Monday evening I had the fantastic privilege of attending a special family-and-friends show by the reunited Feelies at Maxwell’s, their old Hoboken stomping and strumming and jumping grounds. Aside from being musically spectacular, it was genuinely moving to see these old friends and neighbors working together again; Bar/None records founder Glenn Morrow and I wound up comparing notes as to which of the songs choked us up the most. I’m going to be high on both the music and the fellow-feeling of the night for quite some time.
My favorite account of the evening is this one, which is pretty much the sweetest thing I’ve ever read.
You were in a band with a guy from the Feelies? Very strange. I’ve been listening to “Crazy Rhythms” in the car for the last five weeks, after replacing an old scratched copy. None of their songs are on iTunes yet, but the CD available is a two-for-one deal with “The Good Earth.”
I well remember the day I innocently walked into Cincinnati’s Another Record Store, where the Feelies’ first album was on the turntable. It must have been a successful sales ploy, because I got away with the last copy in stock. I saw them open for Lou Reed on his NEW YORK tour and wished they could have played another hour, even if it meant shortening Lou’s set. I’ve always loved bassist Brenda Sauter’s reading of Patti Smith’s “Dancing Barefoot,” which seemed charged with real lust as well as real shyness.
I’m too young to have seen The Feelies live, but I remember reading about them in the Spin Alternative Album Guide (an indispensable book for a teen to discover many a fine pre-90s band) and bought Crazy Rythms for ten bucks. Nobody I knew had heard of them, but years later, in a defunct night club, I remember hearing their cover of “Paint it Black” and ran over to the DJ to thank him (and befriended him to this day). I often listen to The Feelies along with another great New York band, the dB’s.
I’m saving the lion’s share of this stuff for my memoirs (ar ar ar), but, yeah, Joel, back in the early ’80s I fronted (and was the weakest link in) a band in which Stanley Demeski was the drummer. And what a drummer he was/is.
Tim: Brenda is a real gem of a person as well as a formidable musical talent. All of them are. I just feel really honored to know them. And even if I didn’t, they would still be one of my favorite bands.
Jason, Monday night their covers were the Velvets’ “What Goes On” and Wire’s “Outdoor Miner,” the latter a very interesting choice since much of “Chairs Missing” was influenced by Wire having the Feelies open for them at CBGB in the interim between “Pink Flag” and the second album…