THE PRE-SHOW GOSSIP
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So Ruthiepoos and I took ourselves off to see The Feeling kick off their UK tour last night at the tres glamourous and chic Birmingham Academy. First we had to stop off for a large glass of Rose for Ruthie (see what i did there??) as she had a rubbish day, what with her washing machine breaking down and hurting her poor little leg. And me being a crap date as I totally forgot we were meant to go out to eat first, and wolfed down some food before she arrived. Eep! Still, to Ruthie's credit, she didn't arrive on our doorstep with an arm full of washing, so kudos to her! Anyway the wine was lovely, and we had a good ole chinwag about the world and it's dog... before hobbling up to the concert. Rather excitingly, you could buy a cd of the concert, recorded and mixed live... how super! And slightly expensive at £15, but needs must, so i put myself down for one...and then went about trying to find a decent position. The place was freaking packed - last time R & I were here to see the boys, there were about 400 people here. Now there were 5 times that amount...
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THE SHOW:
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By the time the band came on, the crowd were in a frenzy of excitement. There was a gorgeous and very beach boys-esque acapella intro to Fill My Little World piped through the speakers as the boys took their places on stage, before Dan Gillespie (sex)Sells emerged in (what else) perfect black trousers and a white shirt with sleeves rolled up... but a white wristband instead of red, proving he can mix it up as much as the next guy... Still he's found a look that works for him and he looks good with it, so ride the fashion pony I say! First song proper was I Want You Now and it was then that I formulated my theory... The Feeling are what The Click Five should aspire to be like in a couple of albums time. Stick with me on this - both acts have great slick pop tunes that embrace what they are and are played without a hint of irony. There are smart, multi-layered harmonies that all members of the band contribute too. Whilst much has been made of the 70s powerpop influence on both groups, actually there is a definite Beach Boys vibe going on when you see the bands play live. Anyway, while the comparisons are actually quite superficial, the similarities are too glaring (for me) to ignore....
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Anyway, the show was pretty amazing. Dan Gillespie (Sex)Sells seemed to high on the joys of being back in England, and gave an exuberant, energetic performance in every song. Of course the singles were all amazing - Fill My Little World remains my favourite song of the year, period and Never Be Lonely both showed their immense skill for writing sad, reflective songs wrapped in glorious upbeat pop melodies. B-side Sun is Shining and new (yet old) track Join With Us were equally as good as anything on the album. One highlight was when Dan Gillespie (sex)Sells sat down and did a piano solo of a just lovely ballad called I Miss You (i think). Now i just love a guy at a piano so Ruthiepoos had to physically restrain me from running up to the stage and pretending to be the keyboard ;) Jus' kidding! It was truly bliss though. And yay! Their cover of Video Killed The Radio Star rocked as much as I thought it would. So overall, an increasingly amazing evening. Just fabbo.
(PS - Mr Ellis Bextor looked a lot better and rocked his blue shirt muchly).
(PPS - DG(S)S said the f-bomb quite a lot, but that's ok cos i like a bloke who can f*** quite liberally!)
(PPPS - Is it just me or would Wilson Phillips totally rock a soft pop version of I Want You Now?)
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THE SETLIST:
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I Want You Now (live mp3)
Never Be Lonely (live mp3)
Anyone
Strange
Sun Is Shining
Rose
Fill My Little World (live mp3)
I Miss You (live mp3)
Helicopter
Video Killed The Radio Star (live mp3)
Join With Us
Sewn
Love It When You Call (live mp3)
Encore: Blue Picadilly
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LINK: Purchase The Feeling 12 Stops and Home cd
LINK: Pre-order The Feeling Love It When You Call Lo-Fi Funk remix!!
LINK: Purchase live cd of The Feeling's current UK tour
LINK: The Feeling's official website
MP3: The Feeling - Modern Classic (live)
MP3: The Feeling - Time Is Running Out (LQ)
(pics obviously not from last nights show - thanks to NewYorkGuy at the Feeling Forum for these shots from - where else - NYC...)
