Little Feat Live at WLIR Ultrasonic Studios April 10, 1973

Little Feat Live at WLIR-FM Ultrasonic Studios April 10, 1973
song introduction 00:00:00
Apolitical Blues 00:00:20
Got No Shadow 00:04:05
Willin' 00:10:39
On Your Way Down 00:14:25
Walkin' All Night 00:20:57
Band introduction, chat with Lowell 00:24:22
Two Trains 00:27:01
Fat Man in the Bathtub 00:30:18
Sailin' Shoes 00:34:56
Cold, Cold, Cold 00:39:16
Dixie Chicken 00:44:00
Tripe Face Boogie 00:48:46
Teenage Nervous Breakdown 00:55:10
Lowell George - vocals, slide guitar
Paul Barrére - guitar, vocals
Bill Payne - keyboards, vocals
Kenny Gradney - bass
Richie Hayward - drums, backing vocals
Sam Clayton - percussion, backing vocals
Photos by Jeffrey Mayer at the Whisky a Go Go, West Hollywood, CA February 15, 1973

[@MrLowell1979]

Feat! I acquired this cassette in college in like 89. Loved Feat then & love them even more now.

[@robswan5314]

I will never tire of listening to, and marveling at, the miracle of Little Feat.

[@curtisdryden9955]

In 1970-71 I was in a band that played throughout southeastern Ohio. We had the incredible good fortune to open for these guys right after they released their 1st album. The drummer in our band and I hung out in the kitchen at this club in Wheeling, WV during set-up with Richie. What a sweet guy. During the Feat’s set our whole band stood in the front of the stage in awe. They really only had one set of songs from their just released album. The bass player at the time was Roy Estrada, who Lowell had likely played with in the Mother’s of Invention. So having run out of material, Roy and Lowell launched into an insane set of Mother’s tunes. Pretty sure those folks in Wheeling that night weren’t sure what they were hearing. We loved it.

[@Zoetropeification]

That's a great memory to have. Would have been cool to hear that Mother's set. What was the name of your band at that time? I know a handful of folks who attended OU in Athens around then. My family moved away from the Wheeling area in June of 1970. I was eight years old at the time so I wasn't exactly in the local music scene. The only live music I remember was going with my parents to the Wheeling Jamboree several times when it was held at the battleship building on Wheeling Island, next to the dog track. I was able to see Feat with Lowell twice in 1977 and once in 1978. Wish they would have held it together a few more years.

[@carlinopaul]

that is great, curtis. I'm just coming to this band. how cool that you have this great memory of them just starting out. and your band! awesome! keep rockin!

[@oldchick]

I didn't know Lowell played with the Mothers!

[@miguelgonzal]

There are two alternate tall tales about Lowell’s tenure and departure from the Mothers. One is he shared songs he had written with Frank, who kicked him out saying he needed to go make his own music now. The other is Frank caught Lowell smoking reefer and dismissed him promptly. I prefer the former version. To me, it’s more like Zappa to guide a young talent toward their own success.

[@johnjohnes7131]

Wow - Wish I was there with you guys

[@philopalski1141]

This band is my favorite and will always be. They have all you need. 👌

[@Frederas11811]

Did they have a sad song?

[@AndrewMiramon]

@@Frederas11811 China White, Truck Stop Girl, and Juliette all have more of a somber note to them. They didn't play those live much though

[@bluesdrmr2]

50 years later, more relevant than ever.

[@teleguy5699]

Lowell George's voice is always on point. So many male singers, live have on and off nights.

[@martypeterson6747]

Richie Hayward is such a fun drummer.

[@annelampru6297]

My opinion is Little Feat Were and Are the Best Band Ever. I’ve seen Jimi @ Atlanta Pop #2; The Allman Brothers with Duane & Barry and each configuration since; The Stones since 1969, Grateful Dead since 1973 and each configuration after; Paul McCartney; Ringo Starr All Stars; Paul Simon; Sting; Donna the Buffalo; Elephant Revival and still it is Little Feat that are The Best Band in my lifetime. Thank you Earl for posting this early Gem 💎

[@mikecastro2431]

I kind of agree but I'll give you something to think about... The electric Miles Davis band from the mid 70's...

