Takethisbread on twitter!

If you care to see if I survive the next ten days! I will be updating on my phone via twitter name : takethisbread

I did just drop my phone in a cup of water though!!! It may fry out, so if you see no updates after tonight that's the reason.

Wish me luck.

Sorry!

I'll be away for 11 days as i will be doing a shakedown hike on the Appalachian trail From the Georgia border to Smoky Mountain National Park. Will check in after the Felice Brothers show in Boston on the 19th.

the midnight ramble

The Set List:

Simi -- electric violin
Simone -- acoustic guitar
Bobby/Chicken -- bass
Nowell/Deacon -- drums (Levon Helm's kit(?))

If you ever get famous
The morning that I get to hell
Don't wake the scarecrow (with "Palenville" included in the lyric)
Suzanne (with Chicken on guitar, Deacon on bass, Simone on drums, included Simone dancing about the stage with various other band members, and the great ending duet between Simi & Bobby)
Union Street
Radio Song (with Simi on tambourine, the band sounded very tight and well-rehearsed on this number, with outstanding vocals and harmonies)
--> Helpless (with Deacon contributing a too-short, but outstanding rap)

three hours later, the encore was a song by The Band,
The Weight
Simone was tapped to sing at the last minute, and sang the first two verses, with Bobby chiming in on Simone's mic, and Larry Campell on the middle mic, and Simi sharing the third mic with Teresa Williams and Amy Helm. Third verse sung by Dave Keyes (the amazing piano/organ/accordion player sitting in with the Levon Helm band that night), final verse by Teresa & Amy. Simi played a solo on Larry Campell's fiddle, and Howard Johnson played a tuba solo, during the song.

Said one fan, "Those 7 songs were polished until they shone, but they did not lose any of their intensity. In fact, at one point in "Don't Wake the Scarecrow," Simone practically lost the vocal in a sort of guttural choke, he was so intense. The interplay with Simi adds a lot to the performance too."

another added; "D&K appeared well-rehearsed, they all gave stunning performances, and the 40 minutes flew by much too quickly. The band was tight, focused, powerful, and putting out so much energy, that during their set, I got the mental image of them playing to a huge stadium full of fans -- we witnessed rock stars, giving superior performances of their craft, last night on that stage."


The Levon Helm Band followed with a two hour set featuring:
The Shape I'm In
Such a Night
Long Dark Veil
Deep Ellum Blues
Attics of My Life (Grateful Dead)
Tennesee Jed (Grateful Dead)
All on Mardi Gras Day
Natural Anthem (Jesse Ed Davis tune, featuring Howard Johnson on large sax)
Do Right Woman (Gram Parsons)
Across the Great Divide
Remedy (featuring Jim Weider)
It Makes No Difference
Chest Fever
---
The Weight, featuring The Duke & The King


I can't understate the precision and quality of the performance. Their harmonies and vocal arrangements were as good as anything you might see from the great vocal groups they can be compared to; CSNY, Fleetwood Mac, Beach Boys ect. I heard one man in the lobby murmering that the music sounded like Brian Wilson's, cause it had a spiritual quality. This is something I told Simone. The Beach Boys music was really Gospel disguised as surf songs. These Songs are similar. Additionally these guys have what none of those vocal supergroups ever had, Nowell Haskins. The Big Man, delivers vocal home runs, and provides such such a potent contrast to Bobby and Simone, it makes the sound unique. It's their hook.

Still, There were a lot of big stars in that small room, maybe two or three that will one day be enshrined in the rock and roll hall of fame(yes I think Larry Campbell should and will get in), but the biggest star in that place was Simone Felice. No question. It was good to see a star take his rightful place in the galaxy.

take this bread makes first delivery

Take this Bread made it's first delivery of food today to families in need, giving 8 local families a full thanksgiving dinner to prepare at their home:
-whole Turkey
-10lb bag of Potatoes
-cranberry sauce
-stuffing
-turnip or Squash fresh whole
-bag of carrots
-peas

All delivered to the Edgartown Elementary School for children's families in the free lunch program, with the help of
Cafeteria manager Geena DeBettencourt.

