Across the Art's music blogger Deborah McArthur gives us her first feature on...The Features.
My New Years resolution was to go to a gig a month for 2010, and this has been one resolution I have stuck to so far. I’ve seen some great live music, from Jamie T to Vampire Weekend to The Dum Dum Girls. Now that the festival season is here, there aren’t as many big acts playing around town. This meant some internet research was in order to find some more hidden gems.
The Features is a band from Tennessee. I was attracted to them when they signed to the Kings of Leon’s new label, Imprint, and so I immediately went onto iTunes and downloaded one of their tracks. I loved it! But then disaster struck, literally, with the volcanic eruption the gig was postponed –gutted!!
It had been a couple of months since I had been to King Tut’s but the minute I stepped into the bar all the memories of great gigs came back and I became excited to see the band. I was so glad the gig had been rescheduled.
As always I was early for the gig so I could check out the support acts – best way to find new music and get your money’s worth from the ticket prices!! Once the support acts were finished I could see some of the crowd getting their pictures taken with a guy. He seemed really laid back and polite, happy to take as many pictures with fans before the band’s set started. That guy then got up on stage and took his position as the front man of The Features. If only I had recognised him beforehand I may have got my picture with him too – d'oh!!!
The minute the set started I realised I was in the company of major Features fans. They knew every word and every guitar solo--it was electric! It wasn’t a sell out but it didn’t need to be; the small appreciative crowd were calling out asking for their favourite tracks to be played.
I could see why the Kings of Leon signed the band: their music had similarities to their first few albums. The lead singer’s voice was distinctive and they certainly had their own sound. Their music was heavier than I thought it would be but it still had a melodic quality, and it definitely got me moving!
Then it came on - the one track I had been playing over and over again in the lead up to the gig – Lions! This was more commercial sounding than their other tracks. The crowd started to jump even more than they had been! Everyone was singing out loud, even me! I had joined the real fans!! At the end of the set the crowd weren’t content--they wanted more. The encore saw the band play another two tracks. I was amazed they had so much material; they had played for an hour, and it was packed with great music.
On my return from the gig I instantly went online to find out more about the band. There was so much more to listen to. The band has been going since 1997 but they have never had the break I think they deserve. Now that they are signed to the Imprint label and have supported the Kings of Leon on various tours I expect to see a lot more of this band. That makes me very excited!!
RSS