[@annelampru6297]

@@mikecastro2431 I will look into that. I do love jazz.

[@Frederas11811]

Love this and Bowie too.

[@otherworld11]

criminally underrated -

[@otherworld11]

too bad lowell george was a drug addict....

[@jaybreen1010]

Behold arguably the best ever American rock n' roll band of all times during their absolute creative and technical peak, slaying it for a small in studio audience. This lineup, the classic one, was relatively new here and would never be so unified as a group of musicians and young men again and the free flow of musical energy consistently resulted in music that was greater than the sum of it's parts - and what parts! This is the Ferrari of rock absolutely ripping and you can understand why Zep and the Stones and so many others sought these performances out - they were that secret wellspring of 'the real deal' that showed those bands how it's fucking done. Thanks Earl!

[@olafbelitz9361]

People like MAINSTREAM this is real Stuff .

[@francesquasney6025]

Absolutely 👣🎸🎶🎙

[@OldBiker54]

thats going a bit far,,saying best American Rock Band

[@jaybreen1010]

@@OldBiker54 Well, when members of Led Zeppelin and the Stones actively sought out live shows because of how much they respected them, it certainly supports my positing them as "arguably the best". As an ensemble I can't think of many others that could complete outside of some Steely Dan lineups song-to-song or Zappa's in the same time period (and Lowell George and Roy Estrada are both alumni). Other than that there's GnR and Jimi but most of his work was with British band members. Grateful Dead. But for me, not the Eagles or Aerosmith or even the Beach Boys as much as I like all of them. Little Feat remains the ultimate musician's musicians group and chronically overlooked by mainstream listeners.

[@OldBiker54]

@@jaybreen1010 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND KICKED ALL THERE ASS>>

[@drewbonsall384]

I remember as a kid around 10 or 11 and seeing my cousin Beverly wearing a little feat t shirt And thinking it was the weirdest name she turned me on too a few bands Janis Queen I had this on tApe over 30 years A go and waiting for columbus is in my top 5 albums i was disappointed the last tine saw them live but still one of my favorite

[@andynelson8838]

Never fail to feel feel better after listening to little feat🌞

[@jib3015]

Amen brother

[@wongnaichungrd]

Firstly the best live band I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen many was Little Feat in Melbourne in 1976. Though I love Waiting for Columbus this is a lot more organic performance, word is WFC had a lot of post performance tinkering, and I love the fact that there’s a good number of tracks from Sailing Shoes arguably their best album. Columbus concentrated on later albums and I’d say the set list here is more interesting and shows off the band in peak performance. What a find and fabulous production! ❤

[@tinamariebelgram2372]

Still Wows me..like since 10 yrs old..now well older ..fat man always cracked me up.😂

[@dipacmr]

Discovered this KZbin by accident this lonely early morning... So glad I did. Been listening to Little Feat since the early 70s and particularly through college, circa 1974-1978, at ASU in Boone NC. Discovered other great artists while there, including John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker and Guy Clark. This is an excellent live performance, on par with 'Waiting for Columbus', perhaps, even better in the versions played here. Love the intimacy of the crowd. RIP Lowell George and Paul Barrere.

[@russellesimonetta3835]

Richie hayward passed too. Unsung drummer but great drive with the bass player while everyone else was playing back of the beat!

[@johnrives8277]

Amen!

[@jaybreen1010]

Right? WFC is a great record but it's so produced and cleaned up. When I started hearing Spring '73 bootlegs of this tour I was blown away. To me it is their greatest run of shows - and yeah, the intimacy of small crowds like this studio audience. The other example on par with this would be Paul's Mall Boston 4/1/73 which should be somewhere on youtube to check out too. Peace.

[@plantfeeder6677]

At least it's Live!

