Featuring…The Features! by guest blogger, Amanda Brown
Guest blogger, AMANDA BROWN has thankfully, abandoned her Live Music Rehab…and has re-emerged triumphant to do a review for RadioPotato.com. A big fat thank you to my musical home girl!
Featuring…The FEATURES!
About a month ago my friend Ashley invited me up to Nashville to catch a band called The Features.They’ve been around a while on the Nashville scene, but haven’t quite made it mainstream. I anticipate that will change as they recently signed on to the Kings of Leon’s new record label. Although I have put myself on “Live Music Rehab“, I still slip sometimes, and agreed to go to the show. It also helped that the rumor circulating around Nashville was that the Kings were going to open up for them.
The show was at Exit/In, a first visit for me. I’ve been to a couple of other venues in Nashville, and this one ranks pretty high. The acoustics were great, and the energy from the audience was electric. The Kings didn’t open, which for me, wasn’t a problem because I was there to see The Features, but, there was a group beside me who left once the opener started. Why wouldn’t you stay to see the headliner who could be equally as good?! Amateurs.
The place was packed. The Features were amazing! They gave an explosive performance. Their songs are upbeat, save for one or two slow jams, and they kept the crowd moving. One thing that impressed me is that, although they aren’t a national band, the packed out audience knew every word to every song. The crowd joined in on the syncopated hand claps, and shouted out loud during the “oh ohs” of “Lions”. That to me, shows a band that has some staying power.
Just like with any band that has been around, if you catch them early enough in their career, you can see their music evolve. Close to the end of the show, I asked this grizzly bearded man in a plaid shirt (apparently plaid shirts, skinny jeans and the hipster attitude are the official uniform for guys in Nashville) if he had seen the Features before. He had seen them in 2003 in a small venue, when no one was in the audience. Of course, my question is, do they sound the same…and he said, what I expected, that they had “sold out”. So, the evolution of music from the beginning to when they actually make it, can be taken as “selling out” or growing. I prefer to think that the Features have just grown, and have a full musical life ahead of them.
It was fun, for me, to be on the outside of this up and coming band. A good sign is that I bought their album before leaving, and immediately checked their tour schedule to see if they were stopping through Atlanta. I can’t wait to see them again and be in the audience hand clapping along with the rest of the audience.
For tour dates and more info about the Features, click HERE.
Thanks again to Amanda Brown for contributing to Radiopotato.com. She’s got her own personal blog that has funny stories (especially the crazy dating ones) and has a most excellent musical ear. You can even follow her on Twitter. Amanda, you ROCK!
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Girl, it was a pleasure. If only I could get PAID to go to shows, and then review them for you. Can we please work on that next? I’m curious what “local” artist your followers know about in other parts of the country that I’m not aware of…can you get them to share?!