Thanks to the 19 people who voted.

MIDWEST:
(1) Circus - 11
(4) Exorcising Demons - 8

(3) Someway, Somehow - 10
(2) God Save Rock'n'Roll - 9

WEST:
(1) Leave It All Behind - 12
(4) Blow It Out - 7

(6) Armani Suede - 5
(2) See You Thru - 14

SOUTH:
(1) Buffalo Head - 15
(5) Moonlight - 4

(3) Me & the Skirts - 8
(2) Walk You Home - 11

EAST:
(1) The Beginning - 11
(4) The Idea of Growing Old - 8

(3) Action - 11
(2) Darkroom - 8

ROUND FOUR (The Elite 8): This is another short round, so vote quickly. This round ends Sunday night at midnight.

MIDWEST:
(1) Circus
(3) Someway, Somehow

WEST:
(1) Leave It All Behind
(2) See You Thru

SOUTH:
(1) Buffalo Head
(2) Walk You Home

EAST:
(1) The Beginning
(3) Action

Mail your choices to: btpatton@comcast.net

I did not see this coming at all. I had no idea SWSH was liked that much. Oh well.

Shocking again, but I voted for Action.

I so voted for Dark Room. And I must add that I was very surprised to see a lot of people clapping during Dark Room tonite at the Vandy show. I'm very glad that it seems to have finally caught on.

We're gonna have to do better than this, folks. This is the smallest number of voters so far.


I was kind of hoping for an upset here, but I never hear much about "Demons" being a favorite anymore. It seems like it's just more of a staple.

There is justice in this tournament.

No surprise, but I think I prefer Moonlight.

Sadness.

Hooray! Hooray!

i have a sneaking suspicion that circus is going to win...again.

I hope not.

The band played "Moonlight" last night just to garner support for it, but I guess it was too little too late.

I certainly hope not. It's a good song, but I don't think it's the quintessential Features song that defines them as a band. It's still got some tough competition so I don't think it's over yet.

I'm rooting for "Leave It All Behind" since I believe that it is the quintessential Features song. It has every great aspect of every Features song rolled into one, how could anyone not love it (not pointing fingers)?

shit, i forgot to vote.

im sad that dark room lost, but i was more excited over the fact that the dark room clapping is catching on. it seemed like everyone around me was doing it.

this round will be the true test.

The elite 8 had the toughest decisions, and it will only get harder for the Final Four. Whatever songs may be there, I think the final decision will come easily for me.

Way to go Someway, Somehow! Even if this is it for you it's sort of the Gonzaga of the actual tourney, or maybe it's not but it's nonetheless impressive. Good to see See You Through still with life in its legs.

Darkroom, Blow it Out and Moonlight were all robbed. Someway, Somehow pulling the upset almost makes up for it.

hmm, though this round was pretty easy voting wise, i must say that its results are somewhat upsetting. poor darkroom and moonlight...but mostly poor darkroom. i'm glad to see that "someway, somehow" pulled through though...it's a fighter, maybe it can fight its way to the end.

I guess I may be missing something, but this song does not delight me anywhere near as much as some other songs (quite a few actually). It's a very good song, but I just don't care for it.

You're just retarded, that's all.

Yeah, go find a CDC class and try out for the Special Olympics. Anyone who cannot acknowledge that "Leave It All Behind" is the definitive (while maybe not the best) Features song is out of their head. It features a very distinctive part by every member (stop-start guitar, a rising bassline, a pounding beat, and a pulsating and hooky keyboard part), backing/lead vocals to the most instantly catchy chorus of any Features song (people sing along with it while they are hearing it for the first time!), and great lyrics. "Circus" may be the best rocking Features song, "Moonlight" or "Growing Old" may be the best slower Features song, "Armani Suede" may be the best older song, "Paid to Think" and "Your Smile" may be the best Hey-These-Songs-Aren't-Played-Anymore songs, but "LIAB" is the song where the great parts of all of these songs come together to form a gestalt of rock power.

But that's just me.

And like Carl, I have nothing to back this up.

I believe I will stand my ground on this one. Again, I like the song, yet I dislike it for disrupting the flow of songs at the shows (along with it's partners in crime "Someway, Somehow" & "Idea..."). That said, I'm more of a "Darkroom/Circus/Action/God Save/Blow It Out, etc." type of person. I like the happier and more ass-kicking songs. It's simply a matter of preference. Though, Digsy, I do agree with your point about it containing a small part of all of the song types.

(Edited by richarddawson at 3:03 pm on Mar. 29, 2003)

This brings up a point that Ray and I discussed about 6 or 7 months ago. The Features should have some sort of contest where we fans submit our dream 20+ song setlist, and the one that the band thought flowed best would win.

I think "Growing Old", "Someway Somehow" and "LIAB" belong in every show, but I also agree that they can break the momentum. The solution to this is a well paced setlist (which usually doesn't happen at Features shows since Rollu-I mean Matt decides from song to song). Hmm...the possibilities....

Holy Crap! I had that exact same idea a few weeks ago! Only, I thought it would be cool to start as a thread of everyone's dream setlist, then have a new thread where everybody voted on the best setlist from the old thread, and then we would all beg the band to play it one time. Of course, we'd probably just have a bunch of people suggesting/voting on the most obscure Features songs they could. Having the band decide, on the other hand, would solve that problem.

The only question is, why should we get to decide what songs they play?

Also, I think for an hour+ set to be enjoyable, you have to play a variety of songs. I figured that was just common knowledge. Plus, I've noticed particular camps of people preferring one style of song over another. For instance, I don't really care for The Design, Action, or BuffaloHead because I find them a bit abrasive, but others will list these as their favorites for that same reason. By playing a wide variety of songs, they keep their sets interesting and they please as many fans as possible.

(Edited by carligula at 3:27 pm on Mar. 29, 2003)

After my first show I was singing the chorus all night, and last night that's all my buds were singing too.

I also have a vivid memory of hearing this song for the first time at the End. I'm pretty sure it was the night it debuted. According to Wiyum's page (which rules by the way), that would have been 9-21-2001 which sounds about right. I remember thinking 3 things: 1) this chorus is the most infectious thing I've ever heard 2) this song is way too short and 3) this will soon be my favorite Features song. Over the following few shows, they added to it I think. Can anyone back any of this up (because as always, I have nothing)?

I agree with Digsy that this song gets my vote for the quintessential Features song to date.

Whenever I found the "Leave It All Behind" demo, I played it over and over and over again for about 30 minutes. My love has not dwindled since. I would dare say that the song is in my top 10 favorite songs of any band of all time, actually.

And I know that they've added an extra "oh"ing to the song since it was recorded.

With Leave It All Behind, it sounded familiar from the first time I heard it...the verses, the chorus, the whole thing. Maybe this newly uncovered Stick Together is why the verses seemed familiar from the last listen. It seems to me that the chorus just makes too much sense for it not to be familiar and just an all-around great song.

Sorry, to post again, but I got to thinking about the tournament at hand again.

It's interesting to me that Action and Someway, Somehow are in the elite 8. Neither of them have the status of being played at every show (including last night). Last year's tournament was won by Circus, but it wasn't being played at all. It saw a revival in the summer months following the tournament. I wonder if this will be the case for Action and Someway. Their strong showing may help them out enough.

I hope you're half right.

I thought all the same things, and every time I introduce people to the Features lately, that's the song that they remember. When I first heard it at that show I remember thinking (a) this could be their "hit" if they wanted it to be and (b ) I'll be 23 tomorrow!

(Edited by Lauren at 1:19 pm on Mar. 30, 2003)