At some point along the way in discussion of the Features on the internet (though definitely not on this board), I once heard about the first time the Features played DitD as a 5-piece. They opened for Self. The fantastic thing was that they apparently had a horn section playing with them.

Was anyone there?
Can anyone verify this?
(looking in the direction of BrianW, HoleyPea, elt)
Anyone?

(Edited by YaDaDaDa at 7:33 am on Apr. 6, 2003)

when i saw them in 97, they had a guy playing trumpet on 'thursday', but that was it. they should have a horn section now. that would be awesome.

NO!!!!!
I played in a rock band with horn players for 4 years! It is NOT awesome!!!

maybe your band sucked.

I've heard so many things about what the band used to do... choreography, bunny costumes, film projection... things seem to have changed alot. Horn section wouldn't surprise me, I've always wondered what they'd have done for Radio One.

Will

That was "Spongebath Night" at DitD. I went for Self, but (unfortunately) did not know or care enough about the Features or the Ounces to see them. What a shame.

Also, I think the Features with horns would be really cool.

Yes, actually the Features' show that we see now actually has less interaction and less going on with it than so many of the seasons they've done before. I wish they'd try something new or resurrect something from the past. Add to it BrianW's story of them playing in marching band uniforms.

Somewhere in my collection, I have a digital picture of them taken from that show. There are no horns, however. It could have just been as simple as what 6969hOoBaInCuBuS420 was talking about, one trumpet.

You know, this is probably the '98 show that my friend and I raced from Chattanooga at 100mph to see, and got there just as The Features were finishing. It was to be my first show, his second. Instead my first show was DitD 2002, and his second was the Red Rose show last December. He was confused by the lack of many things that he'd associated with the band.

Will

(Edited by Wiyum at 1:00 pm on Apr. 6, 2003)

Hmmm...I really thought that show was in 1997. Am I wrong? Or were there two Spongebath nights?

From what I hear, there was definitely only one time that Self played DitD. There was such a raucous with the crowd or something that the band didn't like about it, and it insured that there would only be one Self showing at DitD.

I'm pretty sure that was 1999. Pretty damn sure.

But wasn't that DitD performance with the old lineup?

Yes, with Sergio and Taylor. I was following them in 99, and there was no announcement of it at Spongebath.

This is interesting... I know I saw Self that year at dancing in the district, but never knew anything else about any of the other bands.

didn't self and/or the features do a gig outside of the cumberland science museum?? or did i dream that? was it an earth day fest??

you need to find those pictures and post them or put them on some webpage or something, those would be awesome to see

Lightning 100/Thunder 94 always do/did an Earth Day event with live music, so this very well could be true.

The show I nearly made was definitely in 1998, that's when I bought the just-released Soaking in the Center of the Universe compilation and the Features sun design t-shirt. Meanwhile, though I missed The Features, I did see Self and Fluid Ounces. Fluid Ounces played alot of stuff from New Old Fashion, which neither me nor me friends were familiar with because the album wouldn't come out for another year. Self played a version of Cannon and a version of So Low that Matt described as "how we'd do these songs if we were recording them today." I dug the new versions, my friend was pissed.

In any case, I know that the show I nearly caught the Features at was DitD, Self was there, and it was 1998.

Will

I was referring to the DitD with all of Self's drama. That was 1999.

FFF, there was only one picture. It probably originally came from the old Spongebath page (it's of professional quality), and I think I downloaded it from the first Features fan page. (Anyone remember the one titled "America's Guest"?)

I'm curious of how Self played Cannon and So Low, presumably in a style more like Half-Baked Serenade. Do you remember, Will?

It was less Half-Baked and more Breakfast with Girls... the new big song at that show was "It All Comes Out in the Wash," and there were plenty of other BWG songs at the show. I can't remember specifics, just that it felt alot denser (in that there were more parts, musically) and alot less "traditional verse-chorus-verse" patterning, even though no lyrics were changed as I recall. I'd love to find a recording of the show.

Will

I just spent about 15 minutes trying to look up the guy who reported having a copy. His site is down. I'll assume him among the many who has graduated from the world of internet-band-following. I feel like I'm in my Senior year.

Yes, there were a couple of fan sites, as I recall, and "America's Guest" was one of them. Was that the one that had a section with Features songs translated into French, and then back into English?

That was my first Features show. Was it really in '99? It seems like so long ago. The only band on that bill that I had seen before was Fl. OZ. I remember liking the Features, but wasn't blown away until the next time I saw them (with the current line-up). I thought Self sucked then, but I've since changed my mind about them (well, some of it).

It was before 99. Did they have a horn section????

JC, the site you're talking about was good. It was the second. The first one was out around the time they released the first EP. It had very little to do with the Features, really. The French thing on the vicledbetter site was funny.

I would hardly consider it concrete evidence, but this dude claims to have a bootleg of a Self performance at DitD from 1996.

That is a bad idea. Horns would not mesh well with their current sound.

i have a bootleg of Self playing ditd in 1996 aswell. it has mostly songs from subliminal plastic motives.

you're not dreaming, self played. i don't think the features played that thing, but i could be wrong. i think exliontamer also attended this show.

i was there. the features didn't play. i remember being under the impression they were going to. two of the people i went with wanted to see jill sobule, if you can believe that.

There was no horn section. I guess it is possible that they had trumpet on one song like someone mentioned, but I don't really remember that. All I remember was choreography and Moog.

Thank you. Now I can rest.