THE DAMAGE IS DONE

This concludes the epic journey we have all taken on…Acoustic Week.

The Features
“Leave It All Behind”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Exhibit A, album release (2004)
Leave It All Behind, single release (2005)

LINEAGE:
Was “Stick Together” (same first verse)

OTHER VERSIONS  

Part four of…Acoustic Week.

The Features
“Me & The Skirts”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Exhibit A, US album release (2004)

OTHER VERSIONS 

Part three of Acoustic Week! Turn up your speakers! Seriously, because these MP3s were recorded pretty low.

The Features
“33 1/3”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

Here’s another track from the Features acoustic record release show for Exhibit A. This classic Features track would only be played once more after this (on November 12th, 2005 at Wall Street in Murfreesboro), and this is the newest version of the song that I own.

OTHER VERSIONS

Part two of Acoustic Week. Are you ready to rock?!

The Features
“Stagecoach”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

The entire band went unplugged for their Exhibit A record release show at beloved Nashville music store, Grimey’s. The wheezy keyboards, jolly bass and clickity-clack drumming make most all of these tunes downright huggable, and “Stagecoach” is no exception.

I love “Stagecoach.”

OTHER VERSIONS

Today’s request comes from me, as this is one of My Top 10 Features Songs.

The Features
“Dark Room”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

The history of “Dark Room” was first written about on May 15th, and I can definitely still claim (as I did then) that this is the most beloved Features song. This version, one so adorable you want to put it in your pocket, only backs up my claim. The Features’ acoustic record release in-store performance at Grimey’s was the first time I’d seen them play acoustically, and I believe it was the only time they had gone unplugged in the three years I had followed them at that point. For all I know, this might have been the first time the band did an acoustic show. If not then maybe the first time they did so with Rollum. The show was very intimate since the record store could only hold maybe forty to fifty people, tops. After opening with “Exhibit A,” the band immediately asked for requests. I requested “Dark Room” and, despite never having tried it acoustically before, the band did this version. I love everything about it, from how adorably wheezy the keyboards sound, to how innocent and honest Matt’s voice sounds, to the big and jovial bassline to Rollum’s stripped down yet still pounding bass drum. It was everything I wanted it to be and I’m so glad they did it. Even the guitar solo, which Parrish tries to help with while Matt figures out how to play it, is great. It’s such a fun moment that I’m glad was captured.

I’ve talked about why “Dark Room” is loved by so many other Features fans, but not why it’s in my top ten. I consider “Dark Room” to be the “All Day & All Of The Night” to “See You Through’s” “You Really Got Me.” Both are landmark songs, pure pop perfection and two of my earliest Features loves. But “Dark Room” pushes it even further with that opening riff that travels the entire length of the guitar’s fretboard and those so-catchy handclaps. It’s another song that’s always existed, the Features just channeled it. I remember the first MP3 of the song I downloaded cut off just before the last chorus and blowout at the end of the song. I enjoyed the song and listened to it often, but as soon as I finally heard those last eighteen seconds…I was changed. Rollum’s drumming in those last few seconds does things I didn’t know humans can do. He hits the bass drum so many times, completely blowing out the song and propelling it to the end. I will never forget hearing that for the first time and immediately e-mailing the file to my friend April, telling her that she wouldn’t believe how that song ended.

And that’s why “Dark Room” is a superb song.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Exhibit A, UK album release (2005)

OTHER VERSIONS:
Live @ The Red Rose (February 28th, 2003)

Today’s request comes from Davis.

The Features
“Kari-Ann”
Live @ Grimey’s
September 14th, 2004

With that wistfully iconic keyboard intro, “Kari-Ann” really feels as if it’s a song that’s always existed out there somewhere, waiting for Matt Pelham to channel it. This is definitely another one of the band’s instant classics, and rightfully so. It’s expertly paced and undeniably sweet without being cheesy. The content, first seeing a pretty girl standing over by a record machine, is straight out of a Hollies song but the breakdown that follows each chorus, the bridge and the vocal pleading in the outro are unmistakably Features trademarks.

This song was introduced as “brand new” at a concert for Lightning 100 on May 9th, 1999 and was performed with little more than half a verse and a chorus. It was also first demoed back in 1999 with producer Brent Rawlings before getting included in the infamous Mahaffey sessions of 2000. From there it enjoyed a lengthy run as a staple at all Features shows up until the lineup change in 2006. This version comes from the live and acoustic show the band did at an album release event at the record store Grimey’s. I had never seen the band play acoustically at that point in the three years I had been watching them, so I would imagine this was the first time they attempted the song this way.

Also, I’m pretty sure this is the correct spelling of the song title. This song title is made up of two names that are spelled at least two different ways, leading to a seeminly endless amount of variations. This is how the band spelled it on a setlist I swiped once, and I assume this is the correct spelling.

Special thanks to Matt Peach for help with this entry.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Exhibit A, UK album release (2005)

OTHER VERSIONS:
Mahaffey Sessions (2000)