Long May You Run: Simone Felice live From Woodstock

thanks to Mercy!!!





Byrdcliffe Theater
Woodstock, NY
October 2, 2010
Simone Felice and Special Guests

Mercy
If You Ever Get Famous
Ol' 55
Don't Wake the Scarecrow (with the sensational Simi Stone)
New Song (with Simi & Jenny Blue) "Down by the Traffic Circle"? "Great Big Circle"? "Buzzards Circle"?
Your Belly in My Arms
New York Times
All When We Were Young (with Simi)
The Morning That I Get to Hell (with Simi)
Summer Morning Rain
New Song "One Play on the Radio"?
Long May You Run (with Matt on the tuba(!) & Simi on vocals)
One More American Song
Radio Song (with Simi)
Union Street (with Simi)
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Helpless (with Simi, Jenny Blue, & Matt on tuba)
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Shaky (by request) (with Simi)
Gloria (with Simi)

Comments:
Two new songs were performed tonight!
Byrdcliffe is an artists' colony in Woodstock (Bob Dylan lived there, once upon a time). The setup was very nice, with a single, dim spotlight on the stage, with a pair of stools, and a pair of mics set up. Simone's stool was wobbly, but he announced that, instead of getting another, he had gotten used to it. Candles were set up around the stage, and many were wearing jackets, in the unheated theater. simonefelice.com suggested bringing a bottle of wine, and it seemed like most of the audience took the suggestion. Simone relied on some to fill his cup occasionally.
Simi played both traditional and electric blue violin.
The new song, "Great Big Circle" (?), sounded like it had some chord changes reminiscent of "The Morning That I Get to Hell."
"Your Belly in My Arms" had some variations, such as "through these towns and gone," then "through these gates and gone."
During New York Times, during the line about the pervert from Jersey, Simone made a face that reminded Ruby Mae of Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
He dedicated "Summer Morning Rain" to his daughter, Pearl Felice, who was born at home, during a thunderstorm.
(The woman seated next to us was holding Pearl's baby blanket.)
Before playing the new song, "One Play on the Radio" (?), Simone said that when he was banging on the guitar, he broke the mic inside, and asked if we could still hear it. We could.
Simone introduced us to the caretaker of the Byrdcliffe Theater, Matt, who played the tuba on "Long May You Run," and during the encore, "Helpless." It was an interesting sound, that added a lot, and totally worked. Unique and beautiful.
After "Helpless," which featured all four of the performers from the night, the crowd demanded more, and someone suggested "Shaky." He asked if we knew of that song through the Internet. (Actually, Ruby Mae and I (as we told Simone afterwards) know of it from a free show at a coffeehouse that the Felice Brothers played in July, 2007.) He said that "Gloria" is the first song on the new Duke and the King album, and the last song of the night, and that it was written about the days when he and his brothers would drive around in their short bus and busk on the street, and in the subway, before they sold it on Craig's List. When he sang the self-referential first line about the drummer, many in the audience chuckled.

Overall, an awesome hometown show, with really special special guests, that really added to the gig. Seeing Simi have more space to stretch out, outside of The Duke and The King, was an extra special treat for us. Unfortunately, we may have to wait until after Long Live the Duke and the King comes out in the U.S. to see the whole band again, probably in February.