LIVE: Felix

It certainly takes something special to be able to drag me out on a Monday evening on a cold and January evening. All I want to really do is stay at home, sat on the sofa drinking tea in my jogging bottoms watching episode's of The Wire. And Felix are something special, and they prove it during their first show in Nottingham in two years.

The band are currently in the middle of a short UK tour in support of their debut album 'You Are The One I Pick'. Playing as a three-piece tonight consisting of Lucinda Chua singing and playing piano, Chris Summerlin on guitar, and Elvis Beetham playing drums and percussion. They open up with the first track from that album, Death To Everyone But Us. It's the perfect way to start, with the lilting piano, gentle guitar, and measured an thoughtful drumming sets the scene for what is the rest of night will bring.

Waltzing For Weasels is reminiscent of the slower 'Stories' era PJ Harvey songs, whilst Lifter is a smoky Fiona Apple. That's not to say that Felix dig the female singer-songwriter furrow. Even though these are Lucinda's songs, their collective distinct influences mean that tonight they sound at any one time a jazz band, chamber-pop, alt-country, with a smidging of blues. This is all tied together by Lucinda's oft-wry, darkly twisted musings on love and life; which are delivered in melodies so fragile you think that just the slightest change in air pressure will shatter them.

What I Learned From TV opens with a beautiful marriage between Elvis' resonating cymbal (which is achieved by him impressively playing his cymbal with a bow) and Chris' delicately feedbacking guitar. To the amusement of the band, this moment of musical tranquility is broken by the bizzare sound of a baby crying. We late find out that this is Elvis' new born baby, and was lined-up to play drums on the last song, but was fast asleep by that point.

This sums the night up perfectly. The music is gentle, delicate, and floats around the room politely requesting the audience to pays attention to to it. But the band are in good spirits, looking relaxed on stage with smiles being flashed and often joking about hitting the wrong notes or not remembering a song.

Felix play two new songs towards the end of their set and the follow the template set by the songs played before it. The quality of these songs are that they fit seamlessly amongs the songs of their debut LP. So fortunately it looks like we will have more Felix to look forward to in the not to distant future.

Photos by Rebekah Downes (c)

Felix played at The Bodega Social Club on Monday 25 January 2010.

You can read an interview with Felix here.

Felix on Myspace
 

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