From the white hair in the audience, it was clear the Feelies first show in D.C. in 18 years was a trip down memory lane for many. For others, it filled a gap. Sadly, the group disbanded in 1991, but as bassist Brenda Sauter said as the quintet took the stage for the first of its 5(!) encores, it was only one year since their first reunion rehearsal. The band's done well with that year, sounding like they never went away.
The set drew from four LPs worth of songs that spanned the '80s (and 1991), and as such, it seemed light on material from 1980s "Crazy Rhythms," their truly groundbreaking record, but ultimately, it didn't matter. The later material -- what I may have called the lesser material, or at least diminishing material -- was performed with all the uniqueness and offbeat infectiousness that made "Crazy Rhythms so engaging and ultimately essential three decades ago, so I must pull a Lester Bangs card and not eat my words so much as ignore them. (It's almost impossible, after all, to top a Pulitzer.) Folkier on album, the songs had complete rock power live. The Feelies kicked things off with excellent renditions of "On the Roof" and "The High Road," the first two songs from their second LP, "The Good Earth." Immediately the band recaptured their jittery post-punk groove, and on "The High Road" demonstrated that sweet guitar sound that must have informed Yo La Tengo's pop songs of the late '80s. Plus, Bill Million had strapped on his acoustic guitar, which, in the '80s, helped the Feelies put their own stamp on post-punk -- a stamp copied by the likes of R.E.M. It was a strong open, but the set did start to pick up when he plugged in after three songs for "Let's Go," and kept it plugged on as the band kept going.
Of the material from the last two LPs, "Deep Fascination," "Away," "Higher Ground" and "Doing It Again" were highlights, sounding like they belonged on the first two LPs. But it was "Slipping (Into Something)" that found the Feelies at their best, with its extended groove and the best crescendo of the night, and the Feelies are tremendous with crescendo. A couple of songs later, the band closed its set with an overdue one-two from "Crazy Rhythms," "Raised Eyebrows" -- on which percussionists Dave Weckerman and Stanley Demeski's unison, rapid-fire clickity clacks were so playfully nostalgic and almost breathtaking.
But five encores? That's just gaudy. One is stupid -- "encore" has lost its meaning in live music. Better to play none than one unless the crowd really goes nuts. Which it did. So two encores, then. This band has earned that right. Three? If the crowd goes apey. (Again, which it did, more so each time the band left the stage.) But five?
Was great though, wasn't it, Feelies fanatics? The band sprinkled a couple of originals among several covers -- Modern Lovers, Patti Smith, Neil Young, R.E.M.'s "Carnival of Sorts," on which they showed that band a thing or two, as they had in influencing them almost three decades ago. And we waited 18 years to see the band together again, we may as well wait four encores for an incredible rendition of the Velvet Underground's "What Goes On." Again using their powers of crescendo, they turned Lou Reed's classic into a raucous stomp. It started loud and heavy and escalated to thunder.
It's nice to see frontman Glenn Mercer isn't shy of the Lou Reed comparisons. Often, his vocals recalled Reed -- as they always have -- and Mercer's signature dark shades alone were a nod to the Velvet leader. Mercer is the lead music geek in this band of nerds-next-door, after all -- his awkward back skipping away from the mic to almost freak out only enhancing the effect.
Opener Shrubs owes a similar Velvet debt. Their garage pop comes from the softer side of the Velvet Underground (plus '50s and '60s pop and garage rock), and they showed why they're adored in New York City's underground -- and why they should get more attention outside the Big Apple. Shrubs had even more in common with the guitar pop of early Yo La Tengo than the Feelies, with a steady groove they occasionally break for unsettling noise. Bassist Bob Torsello often took the guitar solos, coaxing an amazing bottom howl out of his bass that found the band at its most Velvety. Otherwise guitarist Jay LoRubbio's solos -- particularly on "Here We Go Again" and a new song (yes, they promised a long-overdue new album) -- were beautiful noise. Like their headlining friends, Shrubs showed a knack for a cover or two. They fessed to their folk influence by tackling Pete Seeger and P.F. Sloan and played a Feelies song often associated with Shrubs since they included it on their 2001 classic, "Misfits and Dreamers." Since the Feelies never play "Find a Way," Shrubs have taken on the responsibility, and we're all better off for it..
