THE DAMAGE IS DONE

The Features
“Blow It Out”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
Exhibit A, album release (2004)
Blow It Out, single release (2005)

OTHER VERSIONS

THE RED ROSE IS DEAD; LONG LIVE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THE RED ROSE

The Nashville Scene reported on Monday that longtime coffee shop/venue The Red Rose was demolished. I haven’t been in Tennessee for almost five years, and at that time I’m pretty sure it was closed (and I’m not sure if it was open during my last five NYC years), but the Red Rose still means a lot to me, the Features’ history, and therefore this Tumblr.

As a senior in high school, the Red Rose was a crazy alternative to EVERYTHING ELSE in the Smyrna/Murfreesboro area that me and my friends adventured in (mostly Wal-Mart and Hollywood Video adventures). I hadn’t really been to coffee shops and I had not really seen local music played lived prior to the Red Rose. Heck, I didn’t even know that hangout spots like those only glimpsed in sitcoms really existed. The Red Rose was a cool alternative, in every sense of that word, for me and all the other high school kids (and the actual college kids who surely frowned upon us encroaching). I remember ordering Peter Pan Polar Bears (a chocolate peanut butter frappuccino and the first ever coffee-ish substance I ever drank and enjoyed) and sinking into bliss while drinking them (I was a lonely 17 year old).

As a music venue it was great. I saw everyone from my friends to Of Montreal play there (my first Of Montreal show). Now, their history with the Features? Where to start? The band would play there often, even though it was really too small for them. That didn’t deter them. The shows they did there were intimate yet raucous; the lack of proper lighting led to the band literally playing in the dark, illuminated only by the kitchen’s lights and whatever poured in from the glass brick wall they would play in front of. The band only played there 5 times after 2001 (according to my fairly thorough database) but those times were extremely memorable. One of them included openers Elekibass and 63 Crayons, which actually has to be my favorite Features show (just due to the fact that the openers were also stellar).

The only Red Rose show that I have is the one from February 28th, 2003. This is hands-down one of the best recordings I have of them; the versions of “Dark Room” and “See You Thru” are definitely my definitive live versions of them.

You can listen to the February 28th, 2003 Red Rose show here.

The Features also played a benefit concert to save the Red Rose from closing on February 1st, 2003 at Bingham Barnes’ giant apartment/fun complex/later-turned-Grand-Palace.

You can listen to the Red Rose benefit concert from February 1st, 2003 here.

I also have video of the entire concert from April 27th, 2003, when the Features played the outside patio. It being 2003, I burned it to a video CD and, well, not sure where the original files are. When I get free time I’m going to try to track it down and get that put up here too.

Those are my feelings about the Red Rose. Long live the Red Rose.

The Features
“The Way It’s Meant To Be”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

A great live version of this great song, from a great concert. This was the fourth time this song was ever played live (oddly enough, this was a very well-documented period for the Features; I have all four of those times in bootleg form).

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
The Beginning, Universal EP release (2004)
Exhibit A, album release (2004)

OTHER VERSIONS 

The Features
“Bring On The Night”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

You can click on the Other Versions link below to go to this song’s first entry and bone up on its history, or you can just listen to this incredibly punchy version that I’m posting right now. Because holy hot wow is this a rollicking version of this forgotten gem. I mean, it makes sense because this was played towards the end of the night on February 28th, 2003. The band sounds incredibly primed and worked up on this recording, which BTW clocks in at a whole twenty seconds shorter than the official recorded version (again, just click the link below to hear it).

This band is awesome.

OTHER VERSIONS

The Features
“Exhibit A”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

The title track to the Features’ debut album sounds exceptionally ferocious in this bootleg, which makes sense as the song was barely over three months old at the time. The jangling guitar riff sounds like a punk rock buzzsaw and the cymbals, if they were a bit anthropomorphic, would definitely be left with some bruises on their noggins from Rollum’s pounding. The song itself, in all of its forms, is one of the more impassioned ones as the subject of the ditty tries with all his might to prove just how strong his love is. At just over two minutes, “Exhibit A” was the first of a group of fast-paced rockers that showed just how strong Pelham’s editing had become. With this, “Million Ways” and “The Way It’s Meant To Be” Pelham perfected presenting killer riffs, strong emotion and frenzied rhythms in just a scant amount of time. “Exhibit A,” both the song and album, is power pop perfection.

Of the 80 concerts I have in my database after this song’s debut on December 13th, 2002, “Exhibit A” has been played 70 times. It has never fallen out of rotation and, as the number’s indicate, it has rarely not been played. This made the song a no-brainer for inclusion on the band’s debut album in 2004. The song is still a regular at the band’s shows.

