“The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness” – The Feelies 
(Words/music: Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, available on Crazy Rhythms, Stiff Records 1980) 

The Feelies played in Connecticut last night, and when I found out about it on Tuesday I was excited yet perplexed.  Putting aside the fact that I didn’t know that the Feelies continued their reunion past a few shows last summer, I found it kind of strange that they would be playing this tiny place not too far down the road from me.  These kind of shows don’t happen that often, so I convinced my roommate to join me with the promise that I would buy him a Shamrock Shake on the way home.  

The Feelies sounded great – they were tight and skillful, playing each song as effortlessly as the previous.  Admittedly, I admire Crazy Rhythms more than I know it – I enjoy listening to it whenever I put it on, but I didn’t go to the show with specific songs I wanted to hear.  So instead of digesting every detail or losing myself in my favorite songs, much of my attention focused on the sound of the performance in general.  When I think about the Feelies, I think of the way “The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness” sounds – a mix of percussion and tightly wound guitar creating a giddy elasticity to the sound.  Last night, The Feelies sounded bigger – their sounds had more depth than I remembered.  Some of this comes from the difference between a live performance and a record recorded thirty years ago, but I was generally surprised at the different instruments used – specifically twelve string acoustic guitar.  Listening to Crazy Rhythms again today, I’m reminded of this range; the songs aren’t all balls of nervous energy, and even three decades later these songs seem as vibrant as ever.

More on The Feelies: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm