iradiophilly | Culture - The Ardmore Music Hall Concert Review: The Districts / The Felice Brothers, Dec. 28th

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The Ardmore Music Hall Concert Review: The Districts / The Felice Brothers, Dec. 28th

by: JoeS - Springfield, PA
started: 01/07/14 12:45 pm | updated: 01/07/14 12:47 pm

On Saturday Dec. 28th a friend and I went to The Ardmore Music Hall to see The Districts and The Felice Brothers. We choose the VIP tickets which entitle us to early admission and a buffet meal. This was a smart choice. The meal was very good and plentiful, consisting of ribs, chicken, garlic roasted potatoes and veggies. You also get a shot at a good seat instead of standing. For $35.00 we got 3 hours of fine live music and a nice meal, a good deal!

The show started a little late around 8:30 or so, but no matter we had some drinks and conversations. The Districts hit the stage with a bang!!! The band is powerful and drives the music like a powerful train or truck. The lead singer is something to behold! Rob Gote's searing voice reminds me of Adam Duntz with a hint of Axel Rose and Van Morrison. Great company for any singer and he deserves the comparison. He commands the stage and is a true front man. He jumps, twirls, runs and slides into his lead guitar riffs and lead vocals.

The entire band is very dynamic. They leave little or nothing behind with the high intensity performance of guitarist Mark Larson, bassist Connor Jacobus and drummer Braden Lawrence. The audience was into this band from the first and did not miss a note.

They command your attention with the power and intensity of the songs and their over the top performance. I thought â€œYoung Bloodâ€ tells the story of the folly of youth while at the same time speaks to all of the possibilities youth presents. The set lasted about 1 hour and my favorite was â€œFuneral Bed,â€ a bite of Americana. With Rob's exceptional voice they span a lot of different musical traditions. At times they are bluesy, at times country and at times hard rock. All done well and seamlessly.

The Felice Brothers started as street players in the NYC subway system, They hail from Palinville, part of the Catskill Mountains, and combine the edge of the city and the simplicity of mountain life into their music. You can't put them in any type of musical box, they covered the spectrum form hard rock, to county, to folk, to cajun to bluegrass. They are an animated group, an entourage that uses the entire stage to paint their musical collage. Almost every member of the band assumes lead at some point in a Lazy Susan type hand off . The fiddle player Greg Farely was also their cheerleader. He played sang, danced and pranced his way through the night. James Felice played both accordion, keyboard and assumed lead vocals on many tunes. He had to improvise and use the accordion more because of a technical issue with the keyboard. The accordion was a full size, Lawrence Welk size not a squeeze box. Ian Felice played an exceptional lead guitar with wailing feedback and riffs. Bass is the province of Christmas Clapton whose lead and back up vocals brought a depth and range to the songs. The drummer Dave Turbevile did not sing but boy did he drive the truck down the road. He had the most unusual grip I've ever seen for a drummer, very high up on the stick.

For about 90 minutes we were treated to a trip down the road of contemporary roots, country, folk,and cajun music. At times they sounded like the Band and Dylan, at other times a hint of Dr. John. They always sounded fantastic! I'd guess they performed 12 songs or so. From the very edgy â€œMarieâ€ with Greg on the wash board to one of their signature songs â€œRun Chicken Run.â€ The audience knew the music and responded by singing along. My favorite is â€œWhiskey In My Whiskeyâ€ a song that inspires a smile and a spontaneous sing a long! They did 2 remarkable covers starting with Woody Guthrie's â€œCumberland Gap.â€ The pace and joy of this song is ageless, true Americana in every way. I've heard many renditions and none does it better, the fiddle and voices just rule. Covering Neil Young can be a mistake, it isn't for the Felice Brothers. It is hard to image anyone could do â€œRockin' in the Free World.â€ with the passion and force of Neil, but these guys just broke it up. We were singing, stomping, jumping to every beat, note and word. It was the finale and I've rarely experience a more thunderous crescendo! If you want to a see a band that leaves nothing on the stage after the show, see the Felice Brothers. You can follow The Felice Brothers on their website www.thefelicebrothers.com and The Districts on Facebook.

This is my second visit to The Ardmore Music Hall www.ardmoremusic.com. Both times I had a fun, fine food, very responsive service and most important the best in live music!!!