Ready, "Willin'", & Able

October 21, 2006 1:24 PM

Feats Don't Fail: Thirty years ago, Little Feat went on the road and began recording performances for their live album, Waiting For Columbus. Until its release two years later, the band’s popular success never matched the critical acclaim the band and their albums had received, as when Melody Maker proclaimed, "Little Feat is the best U.S. band of the decade." Lowell George’s Feat broke up again for the last time in 1979. Little Feat, a slight return, reformed in 1988 with founding members Paul Barrere, Bill Payne and Richie Hayward. If the original Feat had enjoyed the rabid fan-base it does today—with its grass roots marketing effort, encyclopedic fan-assembled set lists, organized group vacations, charity work, and of course, the tape traders —it may never have broken up in the first place.
posted by spacely_sprocket (28 comments total)

I actually stumbled in to a Little Feat show at the State Theatre, in my hometown of Falls Church, VA. They had a presence that made you think... why haven't I heard of these guys before?
posted by phrontist at 1:28 PM on October 21, 2006

phrontist, I, too, saw them at the State Theater, 6 or so years ago. Great space for them, right?
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:42 PM on October 21, 2006

Last link totally borked.
posted by shownomercy at 1:45 PM on October 21, 2006

oh wow. waiting for columbus is my favorite live album of all time.

without lowell george it's a little different, to me...
posted by StrasbourgSecaucus at 1:47 PM on October 21, 2006

They always had the creepiest cover art.
posted by sourwookie at 1:48 PM on October 21, 2006

It seems that most of the links are borked. They worked fine when I copied and pasted, but when I posted they are now trying to route through the metafilter server. My bad, I guess; n00b. Here's the rest of the post links. I wasn't able to make them work:

http://www.archive.org/details/LittleFeat tape traders
http://www.featfanexcursion.com/ fan trips
http://www.featbase.net set lists
http://www.poccentral.com grassroots marketing
http://dmci.com/lowell/lowell.html Lowell George
http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/little_feat.htm Critical Acclaim
http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Columbus-Little-Feat/dp/B0000631ED Waiting for Columbus
posted by spacely_sprocket at 1:54 PM on October 21, 2006

Okay. I figured it out. Won't happen again.
posted by spacely_sprocket at 1:55 PM on October 21, 2006

sourwookie Cover art is by Neon Park. He died in 1992 of Lou Gehrig's disease. But his daughter is a graphic designer in my hometown of Vancouver, WA
posted by spacely_sprocket at 1:57 PM on October 21, 2006

"Willin' "-- no better tune to play on acoustic guitar on the porch of a summer evening, with perhaps a neighbor pitching in with a little slide.

NRBQ is a band in almost exactly the same boat -- virtuoso musicians, revelatory live shows, critical adoration, and unfairly small but rabid fanbase.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 2:08 PM on October 21, 2006

Best. Band. Ever.

I was lucky enough to see Lowell and the boys several dozen times. Some of the best concerts I've ever seen, and I was a concert junkie.

A few obscure facts: Lowell started with the Mothers of Invention (great pedigree). He taught Bonnie Raitt much killer slide guitar technique. He was the funkiest white boy that ever lived.

Rock on L.G., wherever you may be. You are missed.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:10 PM on October 21, 2006

Very cool posts -sticky links or not.
posted by squidfartz at 2:46 PM on October 21, 2006

Two degrees in bee-bop, a BFA in swing,
He's the master of rhythm, he's the rock and roll king.

His music was the soundtrack for every deliriously fun time I had back in college. All the more since I was the bass player in what was essentially a tribute band (with apologies to Ken Gradney). Finally saw Mr. George on his last tour with el Feat. Throat completely wasted and could hardly acknowledge the fans above a croak. But oh my, that Sears Craftsman 7/8 deep socket did shine. Ran out of songs Paul and Bill sang. So they just rolled right through the night with a half hour of Feats Don't Fill Me Now. Encore? MORE Feats Don't Fail Me Now.
posted by hal9k at 2:52 PM on October 21, 2006

I'm sad they didn't include 'don't bogart that joint...' on the CD. I'm listening to Waiting for Clombus on my computer now and, well...*sigh*
posted by taosbat at 3:07 PM on October 21, 2006

Columbus
posted by taosbat at 3:08 PM on October 21, 2006

Taosbat, they re-issued a 2-disc version of Waiting for Columbus, a few years back, that has "Don't Bogart that Joint", and some more outtakes added. It was worth replacing the one-disc version, imo.
posted by stifford at 3:39 PM on October 21, 2006

Great FPP spacely_sprocket.

I saw the band a few times in the late 1970's and when I'm in a vinyl mood, Feats Don't Fail Me Now is one of the LPs that always gets played.