Take This Bread Takes To The Highway with Mobile Soup Kitchen

In an effort to pursue our own creed, we have secured this Mobile Kitchen which we will be taking to locales near and far to help out folks who could use a hand.
Look for us on tour in 2010! If you want to help get in touch, hope to see some of you out there.
If some of you were wondering why i have been not blogging as often, well this is it. I've been working on this for quite a while and will be doing so in the future. More coming......

A Late but Great Review of Yonder is the Clock

The Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock
November 2, 2009 by Bryan Sanchez
Category: Albums (and EPs)

The Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock
The thousands of bands and artists whom cite Bob Dylan as an influence are just that, thousands and thousands. And a multitude more will never cite him but will fill every crevice of their music with his masterful presence and influence. The Felice Brothers are a breath of whirling fresh air with their twisted stories about betrayal, relationships, humanity and even, sports. For a band that sounds like the kind of music Dylan would be proud of, they have every reason to be proud themselves.

They’ve steadily and all the while, quietly, have built a solid following by releasing an album of stellar music every year since 2006. And now, with Yonder is the Clock, they’ve resoundingly made it four in a row – and my, what a gift it is. You see, the four brothers Simone, Ian and James with longtime friends and fellow bandmembers, Greg Farley and Christmas Clapton, enrich their music with a passion and musicianship that recalls everything that’s amazing about Americana: the ghosts of greats like Hank Williams, the blistered love of Tom Waits and even the tenacity of Uncle Tupelo.

Recorded in a building that was built around the remains of a chicken coop, these five band members create thrillingly fantastic music that’s as equally affective musically as it is lyrically. You can take the love lost bitterness of “Katie Dear,” that finds all of the members singing behind Ian’s wispily whiskey-soaked vocals and follow it with “Run Chicken Run,” a song that weaves its complicated story around twirling violin, forceful accordion and bursting drums and you’d be set. This one-two punch, neatly nestled in the heart of the album is at the very foundation: the kind of music that shocks you to your core. Poignant, stirring and stunning, it’s an amazing feat.

The meaning behind Yonder is the Clock comes from the pages of Mark Twain and it only further encompasses the band’s rich and traditional take on Americana. The band’s music shan’t be pigeonholed into a problematic genre like folk because there is far too much going on here. Even the album’s slower gems that focus the attention on the words are paired with mesmerizing music that’s rousing. “The Big Surprise” layers its sounds with a few drum spats, a ranging guitar and the slow roll of pedal tones while Ian sings about how “the jazzy band has lost its swing” and how “all your love has been a lie,” you’d think that just because you back yourself with such trademarks that you’d be able to comfortably abscond it all but for The Felice Brothers, this is about making music for a greater role.

And it just seems to come natural to them, every bit of their heart and soul is spread out in a cool amount of warmth and tenderness. Whether it’s the brooding roam of “Boy From Lawrence County” with its powerful message, or the spook and charm of “Sailor Song,” with its entirely own message of deceit and regret (this is where Waits is most felt,) each song possesses its own special destination with its own special journey and road to follow.

Furthermore, it’s amazing how everything just seems to be pieced together, as if it was all meant to be. A few weeks ago when I was in Austin for their excellent music festival, these guys were sandwiched in between Deer Tick and Grizzly Bear at a stage I was tented out at. I use that wording because it had been raining all day and in order to get a good spot you need to fight it out near the front. I was intrigued but never anticipated such extraordinary results. When The Felice Brothers took the stage, I was transformed to another place and it was a glorious feeling; hopefully you can take their music in some kind of live setting but for now, they’ve placed everything that’s superb about them and have delivered it ten-fold with Yonder is the Clock.

Bryan Sanchez Adequecy.net

New Lyrics added for Goddamn You Jim

last verse-"lightly goes a child's soul
death will eat a mother whole
yet men must bear the burden
of every season passing"

thanks Jeffrey Lebowski.. (I know he is not Lebowski...he's the dude!)

I love that Felice Brothers as Stillwater picture.

