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Little Feat brings its Britt fans a big show By Bill Varble Hoy hoy! Late in the second set of Little Feat�s show, Paul Barrere�s guitar and Bill Payne�s keyboard come in over Fred Tackett�s jazzy trumpet teasing the band�s signature "Dixie Chicken." The syncopated lope finds its stride, and Barrere sings, "I�ve seen the bright lights of Memphis ... " and the stars come out, and it�s a rock �n� roll Moment. Payne turned to the Internet a few years back to enlist fans in an effort to kickstart the band, arguably one of the best American rock outfits of the �70s, and a dedicated base of Feat fans is now thriving. Seeing the show the band put on to kick off Britt�s 2000 season explains. This show could be hard to beat the rest of the season. And it wasn�t even sold out (woe to classic rock lovers who missed it!). Little Feat was always a musician�s band, combining stadium power with nuance. Its turf is Americana, the American experience put into bluesy progressive rock with a syncopated attitude. Payne and singer/guitarist Lowell George founded the band after George found himself a refugee from Frank Zappa�s band. After George died, the band went through hard times Payne describes as a "slow descending spiral ... continued fine writing, musical left turns, competitive edge, non-stop questioning about the future, put off, put down, fed up, new direction, give it a rest" until it all came crashing down. They reunited in the late �80s. Newest album is "Under the Radar" (CMC). Most of Friday�s show was old favorites. The first set was acoustic, the second electric. Barrere and Tackett gave a hint of things to come, trading leads in the first song of the night, "Hate to Lose You Now," which also showed off vocalist Shaun Murphy. "Rock and Roll Doctor" was very slow and funky. Playing slide on an acoustic Gibson, Barrere took "Rocket in My Pocket" into in a new gear. "Sailin� Shoes" was slow and tasty. Rain fell from a heavy sky as the band got tighter yet for The Band�s "Rag Mama Rag." "Old Folks Boogie" was sheer, shuffling fun, and probably more relevant now than when it was new. A rollicking "Feats Don�t Fail Me Now" closed out the first set on a high note. You might have thought the band couldn�t get hotter. You�d have been way wrong. After a 20-minute break (and no rain), the band came back with a mean, menacing, electric "Spanish Moon." The hollow bodies were traded for Fenders, the Steinway concert grand for Payne�s keyboard and synthesizers, and Richie Hayward and Sam Clayton�s acoustic skins for full congas and a big trap set. Murphy came forward on "Cold, Cold, Cold." She�s a quality singer and lends an new dimension to a band that in some sense never got over missing George�s affecting vocals. Sounding a bit like a cross between Tina Turner and Melissa Etheridge, she digs down for more grit when the band goes into overdrive. � and overdrive aplenty this band still has. They rolled out a "Tripe-Faced Boogie" very late in the show that was absolutely incendiary. That gave way to the hyper-funky "Dixie Chicken," which morphed into an extended Payne turn on keyboards and synths bouncing beautiful sounds off the hillside accompanied only by the drummers. Then the others came back and cranked it up, on a scale of one-10, to 11. The only way the show could have better would have been to be louder. Guess that guitar picker (and the rest of �em) sure could play. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA