The Fiery Furnaces - Audio, Brighton - 7/10/09
4/5
By: Keri Kennedy
You've got to hand it to the Fiery Furnaces, they're one of rock's great duos. But then, when you catch them live, they're a pretty impressive four-piece too (aided by drummer Bob D'Amico and Sebadoh's Jason Loewenstein on bass). But then, that said, it's really a one-man band, as anyone who's heard singer/songwriter Matthew Friedberger's 2006 solo album, Winter Women, will agree. But wait, his sister Eleanor steals the show every time – they'd be nothing without her, surely?
Whatever you think about them, your opinion is always changed after you see the Fiery Furnaces perform live. For this tour, to promote the I'm Going Away album (their seventh!), we find the garage bite of old gone, along with the tropicalia feel (both sadly missed), and the one-hour song-merges that left audiences confused (not so sadly missed).
Where once the duo popped in and out of tracks from across their career, often mid-verse, songs now seem ordered, structured and all the better for it. 'Asthma Attack', a high point from 2003's debut Gallowsbird's Bark, tonight sounds relaxed and natural, free of the taught nature of the recorded version, introduced as “one of the first records we ever made”. 'Duplexes Of The Dead', from 2006's Widow City, takes the chaos up a notch perhaps, but is comparatively restrained next to performances of the time, now with room to breath, adding a clarity to Eleanor's ever shifting narrative.
While there are gaps between songs and even introductions at points (how trad!), Matthew remains resolutely non-involved with his audience, concentrating on his guitar and occasionally other band members. This new, clearer focus has helped the FF live experience massively, but that's not to presume it will stay like this for any length of time. Catch it while it's still happening.
Artists in this article: The Fiery Furnaces
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