Artrocker.com celebrates The Duke and The King and offers downloads

EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: The Duke & The King - The Morning I Get To Hell + If You Ever Get Famous


A couple of singer-songwriters inspired by literary charlatans, NPR darlings The Duke & The King draw from Huckleberry Finn, freshly-shot BB guns, wide plains and open spaces. At times precious, other times bare, there’s always the comforting sense of a roving partner in crime in these chords, someone to flick a lighter in the dark to signal it’s time to jump to the next train car. If there was ever a band that sounds best live, under a blanket and a starless sky, it’s probably these guys.

Read more: http://www.artrocker.com/node/16926#ixzz0VTFaM7DJ

The Felice Brothers From Shepard's Bush Empire

This is not so much a review more just an acknowledgement to how good they were.

Firstly I deliberately went with low expectations only because I was at The Luminaire gig a couple of years back and seeing that was not only my gig of the year was one of the best gigs of my life, the energy, the talent, well you know what I mean.

So, I arrived about 2 songs into A.A bondy's set who I have to say was terrific and had a pretty full crowd to perform to. I actually bumped into a friend who was going to see him rather than the brothers. He played a great set and reminded me in his looks like Jakob Dylan.

Shepeherd's bush empire has a real intimate feel to it with three balcony's which give the impression that they are bending in towards the stage,capacity is 2000 but you don't feel that. Anyway, the place was rammed, I was in the stalls standing and it was literally toe to toe, absolutely rammed.

I don't have a playlist and so can only give you the tracks I remember them playing.They kicked off the whole thing with Marlboro Man, after that in no particular order I remember Helen Fry, Frankies gun, run chicken run (encore) Ruby Mae, St Stephens end, Whiskey in my whiskey,Ballad of Lou, Ahab, Roll on Arte, Hey hey revolver, White Limo, New Mexico, farleys song,Endless night. They played for well over an hour and a half and were trully outstanding. Farley's antics y'know were not too bad, he was running around a lot throwing water on the drum kit and stuff and was actually entertaining, his song he did on his own was amazing but nothing like Ahab sung by Christmas. He reminded me of a young Lou reed now he's without mousetache and his snarling version of this song was a highlight for me, full of fire. But to be honest the whole band were just mind blowingly good, James singing New Mexico had the crowd in complete silence and Ian as ever was as good as I've ever seen and his voice also seems to have improved massively, I love the way he one minute looks and behaves like a shambolic drunk (at one point he called himself and the band 'just a bunch of losers from the catskills') but still managing to play and sing as well as ever and other times when singing solo he looks as delicate as snow, so tender and heartfelt you can't help but will him on towards whatever he's aiming or looking for, the man has that special something.

A nice touch was when about four or five tracks in Farley said something like "wow, there'a lot of you here" and James took his hat off and looked 'up to the rafters' and was genuinely gobsmacked, mouth wide open in awe, I think the whole band were genuinely shocked by the turn out, Jeez, I was shocked by the turnout, but this is a beautiful venue, google it and see. On a personal note I'd love to see them play this style of venue again, they seemed to bring that bar room sound into this venue but sang and played like they were still in a bar room. A.A Bondy played with them a fair bit too and all in all I can't say enough good things about this gig, one of the gigs of my life.

I'd love it if a recording materialises from this as I would love to experience it again.


From The Lonesome Drifter on the Gun.

Video by Spiritual Opiates Channel

The Duke and The King From BARCELONA: Long May You Run

The Duke and the King from JOOLS HOLLAND

Cooperstown from Dublin

Loves me Tenderly from Munchen 10-15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abuUFtGhkxM&feature=player_embedded

Open Letter from a Fan of The Felice Brothers

Editors Note; This is written by a fan, I do not know what the plans are for the Felice Brothers going forward. This letter does pose important questions for a rock band in the 21st century which is why i included it, like, What role does a record company play in the this digital age? Are they even neccessary? and to what degree? What about a band like the Felice Brothers who have a good following, can they go on without a "label" if they chose too? not sure

