um...did anybody go? a setlist/review would be nice. gotta reprazent on da west side, ya'll.

did anybody go to this show??????
my freind in memphis told me he couldnt stay for the whole thing but he also said they played in front of about 12 people....

12-16 hours of driving / setting up / playing
12 people show up
get paid about $60-$100? get some publicity. have fun.

opportunity cost:
could have stayed home and worked 8 hours with 4-8 hours of free time
8 hours x 4 people x $5/hr after taxes= $160

do the guys think about this? i hate to be critical (yeh right) but why not stay home and work at your job to put more money in the band fund. it's far more beneficial. i bet if they took to the time to send a promo single to memphis pop radio stations, they would draw over 100. but i'm a moron.

i'm originally from memphis and i know for fact that the poeple in that city are dumb becuz they dont support loal music. even if the radio stations say they do..they support only like 5 bands..honestly the same 5 bands are considered the scene. unless for somewhat established and somewhat big or have a record readily available or opening for some bigger act no one will come and see you no matter how much promotion you put into it. playing in bands in memphis is horible. and i feal sorry for the features to make the 4 hour tek to play for 12 people. besides..they were playingat the hi-tone..nice venue but it doesnt attract the most abundant of music goers. if they play memphis again they need to get a gig closer to downtown like at the new daisy, newbys, or someplace where there are alot of people..also they need to not open for acts like crash into june. its a good band they dont attract a whole lot of people.

I live in Memphis and was at the show to see crash into june. I was impressed by The Features set, so I decided to check out this web site. I'm not familiar enough with the band's music to let you know what the set list was. But, I can say this, there were WAY more that 12 people at the show - at least 70-80. I don't know where that guy got 12?!?. The band got some good press from the local alternative paper, The Memphis Flyer, who tabbed the CIJ/Features show as the 'Pick of the Week.' As far as the venue, I think the Hi Tone is a good venue for the band. Either there or Young Avenue Deli are good places. The Daisy books mostly metal. Newby's draws the jam bands.

My $.02.

Welcome to the site. Please don't judge anyone here based on my stupidity. Thanks.

Yes, welcome kahoutek.  Welcome to the playground.

Call me crazy, but I think that I would want my band to drive to Memphis to play in front of *5* people.  When you're trying to break into a new market, you will only end up frustrated if you expect a profit.  The profit comes later.  You just want those 5, or however many people, to be so damned impressed that they can't resist telling everyone they know.  Granted, the optimal way to break into a new market is to open for established act, and yes, radio/media promotion are a plus.  But there's something to be said for just playing whenever and wherever you can.  I think REM literally won America over 1 person at a time.

REM are gods and they DID win over america 1 person at a time.

memphis music scene sucks ass though.

yes, REM is (are?) indeed awesome...but they've been losing America one person at a time since Monster. Automatic for the People was the last GREAT album they released.

last great album??/ you obviously did not hear new adventures i hi-fi..besides the only people who buy REM records now are true REM fans. they dont appeal to the mainstream audience anymore. they are gods. and probably will remain one of the most influential bands of our generation.

Jamie, I agree it's a good way to start out. However, I will never acknowledge that they should still be doing it.

REM - yes the world's first and only relevant college radio band.
i'm trying to start a fight if you can't tell.

I fully agree that REM have not released anything as good as Automatic since then, but then again, in my opinion, that's one of the best albums of all time. But to write off all of their work since then would be a mistake.

Hi-Fi was good, as good as Monster anyway, if not better.
Up was okay. Some good, but mostly mediocre stuff.

But has anyone heard Reveal? It kind of slipped under the radar. But in my opinion, it's the best REM album since Automatic, hands down. In fact, it was my favorite album of 2001. Reveal is great. It reminds me alot of Summer Teeth by Wilco.

ghostflower,
In defense of myself, I happen to be a HUGE REM fan. If we got into a 'how big of an REM fan are you' fight, I would probably win.  But being a big fan doesn't mean you're required to love everything a band releases.  There were just a lot of throwaway tracks on New Adventures, Up and Reveal.  I love a lot of the songs on those albums, but I still firmly believe that Automatic was the last consistent album they released (and one of my all-time favorites as well).  All and all I guess this is just a matter of opinion though.

reveal has to be one of the most overlooked albums of all time.

