Audio, 7th October 2009
The last time I saw The Fiery Furnaces play live was in 2001 supporting The Strokes in the pre-‘Is This It’ whirlwind.
It was a real sense of occasion that night, as siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friederger of The Furances harnessed a lot of attention from the audience as everyone was mucho gossiping about what Julian Casablancas and co would be wearing on stage. As I looked over my shoulder, everyone seemed to be wearing the best leather and denim known to man and their body language was of sheer anticipation for The Moldy Peaches and Strokes. However, out came the keyboards and nursery rhyme couplets of The Furnaces’ ‘Single Again’ and the venue was hushed for the sugar rush of the support band.
Tonight at Audio in Brighton, it’s a very different proposition as the previously pubescent Furnaces have evolved into something a lot more elaborate and prolific. After releasing an album every year, they have lots of material at their disposal and with little garbage in there. The common sentiment among fans is that The Fiery Furnaces can change their appeal very easily and shift from a basic set-up of guitars and drums, to their earlier use of keyboards from gig to gig. They can even go all calypso, like on 2006 album ‘Bitter Tea’. This basic arrangement doesn’t limit them one bit at Audio. They begin with a trademark run of songs performed as a medley which is an effervescent trick that still holds a strong effect regardless of how many times they use it.
The contrast that follows is impressive as songs exceed six minutes in length with some encompassing jazz breakdowns. The Furnaces start to burn really orange however when they rock out for a couple of minutes at the end of various ditties. Another great way they’ve progressed is the repeating guitar snick that’s used over and over again in ‘Single Again’ which is very different to eight years ago, sans keyboards this time around as The Friedberger’s don’t choose to be cutsey tonight. Versatility is this band’s greatest asset and it’s nice not to have to talk about genre for once as they incinerate the idea of this too.
myspace.com/thefieryfurnaces
Words by Marcus Walsh