By Nick Roberts
There is something inherently magical about finding a band in it's youth, when few people know about them, when you get to see them in intimate settings, when you come into a small club and see some crazy wild eyed young man at the bar drinking a pint of beer and moments later that same young man takes the stage, grabs a guitar and begins to play for you. And the songs they play move you, take you back to a time forgotten and buried under today's newspaper stories of fear and terror. They tell stories of an America that is slowly slipping away underneath our feet and being paved over with shiny objects that distract us and make our hearts smaller and our minds narrowed to the idea of God and something bigger than ourselves and the things we own, the trophies we place around us. We have just found something magical, esoteric, something hidden. Something we can hold to our chest, clutch onto and keep warm.



But eventually if that band is good more people will start to take notice. Articles will be written, websites will be built, stars will appear next to their record reviews and they might actually become successfull. With their success we chance to loose that connection we once had. It's a selfish desire for bands to stay small and play in our back yards, but it's a feeling alot of fans share. Which leads me to my point.



I was recently posed a question that has nothing to do with my personal life, my finances, does not provide groceries for my children, yet it does have the chance to effect my spirit. Mayan calenders and drunken prophets dead and buried have predicted the world to end in 3 years time, so finding your loveseat position next to God is an important thing. Music helps us do that. The Felice Brothers help me to do that.



The Fact is The Felice Brothers had a two record deal with Team Love label and that has now has ended. This leads us to the Question; Where do they go from here?
Suffice it to say i am not a record executive. I do not know the ins and outs of the music industry. But i do know music. And I believe i see the problems in the modern day music industry. And for the money that labels provide, the exposure generated, the revenue thrown at other people to get them to take notice, to listen? People pay money to get Rolling Stone reviews, they pay money to get "critics" to listen to their albums. Does this build a fan base, no. Does it provide exposure? Yes, to a small extent it does, but until those stars they put next to the album have a scratch-n-sniff quality that puts out music, it's lacking. Rolling Stone is not the magazine it was 30 years ago and hopefully their subscriptions reflect that, how they rate albums is absolute bullshit. Why would i need someone to represent that, why would i give away my money for that. As for more independent magazines; Pitchfork, Paste, i'm not sure if their is any "bribery" involved. I don't know.



Do Labels plaster posters on telephone polls around the city to promote a bands upcoming concert? Do they go to indie record shops and put up posters on their windows advertising the release of a new album? Do Labels buy tickets, then buy more tickets for their unawakened friends and bring them along to the show? Fans do. This can all be done by "Street Teams", by Frankiesgun.com, free of charge. By people who actually just love the music.



I understand the need for a label in the begining, to get you out there, to push for radio play, but indie stations will always have dj's that will listen to an album, rather have an ear for good music and put that on the air, whether that be something you dial into, fm, or a podcast like Martin here on the Board is doing and doing it well. And I've never heard The Brothers, Duke&the King on the Radio, nor did i hear The Horse Feathers, the Avett Brothers, the Everybodyfields, Mark Kozelek, or Malcolm Holcombe or any of the other bands i really love on the air, but i did hear a recording.



Exposure? The music is the exposure, how you get them to hear the music is the issue. Allowing audience taping is a great means of doing just that and it's free advertising. It's a great tool that's been used by many bands (Avett Brothers, Phish, Dave Mathews Band, Pearl Jam. . .) to increase their fanbase and also to build a community out of those fans. If the music isn't played on the radio how else will it be heard? Dimeadozen, the Trader's Den, bt.etree is exposure, the Live Music Archive is exposure, much more so than a written blurb but an actual auditory experience, free sample if you will. And you don't have to pay for it to find out if you like it! That brings fans, that brought me and many others here, it has an ""almost"" similar effect to going to a show of a band you didn't know and coming out a fan. To me it's a much more realistic representation of what a band is and hopefully an idea of what they could be. Not to mention it's a relatively untapped market. Pearl Jam put out cd's of almost an entire tour, captured by the soudboard, bound in carboard covers and sold them to the fans.



