Felina's Arrow: Infusing the Latina Vibe with Americana

Style and substance meet occasionally. Stage presence, style, and substance meet on an even less frequent basis. But, on Saturday night at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Felina's Arrow brought stage presence, style, substance, and innovation together in their crowd-rocking performance.

Siren Nation--Portland's answer to the Lilith Fair--kicked off its second annual festival this past weekend on Russell Street in Portland at the Wonder Ballroom . After last year's success, organizers of the festival are featuring women-forward creativity in music, artwork, workshops and family-oriented programming. Featured this year were some of Oregon's hottest and most intellectually-stirring Women in the post-feminist scene.

Saturday night was a taste of what Portlanders can expect for the rest of the week.

Just taking the stage was a performance. The ten-woman band--four cellists, a harpist, a percussionist, two backup singers, and the leads Felicia and Poeina--commands their space, regardless of the venue. The lead women--a couple, as well--took the stage in elaborate outfits: Poeina in a circa-18th century dress with a bright purple collar, and Felicia with brilliant neon green go-go pants.

The two girls leading the charge started with a vocals-only piece, showcasing their wide range and belting abilities. Each of them played both the guitar and the bass, and swapped instruments throughout the act. As the show progressed, it became obvious that Poeina was the strongest voice, and carried the ebb and flow of the melodies and the structure.

After warming the crowd with upbeat, harmonically-infused vocal rcok-outs, the group brought their set down. Poeina let her voice do the walking as her band chased at her heels. Mixed and blended with the sometimes dissonant sound, the backup singers nicely texturized the vocals, and let the spotlight shine on Poeina and Felicia. In one of their finer songs, the girls traded harmonies on 'Phantom;' a sultry, dark cruise down their rocky history.

After a rousing set of thirty minutes, the crowd gave a three-minute standing ovation, and would not settle until the girls had started into the intro of their encore performance.

Poenia and Felicia met in 2002 in Seattle, and since have been together romantically and musically. Their first album, 'Let Me Tell You A Story' hit the streets in 2006 and has been well-received in the underground and Portland community. Since 2006, Felicia and Poeina (originally 'Felina') have joined forces with their current musician-mates in 'Felina's Arrow.' The addition of cellists, harp, and percussive elements have broadened and diversified their style and approach.