A combination of a room swimming with positive vibes and the
last night of a successful tour reaped hefty rewards as Simone Felice sent out
a timely reminder of his sterling credentials. Freshly equipped with the riches
of a new album refusing to cool down, this powerful singer-songwriter from the
wilds of New York State made sure that a vibrant atmosphere of mutual love celebrated
the mystique of the cultured song.
From a degree of recollection, this was the fourth time in
the last few years that Nottingham based promotion Cosmic American had scheduled
a Simone Felice show a short hop down the M42 in Birmingham. This return to the
Hare and Hounds offered a different perspective to the first of this quartet in
2014 when a band format operated in the venue’s main room. The solo format
seems the de facto touring mode recently and a slight downgrade to a
re-configured smaller room worked wonders for a packed audience pushing three
figures.
Essentially, the love of many of those present stretches way
back past these last four years as demonstrated by the rapturous reception
reserved for older songs that Simone made famous when in tandem with his
brothers over a decade ago. Both ‘Radio
Song’ and ‘Don’t Wake the Scarecrow’
featured on The Felice Brothers’ 2008 self-titled album and show no sign of
losing their sheen in a live setting. The request shouted out for the latter
was hardly required, while the story shared of the former from a recent Dublin
gig showed little remorse to those lacking a little decorum at a Simone Felice
show.
A recurring theme of the evening linked the notion of
covering Dylan with the phrase ‘I’ve got my own songs’. These he certainly has
and no time was wasted in sharing the treasures of the new record. Opening with
the title track from ‘The Projector’,
set the scene perfectly for an evening of distinctive song. In fact, you have
to do a lot of searching to find a more defining song to start an album in a
long time. Elsewhere this record was represented by impressive numbers such as ‘The Fawn’, ‘Hustler’ and a moment of diversity where the guitar was temporarily
put down and Simone Felice – the poetry orator, took over. ‘They Hang Upon Upon My Every Word’ was
beautifully read out with a strategic prompt being the inner gatefold sleeve of
the vinyl version displaying the words. The poet in Simone Felice is not
difficult to detect even when not as explicitly presented as this moment.
Older favourites like ‘New
York Times’, ‘Union Street’, ‘If You Ever Get Famous’ and ‘Summer Morning Rain’ turned themselves into
four-minute gift wrapped packages. Most had a story linked as the inter song
chat flitted between the enlightening and the irreverent. Aside from the song
delivery and chat, the idiosyncratic mannerisms still define the stage persona
of Simone Felice. These range from a steely stare to the humble bow.
The pinnacle of the evening was a communal rendition of the
now-secure Simone Felice hometown classic ‘Bye
Bye Palenville’. First New York City, then a wider world may have
eventually become his canvas, but a little hamlet in the Catskill Mountains has
been forever immortalised to symbolise where a heart lies. This surprisingly was
the only track lifted from the superb STRANGERS album, but if you are limiting
the choice to just one, the best may as well prevail.
A couple of tours ago Simone invited Irish singer-songwriter
Anna Mitchell to open for him on a run of British dates. This time it was a
Nottingham based artist going by the name Keto who had the opportunity to play
a few tunes in support. Her style cornered the moody indie angle with the
electric guitar getting a few notches turned up to match a voice built to rise
above the parapet.
A sharp sound produced from the Gretsch guitar gave the main
set an added boost and an air of contentment resounded when the time came for
fans to reflect and merchandise to be sold. This being the last show of the
tour, stocks were dwindling, but if precedence is anything to go he will be
back. Simone Felice climbs the influential ladder each time seen, although serious
devotees will scream that he scaled the heights ages ago. Without splitting hairs,
what you get is a dominant performance from a singer-songwriter in tune with
conjuring up some magical lyrical expressions, observations and poetic verse.
Birmingham was under his spell this evening.