You don't need record exec's to make an album, you don't need to pay exhorbent prices for studio space when you carry those same damn instruments around with you into small clubs all over the country. You just need it mixed properly. Then you need advertising and distribution. You need a fan base, thanks record company, that already happened, and by no help from you. A good example is the Avett Brothers, they may be on Columbia now, but who is the group that's gonna follow them all over the country, buy everything they put out, the fans that have always been there. The dedicated ones who fell in love with a band that the whole world didn't know about yet-US- we'll be there. As we will be for the Brothers.
Don't get me wrong, i want them to live well, enjoy the fruits of their labor, i just don't see the "need" to forfeit so much to attain that goal. I don't see it at all.



I have been inside the standing audiences that surround musicians on the street, halo-ing them, keeping them safe, building walls out of our bodies for the music to bounce off of and richochet, a moving cathedral built by those who close in and listen and then that church dismantled as the last note fades and the guitars go back into their cases. The Felice Brothers have that.

Uncut Magazine: The Felice Brothers Debut Album the 102nd Best Album of This Century

The UK publication UNCUT, is celebrating their 150th issue by listing the top 150 albums of the 21st century, and The Felice Brothers made the list at #102. Quite an honor for sure, (although i felt it should have been #1).

The Issue features Jack White on the cover, and a covermount that Features The Felice Brothers classic "Don't Wake The Scarecrow"

a must buy for Felice Brothers fans.

The Felice Brothers in Berlin "Hey Hey Revolver"

Manuela from Berlin: thank you

Mix Tape CD Review: a repost

The Mix Tape CD has finally arrived as The Felice Brothers hit the road on the Fall leg of their world tour. I greeted this wondrous gift with subdued expectations, seeing it was likely a album of outtakes, and a gift for hardcore fans who are a loyal crew. Many of these songs are well known to fans who have heard some of these numbers in the live shows for months or years. Much to most fans delight will be the inclusion of longtime requested number "White Limo" on this set of nine songs. (No its not called "Cincinnati Queen"). The drums are manned, by Simone Felice (New Mexico and Captain's Wife), Dave Turbeville (Forever Green, Ahab, Let Me Come Home), and Jeremy "The Searcher" Backofen (White Limo, Marlboro Man, Marie).

The first track is a standout acoustic ballad "Forever Green" , which sounds like an older song from perhaps the Iantown era. It features beautiful fiddle from Greg Farley and some wonderful lyrics by Ian Felice, of the occupational hazards of love.
"Ahab" with Christmas taking lead vocal, follows, apparently inspired by his reading the Melville classic in the past year. Christmas compares his plight in love with the monomaniacal captain of the Pequod. "White Limo" furnished with new lyrics, is an explosive success. Unlike "Memphis Flu", from Yonder is the Clock, which mostly failed to capture the energy it had on stage and stumbled, "Limo" brings the music up to date. The best show closing number from a mainstream rock unit since "Rosalita", (and featuring a similar swirling organ frenzy) it packs a massive 3 minute wallop.

white legs, white lies, white wedding gown
just a little red to paint the town.
could you meet me at the ghetto gate(s)?
where the goons, and the grifters wait


Searcher's heavy hands provide a powerful backbeat.

A James Felice song, apparently written mostly as a teen, follows. "Let Me Come Home" cools off the listener after the barn-burning "White Limo". A mature tale of the prodigal son returning home (Luke 15:11-32) Jimmy pleads with his family for forgiveness, as his weary soul longs for their acceptance;

"My Brother, I know that i stole her,
but brother you did not own her.
Brother, you were a friend of mine,
and i thought you'd be with me on that firing line"

One of the finest songs James has written and sounds like an instant classic. "Captain's Wife" is a smokey barroom number in the vein of "Helen Fry" or "Cypress Grove", with Ian on lead vocal. Not sure if this songs heroine has any relationship to Mary Anne Patten, the 19th century wife of a ship's captain, who became a great symbol for feminism over the next 100 years, but it wouldn't be the first time Ian has tackled such a heroine, (Edith Cavell, "St. Stephens End").
"New Mexico" is a James Felice tune that likely borrows more from his major literary influences (Cormac McCarthy) than any rock and roll muse. "Blood Meridien" was a likely nicked before by Ian, (Reverend Green in "Wonderful Life") and this violent tale, also compared often to Melville's "Moby Dick" is an apparent influence. James sings it wonderfully, with Ian taking the lower register.
"17 Years" is a piano ballad that sounds like it could have been on the "Big Empty" album. Its the tale of a young friend who washes ashore in Tarrytown, Ny. Its a sad goodbye, to his friend, and youth.