[@clarencewood6620]

Yes brother, this is beautiful. Dallas Texas for me . Same years

[@garylewis2591]

Incredible sound. Sounds like only a few in the audience knew of them when introduced...totally different after tripe face. I knew that feeling, Athens, Oh 1974. Oh man. Never heard of them or a song. Changed my life. Named my son Lowell.

[@jib3015]

Such a special band. The mold has been broken.

[@Fazzat333]

This & Holland 76’ are my favourite live Feat cds.✌🏼🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@firepwr21]

I’d love to thank the KZbin Nation.....💜🎼🎶🎵🎶 💜 long live....!!

[@bobrennegarbe5547]

God what a great band.

[@williamdarico2369]

Miss the 70s a lot!

[@hlbaum]

WLIR completely knew what I needed in the way of music to get through a day of school Oh and the concerts? How many shows did I get to see by saying WLIR is my radio station and meaning it? Oh and this is when my Jr High school only had one pay phone! Oh and cell phones were not invented yet.

[@onlyirwin]

Ans I was the MD!!!!!! What a time, thanks Denis!!!!

[@kimberlynah1]

I’ve heard the studio rehearsal I believe, but THIS IS a treat. Thanks for lifting my cabin-fever blues. You’re the best, Earl!

[@richardnish6469]

Their music makes my feat move.

[@williamhiggins842]

I'm an old man now but I was a young man then when I heard this on WLIR, it was broadcast live on a Sunday night.Every week that station was putting all the great bands on the scene out on the radio I am pretty sure every Sunday night.Those were the days, no doubt about it.Great music, great bands that knew how to play the instruments that they was playing, not like most of the garbage on the radio now.

[@The93ssfd]

I am right there with you! Hope you are still enjoying life even though we are old!

[@josiahrobbins162]

aLSO dON kURSNER sHOW BEFORE SNL ON SATURDAY. For a while WNEW was ok.

[@ottokriete1153]

@@josiahrobbins162 I remember WNEW with great fondness......... Allison Steele introduced me to Taj Mahal and a host of others............ and I was just in love with her voice.......

[@williamhiggins842]

@@josiahrobbins162 Yeah Don Kirschner' Rock Concert was a great introduction to the world of music in those days.One of the funniest things that SNL parodied was Paul Schaefer playing Don Kirschner, that was fucking hilarious, he really nailed it.Don Kirschner' introduced me to my guitar hero on his show, Rory Gallagher that guy tore it up when he was onstage.Just writing this comment brings back some real good memories of my teenage years and all the fun I had growing up.These poor kids now just have no idea of some of the things we were able to do and get away with.

[@plantfeeder6677]

You had a cool radio station. We had to beg the headliners to stop in our town being in between LA and SF.

[@lilasuemcclendon8739]

Oh yeah, buddy.!!!¡!Love an miss you Lowell!

[@butchcassidy3373]

Love the Feat. Been a fan since 1979 thanks to my late friend Emory Carr. RIP buddy

[@melchampion3477]

Just what the doctor ordered this snowy day, sunny day, rainy day, it don't matter! It should always be a feat day!

[@jimbishop7725]

First time I ever heard of Little Feat was this broadcast.

[@user-tp8ge8qg2v]

What the heck is little feat not in the rock and roll hall of rocking hall? He taught everyone else. The GoGoes. Incredible.

[@deuteronimus750]

Thank you for uploading this show. The audio is supearb!!!

[@philgreenfield8704]

Fantastic! Sounds as fresh now as it did then. No gadgets, No Gimmicks.

[@user-gf2xm9cq2z]

This is a great footage . The distance between band and audience is very near. I love this kind of atmosphere, thank you for sharing.

[@russellesimonetta3835]

Great band. Feats don't fail me! Got to see this band like 7×'s

[@TheSirBuzzsaw]

Lowell George died when I was 3 months old. Glad I got to share the world with him for a minute!

[@WoodlawnSound]

This version of Sailin' Shoes is drippin' wet. And, that's a good thing.

