BY REBECCA CARTER

Bob Dylan comparisons are going to be avoidable for the Felice Brothers, at least for awhile. The group hailing from The Catskills carries a sound so reminiscent of Dylan-era The Band that it would be easy for a more pedestrian fan to confuse them. They pull of the country-rock with as much flare as Creedence Clearwater Revival, and can be as soothingly morbid as Iron and Wine, but comparisons aside, a closer listen to The Felice Brothers reveals a signature style applied to a timeless sound.

Brothers Ian, James and Simone Felice, along with band mates Christmas and Farley, recently released their third album. Touring in support of the self-titled record, the Felice Brothers have been accompanying Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band on the road, and although they were the opening act, they owned the stage and the crowd throughout their set.

The band looked like they should have been viewed in sepia tone, dressed plainly and with washboards, fiddles and accordions in hand. Drummer Simone twisted and twitched on the skins like Levon Helm, while the rest of the band was eerily laid back in their delivery. The set included "Trouble Been Hard", "Take This Bread", "Saint Stephen's End", "Murder by the Mistletoe" and the crowd favorite "Whiskey In My Whiskey" which quickly became a glasses raised sing-a-long. The true high point of The Felice Brothers' set was "The Devil is Real," delivered by Simone taking over lead vocal duties from Ian. With eyes rolling, he dramatically weaved the unsettling imagery of the song and had the audience hanging silently on every verse.

Even as The Felice Brothers were leaving the stage, the crowd was still calling out for more (especially "Frankie's Gun", which unfortunately didn't make onto that night's set list). Their re-envisioned take on roots wasn't pretentious; they didn't come across as hipsters in faux country gear pretending to be from somewhere they're not. The sound as much as the feeling was pure.