"Stood outside your window, I couldn't see within
Your curtains faintly stirring like a restless living thing
i lit a smoke as morning broke
i knew it would be a while
before i find piece of mind"

"Marie" follows, with the most stunning songwriting Ian Felice has flashed since "Frankie's Gun". Like "Frankie", this number is instantly recognizable, with lyrics that are clever, funny and memorable. Each verse is sung by a different member of the band, with Greg Farley's contribution being especially delicious,

"I thought i was sharp enough,
I read Moby Dick and stuff
I guess i ain't smart enough for you,
All i'm asking you Marie
is spend one more fare on me
Give me one more night"

"Marlboro Man" from the Daytrotter Sessions, is updated here with a much spookier, electrified sound. Its another standout track. It features beautiful guitar work by Ian as well as nice accents by James and Greg.

One surprise, is the lack of inclusion of Greg Farley's standout tune, "Song for Gramps" as a tenth track. It sounds like one of their better songs, from its live performances of late and perhaps they are saving it for a more official release in the spring of 2010.

Mix Tape if it is just a series of outtakes, still has excellent continuity as the theme of unattainable love runs throughout the record. It also may be one of their best collection of songs. While it doesn't boast the unique sound of their debut album with it horn and vocal arrangements, and the brilliant production of Searcher, (in fact this album sounds as it were simply recorded live in the chicken coop studio near their home), it contains songs that will likely become a big part of the Felice Brothers history. Mostly it shows why they are quickly becoming an American treasure, this is their 5th release in the last 3 years, and the second album in six months. They are not caught up in the hype that surrounds the band, or building cults of personality, they are keeping it "real", doing one for the fans, again, and moving on down the road.

-special thanks to a certain person who helped with some of the details that i missed.

Digger

The Deacon and The King work out a fantastic new song

These are chuck smith videos

The Duke and the King warm up Union Street in Newcastle

Tshirts Available: Take This Bread

I have printed out these shirts and i will have a proper store front soon enough. For now pay me $15 to mvbigtuna@yahoo.com use paypal as you can send money to an email address using that. The cost is $15 for the t shirt.

100% OF THE PROCEEDS to the FoodBank of the Hudson Valley.

Take This Bread Wins Auction!

Yes we have won the Auction, but we are offering it back to the parents of Zachary and helping them auction it off again. I already have a ton of Felice Brothers stuff.

about Zachary:

Zachary Reed Beachley was born on July 30, 2003. He suffered severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen during delivery. He is ventilator dependant due to a spinal cord injury which occurred during his traumatic delivery. He also suffers from cortical blindness, infantile spasms/seizures, is gtube fed, cerebral palsy and on and on and on : ) He is the most amazing child and he surprises us daily! Our son....is a super hero!!! Zachary's alternative treatments have included Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT), Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Transplant and Chiropractic Care. We have decided to forego another stem cell transplant and start our savings for a wheelchair accessible van. The one we want cost $50,000 and if we plan to have one in a few years, we better start saving now!!!




Check out Zachary's Family's official website

Simone Felice reading from "Black Jesus"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00mwb86

Simone reading from his new novel-
"Black Jesus" is a killer, he was born in 1985, He shakes, Elephants never forget "black Jesus" is shy and the killer, "Black Jesus" is white as a dove".

also-"When Black Jesus came home from war, a big pair of Stevie Wonder sunglasses hung from his face. Not because they made him look cool, that wasn't it, they gave him the glasses to hide the wreck the little bomb had made of his eyes. He fought in Bagdhad, He fought in Sadr City and out along the River and down all the bad roads in between. He fought the worst days, the longest days in Fallujah, but most of all he fought the feeling inside he's had forever that he just dont belong."