[@kdguy1126]

This is the period where the vibe around the band was just...so cool. I will admit, I am a touch late coming to the party, having only found them post-reformation, but a fan I am. The vibe, as I said, was just..so very cool. Everyone who was anyone wanted to be around this band. I would place them right in the middle, between the Beatles and the Stones. This is just a glimpse (for me), but what a glimpse.

[@EdBocchino]

This is the truth, best LF recording

[@charlesalbright4164]

Mind is blown away! This is how Do It!!! Listen and learn!

[@ET-qw9vm]

Just listen to Richie's drums at the 9-minute mark....like three drummers at once!

[@richardfinlayson1524]

yeah hes dynamite

[@TONDJO-STATION]

qu'est ce que j'aime ce groupe !!! 37 ans que j'entends leurs chansons et toujours la même émotion !!

[@rmcfee]

Fantastic sound quality and killer performance! Wow.

[@gregnewman2512]

What a find to stumble across!! Thanks so much for posting this. My favorite American band, and its not even close. I actually prefer this performance to "Waiting for Columbus." Awesome!!

[@robertmurphy5518]

The slide playing on "Apolitical Blues " is by now , legendary , according to liner notes Lowell used a Sear,s socket from a rachet set !

[@kdguy1126]

You are correct. He used an 11/16" Sears and Roebuck socket.

[@ronkeely909]

This is a treat! Never heard song 3 before! Love it!

[@mickjoyceandthesonicgypsie3709]

Love that ... what a band .. absolutely in the zone of a band on fire .. beautiful.

[@edantos9007]

Outstanding!

[@josiahrobbins162]

WLIR at the time best station in NYC

[@superorangeish]

WLIR..was the best radio station and these ultra sonic shows, which I taped many of..Bee Bop Deluxe, Little Feat , Bob Marley, U-2....prove it.This is before they turned into the New wave format.RIP - Ray White

[@32ndBrother]

In ‘74 my band and I were recording at Ultrasonic and Gentle Giant was doing a WLIR concert that night. It was great we were invited to to stay. What a time and station.

[@superorangeish]

@@32ndBrother Calderone in Hempstead? Saw GGiant there and me and my buddy couldn't even talk about what we witnessed for a week or so. Mind boggling.🎵😁😱

[@jpzey4b275]

KENNY had that afro 😍 working!!😁🙃

[@johnmisock9685]

I was in Columbus at the rime but had idea who they were. A friend from Phily turned me on to them in 1974. Never looked back. The soundtrack of my life.

[@midiland09]

Maybe the best concert , with Columbus. Thank you for this.

[@joec9016]

The rock n' roll doctors sound really fresh and tight on this recording. Thanks. I was 16 then and was a big fan.

[@haldonaldson5111]

Man these guys are awesome. I saw them at Freedom Fest 90-91 not sure but, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt 3-dog night & the Feat! Sunburned on the 4th feeling no pain . I musta been 19-21 yrs old. My friend from Moody made a few of us go. I mean!! made us!! I was all about hair rock at this time or just playing a bunch of crap! after this show I went back in time and studying up &; to hear the real music of the '60s and 70s man and I'll tell you what! it changed me. I latched on to Allman brothers 2Zztop. And everything in-between. I met all the Kngs BB King Albert King Ben e King Freddie King. And drank up all that Muddy Waters. And any thang strings and old-school . I'm 50 now I don't know it all but, I love these guys the more older I get. God bless the Little Feat present and past. Big-O Howdy From Texas!! Thank you for posting !!

[@haldonaldson5111]

And yes I know Lowell George wasn't at the concert that day but, We Boogie-Woogie-ed for Him too! ! And, Ibwon't forget'em!

[@haldonaldson5111]

Damn! I forgot The Tower of Power backed the Feat at this Freedom Fest in Dallas 90-92' I can't remember. Best concert .

