Gig photos here.
I got to cover The Felice Brothers in Glasgow last Saturday. It was the fourth time I've seen them and they were typically excellent. I've nothing but good things to say about them. Still, the gig was marred by several factors outwith the band's control. These include my decision to engage James Felice in awkward chit-chat on the street 30 minutes before doors opened, the asshole who poured beer over my head as the set drew to a close and the painful cycling injury that made writing the review such a chore. The ache in the entire left side of my body has only just subsided and I like to think that my accident accounts for the fact that the piece doesn't read all that well. Additionally, there are few things more tedious than a wholly positive review.
The Felice Brothers
O2 ABC, Glasgow
17/3/12
*****
Their preoccupation with weird, old-timey Americana and tendency to indulge in beautiful, rough-hewn harmonies notwithstanding, The Felice Brothers' early career saw them dogged by unfair comparisons to Bob Dylan and The Band. In spite of superficial similarities to certain heritage acts, the siblings have always been distinctive songwriters and performers in their own right. This has never been more apparent than on last year's Celebration, Florida, a set characterised by wilful eclecticism and studio experimentation. While the album successfully defied preconceptions of the group, it posed significant questions relating to their future. Already at risk of alienating their more purist followers, there were fears that efforts to replicate complex new material would bring restraint to the shambolic live shows with which they made their name.
Easing the audience in with established set opener 'Murder by Mistletoe', it seems as though little has changed in the Felice camp. Their sound is as ragged as ever, Ian Felice's hoarse vocals and rudimentary guitar punctuating expressive bursts of accordion and fiddle, and it’s clear that the performers are happy playing toward their strengths. The following 'The Greatest Show on Earth', however, is a revelation. Its arrangement, now cluttered to the point of near collapse, hangs together so precariously that it can only be tackled by musicians who are acutely tuned in to each other. The musicians have been touring solidly for the last five years and it shows.
Though tonight's setlist is typical of the group, their particularly well-worn material is given a muscular sonic make-over. 'Ponzi' segues into a Krautrock-flavoured 'Take this Bread', 'Loves Me Tenderly' is rendered a deliberately discordant stomper and 'Hey Hey, Revolver' is glazed in icy ambience. Even signature tune 'Frankie's Gun' now boasts a propulsive, beat driven intro, Greg Farley having traded his washboard in for a sampler. 'Little Anne' and 'Her Eyes Dart Round' prove that the players still have a way with contemplative ballads, while the new songs sound fittingly organic in the live setting. Folk revivalists may sneer at the group’s recent innovations, but there can be no denying that the Felices have hit upon a sound and identity all of their own and are tapping into something very special indeed.
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