The influential New Jersey band (perhaps occupying the sonic space between the Talking Heads, Ramones and the Velvet Underground) that disbanded in 1992 has been doing a series of reunion shows this week, culminating by opening for Sonic Youth in Battery Park today. Jon Pareles has had not one, but two articles on their return in the New York Times. Video from their June 30th private warm-up at the legendary Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ, has surfaced online, including clips of “Doin’ It Again,” the new song “Time is Right” (w/ cowbell!) and the Stones’ “Paint It Black.” Not as physically hyper as their heyday (the original Jonathan Demme-shot clip for “Away” or the early NYC public-access TV clip of “Crazy Rhythms“comes closer to that), but still with chemistry to burn.
My fellow guest-blogger and Feelies fan Dan Collins has to work today, so this may brighten his breaks.
Update: Those of you who prefer your Fourth rock a little more trad can find plenty of the Beach Boys and more at my regular gig.
Update x2: More (and better) Feelies clips from June 30th – “Let’s Go,” “Slipping (into something),” “Raised Eyebrows” and “Away.”ÂÂ
Birthday Greetings from Joe Cocker
– Some how I have a feeling the hard charging, irrepressible Coliins, will find some inventive ways to “brighten his breaks”. Just paint me red, white, and cynical.
– Happy forth all you nice people. you too Dan.
I enjoyed those links, Karl.
What could Dan be doing working on Independence Day, the hottest hotdog day of America?
a: fighter pilot demonstration
b: “Playing the Violin”
c: manning a molasses-to-rum-to-snowcone stand? (I’ve heard he has the singing voice for it.)
d:?????
e: PROFITTING! And killing some poley-bears.
Gosh, what a nice memory. Thanks Karl. One of the few rock bands I still like. What a great studio band: their concerts sound – heck, look – (to me) like four or so young punks doing Feelies’ covers. Poorly. Well, OK, not as well. YMMV, of course.
The Feelies first album is the only one I own that I bought in every format I needed/could find: vinyl, tape, and CD… OK, the CD was made from the tape, but that’s because an original CD on Amazon/E-bay costs $50 because the CD is/was out-of-print.
The latest update at eggcityradio.com is a Feelies show from ’86. Good set, but it’s a bootleg and it sounds like one (a pretty good one, though). Recommended for fans from back in the day, but not for the curious.
jdm,
Sadly, none of the clips (even the old ones) captures their live power in the Good Earth/Only Life period, which had all of the studio precision, but at an even higher intensity and tempo. Bill Million used to have his mic stand covered in pics because he would go through severl per song. He and Mercer used to literally bounce off of each other. It was quite something.
I’ve always thought that video for “Away” was the best straight-performance video evah. It really makes you wish you were there (I think it was shot at Maxwell’s, too).
BBR,
Could be, though I thought it was CBGBs.
Thanks very much, Karl. I had no idea. It’s great to hear them again.
Crazy Rhythms was part of the soundtrack to one of the greatest summers I ever spent.