In the crease of that album cover, there remain the remnants of more than a few ounces of the seedy reefer that were cleaned on it.
posted by three blind mice at 3:42 PM on October 21, 2006

Thanks, stifford, I'll have to stop into my local music store.
posted by taosbat at 3:59 PM on October 21, 2006

Ha-ha. Awesome TBM.

Taosbat (and all): on the Tapesharing link I'm sure you can find a few versions of Don't Bogart... and Apolitical Blues as well.

There is a 5-star rated live in studio at Ultrasonic recorded from the board (lossless stuffed here.) that is mind-blowingly good.
posted by spacely_sprocket at 4:01 PM on October 21, 2006

Great band. I saw the re-grouped version twice in the late eighties/early nineties but I'd give anything to see them during the Columbus era. It's criminal that they were never bigger stars. Thanks for the post.
posted by octothorpe at 4:01 PM on October 21, 2006

Waiting for Columbus had already been released when I saw the band at Andrews Amphitheater, U. of Hawaii. Best. Concert. Evar. The crowd would *not* leave, and Lowell George said "wow, we're going to be back here". George, at least, never returned.
posted by jet_silver at 5:33 PM on October 21, 2006

Awesome post, s_s.

I was not old enough to bathe in Lowell's greatness (best rock vocalist ever, imo), so I had to satisfy myself with seeing the reformed band back in the late 80s. Best performance was in a converted movie theater in - of course - Columbus. After the concert, we couldn't speak - we laughed ourselves silly at how much fun it all was. Kenny and Ritchie are a rhythm section without equal.

Close second for me was New Year's Eve, 1992-93, at the Warner Theater in DC, where Waiting for Columbus was recorded. I found out about the concert at about 2:00 that afternoon, coincidentally driving by the venue en route to a friend's house. Lucked into some recently released 4th row seats. The concert began with just Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett on acoustic guitars, playing Down on the Farm, if memory serves. Gradually, song by song, more and more members of the band came out, until, at last, they positioned the cowbell in front of Craig Fuller, and they played Fat Man in the Bathtub. At which point I surrendered all control. Probably the best new year's of my life.
posted by fingers_of_fire at 8:48 PM on October 21, 2006

Oh, I also saw them at Clinton's second inagural on the Mall in DC, in a (supposedly heated) tent, 15 degrees outside, everyone freezing their asses off, but rockin' just the same.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:59 PM on October 21, 2006

Thanks for this post. Little Feat (with Lowell George, I don't know about later versions) was a great band. Their live performance on this DVD is so deeply grooving, it's worth the price just for their contribution alone.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:58 AM on October 22, 2006

I am always posting after f@12:00.

I go to Palm Springs in the summer because it's hotter than the sun and desolate.

12 years ago, I asked a friend to go with me. I had a voucher for a Wyndham hotel. We watched a Kings' playoff in their cramped sports bar, then walked out on to a hotel plaza flooded with fat cats and fat dudes and security guards.

As Security closed the lines behind us, we figured that this was some pathetic corporate event that we could parasite. Us, in shorts, goat-teed.

A lot of people we recognize. NFL players. Oh crap, this is an NFL national corporate thing. We're drinking free Heinekens and eating shrimp as fast as possible, and waiting for, eh, Huey Lewis, or Cinderella to walk across the stage and fire up some plotz.

In NFL jerseys, Little Feat come out, say 'Thanks for the swag,' and just play gold. Paul Barrere kills me. I was hopping-up-and-down-mad, 'These gorillas don't know a fucking thing about Little Feat.' Security Guards, very cool actually--"You know you don't belong here," removed us.
posted by toma at 4:36 AM on October 22, 2006

I'll second the best band ever vote. I saw them twice in the last few years within a couple of weeks of each other, once in a great little theater in my hometown, and then at a trade show event in Chicago with about 100 people, a private party with great free food and booze. A good time was had by all.
posted by sfts2 at 6:59 AM on October 22, 2006

I'm sad they didn't include 'don't bogart that joint...' on the CD. I'm listening to Waiting for Clombus on my computer now and, well...*sigh*
What! I'm glad I didn't buy that CD. The last time I listened to that album was on cassette tape...I wonder if I could find it now...(Goes off to rummage through junk in the garage).
posted by 445supermag at 8:24 AM on October 22, 2006

Absolutely orgasmic live show - never forget New Years eve '78 in Houston when Kinky Friedman and His Texas Jewboys opened the show, & again later that summer playin the Goodbye Columbus tracks. Awesome.
posted by Pressed Rat at 1:43 PM on October 22, 2006

I thought Lowell George went to Zappa with some songs he'd written and Zappa told him 'no way' so he started the band. "Nother fun fact, he produced the Grateful Dead's 'Go To Heaven' which was not their finest moment. Great, great band.
posted by fixedgear at 11:17 AM on October 23, 2006