Not long ago, a night of raucous folk country dominated the basement of the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. New York state’s The Felice Brothers came to town on their current fall tour to show Philadelphia how to party country style, along with sixth brother and tour mate AA Bondy.
AA Bondy
Bondy, whom I’d gotten to see for the first time at this year’s Austin City Limits, played a beautiful set on his acoustic guitar, telling tales and conjuring early Dylan. He mumbled through his stage banter, amusing the crowd with anecdotes and telling them to call him “Gus.” He introduced “I Killed Myself When I Was Young” by telling the audience that “this is a children’s song” before springing the title on them. He flatpicked his acoustic guitar through a set of lovely and moving folk songs with soothing vocals that instantly put a listener at ease. I highly recommend getting to know AA Bondy.
The tireless Felice Brothers took the stage next to a full Church and were met with raucous cheers from the crowd. Simone Felice pounded the hell out of his drum kit, often standing for better leverage and at time jumping on top of the kit and reaching out to the crowd. Blood brother Farley frantically played the fiddle, occasionally putting it aside to scratch away at an actual washboard, an instrument not typical seen on the indie rock scene.
Simone Felice
Another uncommon instrument, the accordion, was played by James Felice, who also took a seat at the keyboard on certain songs. Bass player and blood brother Christmas exhibited a cool demeanor, yet played with energy and passion, especially when AA Bondy came out for a few songs. The most hyperactive Felice brother on stage that night was front man Ian. He was jumping all over the place when not sweetly singing into the microphone.
The crowd ate up the band’s energy and fervently sang along on upbeat numbers such as “Whiskey In My Whiskey,” “Frankie’s Gun” and “Where’d You Get The Liquor.” I noticed several women in the crowd overcome with emotion during the band’s set and push their way up, hoping just to touch Simone Felice’s hand and making eyes at him. One older woman in particular passed her flask up to him on stage when he asked if anyone brought one while introducing “Where’d You Get The Liquor.” Shocked but eagerly accepting the flask, Simone asked if she’d bake him a cake with a file in it, were he sent to jail. The woman responded with an enthusiastic “yes!” and Simone told the audience, “That’s love.”
James Felice
The Felice Brothers always put on a great show so be sure to visit their MySpace page to find a show near you. They’re touring through the end of November, so no excuses for missing a set.
AA Bondy: myspace
The Felice Brothers: website | myspace
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