Feist

Stubb's BBQ, Austin TX

April 15, 2008

The singer-songwriter Leslie Feist, better known solely by her last name, Feist has been making music since the early 1990s but has gained notable success with her most recent album, The Reminder. This Canadian born musician’s music style is a combination of pop, folk, and alternative rock. The four-time Grammy-nominated artist has accumulated an immense fan base and her April 2008 appearance at Stubb’s BBQ was an illustration of just how many fans she has.

The Feist show was packed. In this sold out show I found myself struggling to find a spot with the short crowd so I could get a view of the slinky songstress. Her fans were a mix of indie college kids, the cool thirty-somethings, and a sprinkle of the age 40-55 crowd. Mostly it was a bunch of mellow (and polite!) young adults that were pumped to see their favorite singing beauty, Feist.

The crowd quieted and the show began. Feist stepped out onto the stage with a lamp in hand, walked behind a cloth screen and began to sing to us while we watched her gently dancing silhouette. The mounted disco ball created a starlight atmosphere and Feist’s looping and layering of her vocals made for interesting scene on the stage. The crowd seemed instantly in love with the intro song Safe and Secure as they swayed to her harmonies and were fascinated by her shadow dancing.

Feist then played When I Was a Young Girl from her sophomore album Let It Die. Though some portion of the crowd sang along to this tune from her 2004 album, it was clear that everyone was in anticipation for her most popular songs from The Reminder. So Feist answered their prayers, next up was So Sorry, the opening track from her award winning album. The crowd was happy to hear one of their favorites and Feist went on to play almost the entirety of The Reminder’s tracks.

Before she began I Feel it All she questioned the crowd, “Do you feel it? How much of it do you feel!?” to which they responded in hysterical screams. She then played a rendition of the upbeat hit that choruses “I feel it all, I feel it all! The wings are wide, the wings are wide! Wild card inside, wild card inside!” And in place of the song’s original lyrics, “But now I know I wanna win the war,” for dramatic effect and her own political opinions Feist cleverly belted out, “now I know I wanna STOP the war,” a definite crowd pleaser.

While Feist brought her vocal game to the show, I’m not so sure that her tempo was up to snuff. Judging on the immediate crowd around me and the handful of people that began trickling out the exit even before the encore, there was something clearly missing from Feist’s performance. While some rude concert-goers on cells phones and the occasional group of gossiping loud talkers are always to be expected at a show, when almost everyone around you is carrying on a conversation not related to the performance there is obviously a problem.

It seemed as though almost every track that Feist performed was a little slower than we’d like and the music simply didn’t sound loud enough. Of course, we all enjoy when a musician mixes up their songs for an original performance and also so we feel like we didn’t waste $30 to hear something we could have listen to at home from our own iPod. But to slow down each song to a point where it’s almost difficult to sing a long to? Here is where the problem lies.

While I’ve no doubt that Feist is an extraordinary artist and her music is in a category all its own, her live performance could use some work. I heard a number of people saying they hoped they didn’t fall asleep and it was unfortunate when those same people left before hearing Sea Lion, the second song of the encore which really brought the crowd to life. Of course this late in the game it was too late to lift the hopes of many of the fans. The show was not a complete let down as it was still excellent music and Feist was definitely a sight to see and a beautiful sound to hear. I’m sure the hard-core fans were pleased, but in a sold-out crowd situation I feel like the performance teetered around ‘good’ when it should have been something closer to ‘amazing.’

The type of performance that Feist gave felt like it would be more at home in a coffee shop or at very least, in a sit-down venue where her fans could relax to her mellow set list. Feist is a very talented artist and I’m waiting with baited breath for her next album and her next chart topping single. Sadly, I can’t say I’m so eager for her next live performance.

Set List