Simone also sings a riveting version of "One More American Song"

picture by Olivia Dean

The Felice Brothers At ACL

by John T. Davis LINK

The multitudes were soggy but, well, multitudinous. “We’re not used to playing for so many people,” exclaimed one of the Felice Brothers, surveying the poncho-ed horde in front of the Dell Stage Saturday afternoon. “Holy (expletive), that’s a lot of people. Give yourselves a hand!”

Obviously, the acclaim drawn by the trio of brothers from upstage New York in their short but prolific recording career (four albums in four years) preceded them.

Onstage, they revealed a more muscular and assertive sound than their albums hint at. A fiddle and accordion scraped and sang in alternating harmony and counterpoint, while David Turbeville’s drums modulated from a rustle to a rumble, depending on the song.

A product of the same environment that bred the Band and Bob Dylan (and yes, those comparisons must get tiresome, but, guys, there are worse touchstones), the brothers borrow some of the same back-hollow imagery, with its antecedent roots of murder, strong drink and hardscrabble origins that Dylan and Co. have often employed. “Frankie’s Gun” (that rarity, a singalong murder ballad), “Murder By Mistletoe” and “Greatest Show On Earth” are all replete with images of violence, sometimes juxtaposed against flashes of natural beauty and human frailty. “Put a pistol in my hands if we’re going out to dance,” they sang at one point, epitomizing the tension that illuminates many of their songs.

Softer moments and onstage good humor balanced the bleakness of some of the folk-noir numbers. “Cooperstown” was a wonderful mood piece that followed the shade of Ty Cobb through a ghostly ballpark. And the band was perfectly capable of rendering a heartfelt Woody Guthrie-style paean to brotherhood called “Take This Bread” and following it shortly thereafter with a song introduction that ran thus: “This is a song about weird sex in the back of a limousine. A big, white limousine.” Take that, Woody.

Jay Janner photo

Big Auction: Guitar Signed by The Felice Bros, Old Crow, Gillian Welch and the Dave Rawlings Machine!!!

HERE


here is the item description:

This auction is for an autographed guitar from The Big Surprise Tour. It is autographed by Old Crow Medicine Show, The Felice Brothers, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings (Dave Rawlings Machine), Justin Townes Earle with Cory Younts and special guest Benmont Tench (founding member of TP and the Heartbreakers).This guitar was given to me by a crew member from the tour who did this special for our family. The guitar itself is a Yamaha and includes the case. For more information, you can email me.

Shipping cost is included in the auction and it will be packed and shipped by UPS. They have done very well shipping other guitars for us in the past. If you have any questions, please

www.hearsoundswrite.com: Review of the Felice Brothers at the Pour House

September 28, 2009: The Felice Brothers

The Felice Brothers
w/Taylor Hollingsworth
The Pour House (Charleston, SC)
September 28, 2009

by George Stevens link

About six or seven years ago, a friend of mine who lives in Boulder, CO, trying to make it in the music business, told me he and his band would watch live Pearl Jam DVDs to get them psyched up for playing a live show. "We can't watch Zeppelin DVDs, because they're rock gods. But Pearl Jam just seem like regular guys who made it." I recalled that quote as I watched the Felice Brothers play at the Pour House last night.

Alleging that the Felice Brothers have "made it" is worthy of a dismissive chuckle. Sure, there's buzz. Glowing reviews of their 2009 release Yonder Is the Clock. Co-headlining a tour with fellow purveyors of old-time rags Old Crow Medicine Show, Justin Townes Earle, and Gillian Welch/David Rawlings. Decent and steady festival billing. Now headlining their own US/European tour--small venues, bars, but the Brothers are drawing. Success? Definitely. Made it? Not quite.

The regular guys part? That, they have down pat. A quintet of twenty-somethings who wouldn't look out of place pumping gas or busing tables, they don't exactly doll up for the stage. You get the feeling they rolled out of bed just in time for soundcheck. And the band doesn't hide backstage before the show. James Felice mans the merch table, making no effort to schmooze, and dutifully exchanges cash for shirts. The Strokes-looking bassplayer, who's simply known as "Christmas", paces aimlessly and is largely ignored by none-the-wiser fans. Only frontman Ian Felice seems a bit out of place, all rock-star thin and keeping relatively quiet while mumbling to his manager between drags, but even he looks like he could be some blue-collar mechanist there for nothing more than a cold beer to cap the day.

Regular guys, all of them. And it's an impression that's supported by their performance. It's a damn sloppy affair, but that's no insult. Raucous, too. The tiny stage of James Island's Pour House could barely contain the gang. Ian Felice high-kicks in place as he rakes his vintagey Guild semi-hollowbody with metal fingerpicks. Fiddle player Greg Farley explores the stage, waves his arms while not playing, looking every bit like a Brooklyn MC in his Yankees cap and white undershirt, not to mention vaguely hip-hoppish banter (at one point he informed us that things were about to get "Looney Tunes in here!") Hefty, bearded James squeezes the life out of his accordion, or bashes his worn electric piano/organ, bellowing out slightly off-key harmonies. The stage banter wasn't overly calculated, nor charming...it didn't need to be. Most of the band was loose and silly, and embraced the house-show feel.

And yet...I couldn't help but get the feeling that primary frontman Ian Felice wants something more. He's easily the best showman of the group, and the quickest. When a girl screeched the request "Don't Wake the Scarecrow", a tune attributed to former member Simon Felice who left for unknown and perhaps tumultuous reason, Ian grinned and responded "That's right, don't wake him..." Again, Ian seems to fit the artiste mold a bit more than the other members--a bit less approachable, a bit more comfortable on stage, and almost certainly the principal songwriter in the bunch. He's an excellent guitarist in a band that doesn't hold a high standard for musical ability. (During a lenghty pre-show chat with Farley, he told us that he'd only been at the fiddle for a couple of years. Their drummer, a friend of the band who took the place of Simon, has literally played the skins for a few months.) The show, admittedly, grew sloppier towards the end, and Ian seemed to lose a bit of his interest. He sang the last verse and chorus of close-out song "Run Chicken Run!" without strumming his guitar. Perhaps he lost his signal; I couldn't tell. Either way, I think Ian was a little put off by some of the silly-good-time stage antics that his cohorts displayed. He wasn't above stage antics, but his all seemed a bit less like he was monkeying around, and more like a means of conveying his persona. This is all speculation, but I wonder if Ian's apparent ambitions might have had a hand in his brother's departure. We'll have to wait for the memoirs, I suppose.

Some of the stats: The show was heavy on new music--and by new, I mean newer than Yonder. In fact, I believe we only heard three songs from the 2009 release ("Chicken Wire", "Run Chicken Run!", and "Cooperstown".) There were five or six brand new tunes, some muddled by Christmas's insistence on using an annoying bass delay effect. But, for what it's worth, they sounded promising. They didn't shy away from their most accessible release, 2008's self titled effort: "The Greatest Show On Earth", "Frankie's Gun", "Goddamn You Jim", "She Loves Me Tenderly", "Whiskey In My Whiskey", "Take This Bread", and "Helen Fry" were all offered up. We heard the first three tracks from 2007's Tonight at the Arizona, "Roll On Arte", "Ballad of Lou the Welterweight", and "Hey Hey Revolver." "Her Eyes Dart Round", an older tune I've only heard via YouTube, was played as well. The crowd was thick, a lot fuller than I'd anticipated. Opening act Taylor Hollingsworth, who I soon deduced was a member of Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley band, sang some nicely plucked folk tunes in his unique nasally and cracked vocal style. He lent some underwhelming lead guitar to the latter half of the Felice Brothers set.

All in all, it was a rager of a folk show. My eardrums are still fighting off the tinnitus from Ian's trebley guitar, which was blasted through a Fender amp. I don't have any doubt I'll see Ian Felice in Charleston again--hopefully with his brothers in tow