Jamie, you'll have to play Reveal for me. If you're that into it, I'm interested.

automatic gets me every time. easily top ten (five perhaps) of my all time favorite albums. as far as post monster is concerned, the only one i ever got into was up; at my most beautiful is up there as one of the best love songs of all time, along side god only knows and here there and everywhere.

what is everyones fascination with automatic? i prefer out of time, murmur and new adventures

back to the memphis show...

i disagree with them playing young avenue deli again. with all the space there and lack of people to fill it almost completely ruined the show for me.

Back to REM...

I am very surprised to hear so many of you are big fans since it seems like every where I turn people are turning against them. I think they are absolutely great. Every tyme I pin down a favorite album, I'll listen to another one (like Fables or Reckoning or which ever one) and I'll be like, 'No, this is my favorite.' So I consider them all to simultaneously be my favorite album.

I must say that Automatic is my favorite. However, YaDaDaDa, you are correct, they are all great.

In particular, I must praise 'Life's Rich Pageant'. I hadn't listened to it in a while, but have been listening to it lately. This record is a definite bridge between 'old' REM (jangly guitars, vocals often way back in the mix) and the modern era of REM with more succinct pop/rock songs and more out front vocals. The bottom line is just that the songs on this record are incredible - Begin the Begin, Fall on Me, Superman, etc. This album reminds me alot of the Features, actually, though I can't say exactly why.

wolves, lower and 9-9 are the only good songs they ever had.

When I saw them in 99, they played 'Wolves' for the first tyme in 12 years.

I agree that there is some inexplicable parallel between 'Life's Rich Pageant' era REM and the Features. It only comes out in places, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

i think that correlation is true because none of us can ever decypher what matt is singing and michael stipe only sang consanant sounds back then.

matt hardly ever has lyrics done. it's funny if you actually listen to what he's mumbling. on oh my love i heard him say'i heard this once when it was bill'.

bill who? bill slattery?

i don't think so. in one song he talked about roger's balls of steel.

if any feature had balls of steel it would be roger. if any feature had balls of marshmallow it would be rollum. if any feature had balls of grape leaves and tufu it would be matt. if any feature had balls of dank dank nugs it would be parrish.

okay. enough.

yikes, that's quite the ball analysis. Is that something you've had on your mind for a long time and finally were given a chance to let it out?

Jesus, lawnwrangler.

Actually, Stipe sang *vowel* sounds, not consonants. Consonants would be very funny to hear, though. And I don't think 'Life's Rich Pageant' had the vowel singing nearly as much as the earlier stuff.

Did you see them at chastain park in atlanta? i was very happy to hear wolves lower. it was great that they finally gave fan club members the chance to get 'good' tickets. the first night i sat 4th row.

Yes, Michael Stipe has the most pronounced 'E' sound I've ever heard.

manticores have the most pronounced *grooooowl* sound i've ever heard.

some might say it's because of the lion body, but in actuality it's the scorpion tail.

did you know that the manticore's scorpion tail has severin venom sacks. that's enough venom to paralyze a loris!

Smee, I was there at Chastain Park on night 2 when they played Wolves and it was totally sweet and awesome. Michael Stipe flipped out and killed some people.

When I was talking about the similarities, I didn't think about it being the vocals. Stipe sings too low. I think it's the way the songs move with the guitar and drums. Maybe?

one time at chastain park i saw a flock of hippogriffs.
riding on the leader was a fair elf maiden. they swooped down and she gave me the D&D book of psionics. then me and dr. mccoy went to make oatmeal cookies. unfotunately the food replicator was broke down. i offered mr. scott a flask of bourbon and he fixed it. then me, mr. scott, dr. mccoy, an elf maiden, and a flock of hippogriffs ate cookies. gandalf and spock were
absent due to a most unfortunate gardening accident in the shire.

enough with your neo-prog-sci-fi-fantasy-bakery-alcohol meanderings.

sorry guy.