[@loilt5091]

You missed Earl King...Jimi didn't

[@plantfeeder6677]

@@haldonaldson5111 hey that's okay. I'm old enough to have seen Lowell play with Frank Zappa and never once saw either. Having said that. If Craig Fuller was still with the band, that version of LF you saw, through their 1988 lp "Let It Roll", put all of their early work from the beginning to Gold and Platinum statis. Your generation along with some older ones got turned onto them and went back and discovered Lowell George. That's why Let It Roll is part of my Little Feat collection

[@charlesalbright4164]

Must say that I am willing ,able and loving this song... Thank you Little Feat!!!

[@drwills220]

Again excellent memories, thanks, Earl.

[@Richvids48]

This is real. Good thank ya

[@kevinmillergaragerock]

My 3rd birthday..cool..happy with that..richie is the drummer with such danceability in his grooves, i cant help swaggering to Feats, anyone else get their hipshake groove goin when they are listening to LF?

[@martysmith5260]

Lowell George's motto could have been: "Too much is never enough."

[@jpzey4b275]

Got to see them @GRANADA Theater, Dallas, before Richie was sick, he signed the set list (Great Pinmonship) and a nice man

[@johnjohnes7131]

Awesome! Thanks for posting

[@lokijam]

long islands infamous ultra sound studios. good times!

[@HairHoFla]

Fantastic set

[@dr.krinkleweldon5934]

Willin is such a masterpiece. I hear DAC singing this one in LG’s voice.

[@stephenmarceau7872]

Was lucky enough to see these guys unfortunately it was without Lowell😥, way back w/ Craig Fuller still great. Saw Billy performing with Leftover Salmon and playing some of the old Feat songs was fantastic then he was playing keys w/ Doobie Bros after leaving Salmon. Tremendous keyboard player, rock on Billy! RIP Lowell, Ritchie and Paul

[@plantfeeder6677]

Hey Let It Roll was a great album on it's own. Put all their early work over the top for gold and platnum and turned the next generation onto them. Craig Fuller is also a great songwriter in his own write. The first two Pure Praire League albums were almost all Fuller and his influence in their style of music lasted long after he had departed.

[@photogwilson]

Just found this Earl, I’ll be following.

[@ripetomato9629]

I was just getting into them when LG checked out. 🌹Love you baby. Always.

[@markk.8056]

Had this for years on cd..Forgot the great quality of these WLIR shows. The one you put on here sound s great...Thanks Brother!

[@Womble1252]

Bloody great thanks...

[@yvettekelley2155]

On one of our better radio stations here in Las Vegas 91.5 on Sunday evenings 4-8 p.m. the Host has some very cool stuff including this entire concert.

[@rinrin1548]

great!! thank you

[@greggjarvis133]

that tension of straight eighth notes versus the shuffle triplet feel carries on throughout the whole tune it's ridiculous

[@richardsemmens4773]

luv it .... THATS A GROOVE ....

[@lizroberts6257]

The stone magic of LF is a constant play-off of one element w. another; keepin' it almost in line, lol.

[@ahwien]

Original band performed at our school in Ithaca, NY ca. 1981 Ben Light gym. I attended but only learned to love them years later. Thanks for posting.

[@charlesalbright4164]

Cahit,cahit,cahit...I am loving this hit!

[@redbarchetta8782]

00:14:25 On Your Way Down is one of my all time favs and this version just smokes.

[@ottokriete1153]

thank you, thank you, thank you, ......... Earl!

[@billmitchell2827]

Ahhh lowell george and da feat

[@jeffkendrick6726]

Great set

[@terencestephenmoss2159]

Amazing stuff here on your KZbin channel Earl ❤

[@richardfinlayson1524]

lookin super funky,as well as sounding super funky......

[@popal7408]

RIP Lowell, Richie, Paul. There was no FEAT band like this lineup. I'm glad Bill plays with the Doobies now >RnR HOF is Bogus.

