, 2003)

Indeed I did say "shit sandwich" (I love that line), they fucking sucked (Weekend Excursion that is, the other band was just very very boring). If these two bands were in a bag of dick eating contest they would come im first and second in the world championship. The Features, however, that was the best that I've seen them play in a long time, possibly ever. I dug the intense energetic set that I've gone so long without seeing, it was great. Though there still was no "Oh My Love" or "The Design" there was "Serious" and about a million and a half others. Best freaking road trip ever.

(Edited by paulfreaksmeout at 11:08 pm on Mar. 9, 2003)

I'll give that an extreme ditto. "Extreme ditto!"

Wow, richarddawson, holding back? If you didn't like them that much why did you stay? We enjoyed the patio during their set and ended up with a fine place to stand for the main event. That front-row-center devotion is amazing. Don't get me wrong, I didn't like them either, and I am merely trying to figure out the mindset, this is only a query, not an attack. I don't want to end up the subject of a 'bag of dicks' joke.

Wow, from one of their most criticized shows one night to one of their most exhaulted the next. Sounds like Nashville got gyped (no offense to the gypsies) this time around. I'll still take what I can get, though. And love every minute...

The first band was good for what they do, I suppose. But, personally, I had a hard time standing it. The fiddle player was a bit frightening with his little dances that he did, and the vocalist was too John Mayerish for me. I hear enough Dave Mathews from my roommate...yucky.

The second band was almost unbearable. The little guitarist guy thought he was "the shit" and was extremely annoying, as was just about every one else in the band. One of the worst opening bands I've seen for The Features. But, at least they proved to be somewhat entertaining via their suckiness. Somehow I missed the "Freebird" thing...I guessed I had started to block it out by then...thank goodness.

Okay, The Features were amazing last night. Definitely the best I've seen them do in quite a while. There are way too many highlights to name off..."Dark Room", "The Beginning", "Circus", "Armani Suede" (YAAY!), "Serious", "Blow It Out". . . Gosh, it was just so good. I'm still in awe. Matt's frantic dancing was especially entertaining last night, and he seemed very happy, which made me even happier than I already was. This was my first Features show at Blue Cats, and I loved it. Only a couple of girls tried to push their way in front of me and Richard Dawson during "Thursday", but they could not surpass the fortress of the Sadie. Overall, everyone was very well behaved and seemed to be highly enjoying themselves.

I hope that The Features do very well at SXSW, as I'm sure they will, and I cannot wait until their next show in the vicinity. It will be extremely difficult to beat this one.

i was talking to brianw's brother during wise child's set. he brought to my attention how much their violinist looks like the guy in revenge of the nerds(gilbert?) who plays violin on that weird song towards the end of the movie.

lots of you guys and girls are complaining about the weekend excusrsion, huh. well im sorry but i'm starting to question some certain peoples taste of music. giutar solos? a bad thing? shheees. the features need more guitar solos if you ask me.

Guitar solo does not necessarily mean a "good" guitar solo, my friend.

It's ok mike, I understand your point. We just did not want to risk losing our spots, because we were not sure how many people would be there. Not to mention that Weekend Excursion gave the six or eight of us (in the front) some excellent comedic material for weeks to come. We were simply playing it safe by staying in the front for all of the bands, so we would not end up in the back somehow (considering we drove all the way to Knoxville just for this show). Despite all of the criticism, we all loved being in front for the first two bands. They were highly entertaining because of their suckiness.

(Edited by richarddawson at 11:09 am on Mar. 10, 2003)

The drummer looked like Jim Neidhart with black hair.

I can't believe someone else noticed that. One of the Features virgins I had with me (Josh) noticed that. He tapped me and said, "That looks like one of the guys off of Revenge of the Nerds". You know which one?"
Of course I knew! It was an instant connection. I just didn't think anyone else would pick that up. And, I think his name was Gilbert, too.

No, Gilbert is/was Anthony Edwards of Top Gun/ER fame. The nerd that played electric violin was named Poindexter.

Good call. I commend you on your "Nerds" knowledge. That settles it. I need to watch more Comedy Central reruns of that movie.

What was with the first band's drummer's face??? He looked like he was either about to sneeze the whole time or like his drum set reeked. It was like he had to play them in spite of the smell: "Aghh somebody shit on my drums...." AND he had his face turned to the right the whole time like he couldn't stand it. Please tell me somebody else noticed this. It entertained me for quite some time. I still can't get over it. On another note, I'm not sure why the lead singer selected me to clap. I was like "why waste your time on me? You've got a whole flock of utk chicks over there who actually paid money to see only you open..this is just awkward for both of us.." What was with all of the platitudes? Both of the opening bands gave us speeches...the lead singer of the second band said something like, "no matter where you end up it's always better" or some shite like that, and I was like, "what the hell? how is that true? and why are you saying this at a concert...this isn't high school graduation." I knew with a name like Weekend Excursion we were in for something awful. Please, run along on your Japanese tour, and never open for the features again..

I noticed the look of pain on the second drummer's face. I wasn't close enough to see the first drummer's.
Thinking about that band still makes me laugh.

I think the only people that could have missed that were the blind and surely someone described it to them, so they know too. Anyway, I overheard someone say that he is Finnish. Strangely enough, I saw a Finnish musician the night before at the Sutler in Nashville and he too made funny faces. Maybe it's heredity or maybe it's total coincidence. It's probably the latter. I found myself wondering how that group got together. The four of them seemed to come from completely different backgrounds. It made them interesting though. On a separate note, I too wondered what the hell those bands were talking about. They kept talking, but none of it made sense (especially the guy from Wise Child). I wish Buckley would have reached up and put a sock in his mouth or something, because it was embarrassing to watch.

Ok, so I know I had seen the drummer for wise child before. Buckley and I were discussing his shit-smelling drums when it came to me. Abobo, from the first double dragon. He is indeed that buff, evil villian who kicks without bending his knees. Here's a picture of him; he's the pixelated character on the left:

That is fucking genius.

The bleached blonde guitarist from the second band was the epitome of Dana Carvey's Comedy Central Presents segment when he talks about the faces guitarists make when playing...like they're confused and suddenly amazed by their chord changes, etc... (if anybody has any idea what I'm talking about)

(Edited by Sexy Sadie at 1:52 am on Mar. 11, 2003)

I definitely know what you're talking about and I most definitely agree. It makes me laugh thinking about that Carvey special. The two are very comparable.

since you seem to be an expert, was chin the name of the moppy haired guy?

Indeed, that was his name. So here are some more pictures:



I like this picture of abobo better. I think it really shows the likeness:

Chopped Liver is the coolest! Welcome indeed!

im finally getting around to posting my thoughts on the show.

the first two bands have been discussed long enough. they fucking sucked. period.

the features: they blew my mind that night. they held the crowd in the palm of their hand. that was simply one of the greatest rock shows i have ever seen. the features must be signed. hopefully that will be taken care of soon enough at SXSW.....

i cherish every time that i see the features. they are the greatest rock band of their time. i am dead fucking serious.

i actually got a chance to play double dragon today(i know someone with the old school nintendo system). Abobo actually killed me the second time i faced him because i couldn't stop laughing. Congrats, chopped liver, on causing me to lose.



(Edited by MrLittleJeans at 7:05 pm on Mar. 11, 2003)

Ahhh, my life's work is done. I can die in peace.

i just remembered that me and a friend of mine used to call abobo, "jorge"(if that's how you spell the name pronounced "hor-hay). abobo looked like our friend's dad, who's name was jorge.....

indeed it is...