Feats don't fail us now: '70s cult fave chugs into New Engla

[12Volt]

Feats don't fail us now: '70s cult fave chugs into New England for Labor Day good times
By Christopher Blagg
Thursday, September 1, 2005

When Little Feat's founder and frontman Lowell George died of a heart attack in 1979, everyone, including the band itself, assumed Little Feat was finished.

Everyone was wrong. Twenty-six years later, the group's Southern-fried blues boogie rumbles on. This weekend, it will make two stops in New England, tonight at Boarding House Park in Lowell and Sunday at the Rhythm & Roots Festival in Charlestown, R.I.

Little Feat's popularity may have peaked in the early to mid-'70s with hits such as ``Dixie Chicken'' and ``Willin','' but don't label them an oldies act just yet. Like the Allman Brothers and other jam-band grandfathers, Little Feat still prides itself on its unpredictability.``One thing we did not want to do was become an oldies nostalgia act,'' guitarist Paul Barrere said. ``We did not want to just parade the old warhorses night in and night out. We wanted to continue to create new music, to keep introducing new songs and expanding our parameters.''

Though they were playing improvised extended grooves long before the term ``jam band'' was coined, Little Feat has no problems being lumped in that oft-maligned category.

``I like the term jam band,'' Barrere said, ``because it beckons back to the day when jazz musicians would hit the road and play the same songs in different ways and fashions night in and night out. That's pretty much what Little Feat does. We've been playing `Dixie Chicken' now for 30 some years, and it's never the same. That's the only way to keep the music fresh.''

As the jam-band phenomena rolls onward, Barrerehas noticed a definite shift in the demographics at their shows.

``I see a lot more of the younger kids coming out to check out the band,'' he said. ``The word seems to be spreading, which is cool for us since we're not a focus of the general radio media anymore.''

When critics speak of Little Feat, the enormous shadow of Lowell George often overtakes the conversation. Songs and albums are lumped into pre- or post-George categories, the latter often bearing the brunt of critics' barbs. Despite the fact the post-George lineup has been around longer than the original Little Feat, they can't seem to shake the stigma of George's absence.

That the band still tours and records as Little Feat might bother some purists, but it's not as if the current band is a ragtag assemblage of studio mercenaries parading as band members (see The Temptations). Five of the seven members of the current lineup have been in the band for more than 33 years.

Mentioning George doesn't cause Barrere's hackles to rise. Quite the opposite happens. He gets wistful instead of resentful.

``He was like my big brother when he brought me in the band,'' Barrere said. ``I'd known him since I was 13. I'm more saddened that he's not here to see all the changes in the world.''

As for their place in rock history, the remaining members don't seem too concerned.

``Legacies are written by other folks,'' Barrere said. ``For ourselves, we just want to be known as musicians.''

[weirdo0521]

Is Feats at Five going to resurface on RM? How about the Grateful Dead Hour...anyone, anyone, Bueller?

[LIPH]

I saw Little Feat at a small outdoor amphitheater on LI back in July, oustanding show.

[NYCPORT]

They are the Sunday night entertainment at the Oyster Festival in Norwalk CT. $10 to get in. I'm thinking about going to see them myself.