[@josiahrobbins162]

Until they recognize Jonny Winter, half of those groups are over priced bar bands

[@plantfeeder6677]

Bill always played with the Doobs....in the studio. Checkout the liner notes starting with Toulouse Street

[@popal7408]

@@plantfeeder6677 Thanks Steve. I had not seen my albums in quite a while. Ted Templeton was the producer for both bands who knew of and appreciated each other. Michael McDonalds background vocals in Red Streamliner Rollin is spot on. I'm glad Bill is plying his trade with the Doobs these days. Hoping live venues come back to us this year.

[@hypedelic]

thanks4sharin

[@csedan510]

Nice to know where that seminal version of Two Trains came from. This recording rivals Waiting For Columbus.

[@stevekelly3138]

How did I NOT go see these guys when I had a chance?

[@Cerph]

I was blessed to see Lowell at his last concert, @ the Lisner Auditorium, in D.C. It blew me away, when I read (in the Washington Post) that he died in his motel room, the same night- (too many speedballs).

[@steelpressmusic4009]

This band knew how to come in with a beat!

[@Maki.1028]

心地よいグルーヴ✨

[@DougoBlue]

Tremendous.

[@billtaylor4897]

Tight !

[@charlesalbright4164]

Gonna hide my phone now...Thank you Mr Guthrie!

[@annetteolmert1658]

Best music's ands musicians

[@gsmarin1]

Back in the day at Winterland in San Francisco, Bill Graham introduced Little Feat as the opening act for Marshall Tucker and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They basically did this set, and were so tight, we just left and blew off the Headliners.

[@plantfeeder6677]

To bad TMTB blew the lid off the place.

[@marvinblair1615]

spring forward shuffle them feet get up ye all an shake it up 😎👽

[@Freakster1970]

Great funky band with a great sense of humor. I do feel something went wrong though in maybe around 1976 onwards.

[@jrbaltmd57]

Lowell George died, in 1977, i think, just after me and my 82nd Airborne friends saw them in Greensboro, NC with Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris & The Tower of Power horn section playing right along with them. What a freaking lovely, funky show! I’ll never forget it! Smoked my whole bag of reefer! Feats Don’t Fail. Me Now!

[@blackfinjrblackfinjr3555]

Lowell died in 1979, and with him the great lead vocals (so smooth) and of course the great slide slide guitar along with him. RiP Lowell george

[@danielosullivan3110]

Got no shadow 😂❤

[@defaultuserid1559]

"Just another band from LA" lol. Little Feat's roots in Zappa's Early Mothers of Invention Band. What a great fukkin band.

[@timothyallen108]

Why on earth aren’t they in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame?

[@andrewblack7852]

Because the hall is just an institutional propaganda made up by a group of people you wouldn’t like if you were at a party with them. We all must stop endorsing such vile corrupt and unneeded validation. They were awesome in reality who needs nonsense?

[@popal7408]

Because the hall is biased and since less quality bands and rap were inducted, it has no credibility. Never really did.

[@billh.5737]

It’s not the R&R Hall of Fame, it’s the Whatever Crap Is Popular Lately Hall of Fame. Inductees are chosen mainly on the basis of how many viewers they can bring to the HBO broadcast.

[@plantfeeder6677]

In the words of Alex Liefson...blah blah. Blah blah blah blah, blah blah blah......

[@jeffkendrick6726]

Because that place is a JOKE.

[@charlesalbright4164]

Not saying you don't smoke that bass...just Damn!

[@deuteronimus750]

The first other original Ultrasonic Studios performance from 1974 I believe, disappeared from KZbin a while back.

[@marianner.alvarez1609]

🤗👍🎵🎶

[@nadinedery2837]

Am I hearing things or is that Bonnie Raitt singing on Walkin' All Night and Sailin' Shoes? Love this stripped down set.

[@lizroberts6257]

If Canned Heat and....somebody... had a baby.

[@vinylanimyl]

The Meters

[@lizroberts6257]

@@vinylanimyl The group or the timing? jk- i'll check tem out

[@damiencockburn7221]

Great recording, btw Freddie King also did a show for LIR...any chance you have that? Thanks