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

The Features
“Walk You Home”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
The Beginning, EP release (2001)
The Beginning, Fierce Panda EP release (2003)
The Beginning, Universal EP release (2004)
Leave It All Behind, UK single release (2005)

OTHER VERSIONS:
The Beginning, EP release (2001)
Live @ The Boro (May 2nd, 2002)

The Features
“Exorcising Demons”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

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

OTHER VERSIONS:
Rawlings Sessions (1999)
Mahaffey Sessions (2000)

The Features
“Circus”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

Like a devilish wind-up toy, once this song gets going it spins, whirls, bounces and mesmerizes for the entirety of its duration. The opening tightly churning guitar is usually how the band opens shows. It’s an odd noise that gives way to the loud rush of the Features’ sound as it speeds ahead into the listener’s brain. The song is a great riff on the classic Pixies’ LOUDquietLOUD routine, just done with more jazzy verses and sinister choruses. The guitar solo is a joy to behold live, since it usually forces Matt to his knees as he summons all his guitar-playing might to produce the caterwauling solo. This song is a sonic battle cry, or a rallying cry. It captivates and demonstrates everything the Features are to an unsuspecting audience, and prepares them for what is to come. “Circus” is one of the quintessential Features songs.

And for a while, it was one of the lost Features songs.

“Circus” was demoed with Brent Rawlings during the Rawlings Sessions of 1999 and was played somewhat regularly when Rollum joined the band that year. The song seems to have disappeared for the most part until it was resurrected in December 2001. It was then that the song started climbing its way back into regular rotation and it would eventually go on to become one of the most played Features songs. According to my database, it was played at every show from November 15th, 2002 to April 9th, 2004, a (probably) record 37 times in a row. “Circus” is still played today, usually as the opener.

The lyrics to the second verse of “Circus” were also a debated topic on the old message board. No one can figure out what Matt’s saying at the end of the verse, but “hot tub lid” and “hand job clear” are good candidates.

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

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

The Features
“Stagecoach”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

“Stagecoach” sounds like the perfect blend of the old west and science fiction. With that guitar part and otherworldly keyboard, the opening of this song chugs along at top speed straight off the dusty ol’ train tracks and straight into orbit. From there the verses are all technicolor emotions, classic sentiments and worries backed with a twang-filled guitar played at rock and roll speeds. The mellow build-up to that darn beautiful chorus is somethin’ wonderful, with every beat of Rollum’s drum sounding so careful and delicate. Then the second verse comes in. The start-stop rhythm in the second verse is further proof that the entire band is a tight unit. They can stop on a dime! The guitar solo that follows is pure rock and roll sci-fi. Pelham sounds like he’s battling off spooky ghosts (or relationship demons) with the power shooting out of his guitar-shaped weapon, playing every note he knows without caution in an attempt to save his life. It’s epic stuff! For all of these reasons, “Stagecoach” has become one of my favorite Features songs. You can even hear me yelling “thank you” to the band at the end of this track.

“Stagecoach” was first demoed with Brent Rawlings back in 1999 after Rollum joined the band. I’m pretty sure the song doesn’t pre-date Rollum. The version demoed in 1999 had the same unique opening as the one that would go on to be played live, but the song’s structure and most of the music in the recording is different and much quieter. The lyrics are mostly the same. I’m not sure when this version debuted, but this would be the version played during the majority of its lifetime. By the time I became a fan and by the time my database starts (2001), “Stagecoach” had apparently fallen out of regular rotation. It would remain a semi-special treat for the next four years. The band would play it at a couple concerts and then usually take two-to-four months before playing it again. This pattern continued until April 2004 when the song would then go on a five month hiatus until being played again in September 2004. The last time “Stagecoach” was known to have been played was on April 1st, 2005.

Today’s request comes from Brandon. And about Brandon, he’s essentially the guy responsible for this entire blog since he took me to my first Features show way back on October 18th, 2001 and thus introduced me to what would become my favorite band of all time. So, much thanks!

The Features
“See You Through”
Live @ The Red Rose
February 28th, 2003

If the Beatles have “I Saw Her Standing There” and the Kinks have “You Really Got Me,” then the Features have “See You Through” as their energetic declaration of young love. That frenzied opening is pure power pop, a gestalt of rock and roll guitar, gleeful keyboards and a tight rhythm section. And let’s not forget the hand claps, one of the few spots during a Features set that needs audience participation. “See You Through” actually works as a way of decoding who the super fans are in a crowd as only they know to clap during that part. I remember when I first heard “See You Through” live at the Next Generation, I was surprised to see everyone clapping in synch. I then gladly did it the next time, watching other people look confused before they would inevitably join in at their next concert. It’s a rite of passage.

“See You Through” debuted a long time ago at the Exit/In in late 1999. It was first demoed with Brent Rawlings in 1999 and was a live staple by the year 2000. It was also demoed during the Mahaffey sessions, thus producing a version that would come to be loved by Features fans statewide. The song was in heavy rotation at Features concerts from its debut until September 2004. “See You Through” was only played a couple of times in 2005 and seems to have disappeared from the band’s setlists since then, which is a shame since I would love to see who knows to clap during this song up here in New York City. These people would then become my best friends, and we would have fun. Come on, Features, help me make friends!

Special thanks to Matt Peach for help with this entry.

A VERSION APPEARS ON:
There’s A Million Ways To Sing The Blues, US single release (2004)

OTHER VERSIONS:
There’s A Million Ways To Sing The Blues, US single release (2004)

Also, tomorrow marks the start of the first event week here at Damage Is Done. During Some Kind Of Week I will be posting the oldest/rarest known version of the songs off the Features’ forthcoming sophomore album Some Kind Of Salvation, all leading up to it’s nationwide release on June 9th. Look out, things are about to get even more fun! Fun!