Few bands of any era have been able to marry the feel-good and the cerebral as effectively as did Little Feat, the groovecentric, smart and funky California outfit that made a long string of classic records in the ’70s and hasn’t left the road since.
While Feat will always be associated with the smoldering white-soul singing, slide guitar-playing and subtle, idiosyncratic songwriting of the late Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne (above in self-portrait) most fully embodies the band’s paradoxical, dual nature. His virtuosic, Dr. John-inspired New Orleans and boogie piano playing lent songs such as “Dixie Chicken” and “Oh Atlanta!” their fire and authenticity; but Payne is also the ardent progressivist in the group – the one who wrote “Day or Night,” “Red Streamliner,” “Gringo” and more of the band’s most sophisticated, modern and fusion-inflected songs.
Rock royalty Bill Payne joins the Hudson Valley’s own Connor Kennedy for a cover-to-cover interpretation of Little Feat’s 1971 eponymous debut at the Bearsville Theater on Saturday, May 17 at 9 p.m. The suggested donation is $20. The Bearsville Theater is located at 291 Tinker Street in Woodstock. For more information, call (845) 679-4406 or visit www.bearsvilletheater.com.
Payne will also play The Falcon in Marlboro on Friday, May 16, starting at 7 p.m. He’ll be joined that evening by Lee Falco, Brandon Morrison, Will Bryant and Connor Kennedy. The Falcon is located at 1348 Route 9W, Marlboro. For more information, call (845) 236-7970 or visit www.liveatthefalcon.com.
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