Under the Radar - Fiery Furnaces Live Review

The Fiery Furnaces
The Troubadour, Los Angeles
September 29, 2005

“I’m not used to talking between songs,” said Eleanor Friedberger, lead singer of The Fiery Furnaces. Her band isn’t used to taking breaks in the middle of their live sets, either, but technical problems early on forced her to stall for her brother Matthew, who was trying to figure out just what the hell went wrong with his keyboard. She didn’t seem altogether bothered to be chatting to the sold-out audience, but this is a woman who was virtually unfazed by the numerous catcalls and whistles that marked her entrance to the stage during set-up. “Oh no, come on,” said Matthew, still fiddling with the device, and then joked, “Well, I can’t play anymore—thanks for coming.”

Luckily, he had a spare, and their set was off and rolling again. The band, known mostly as a brother-sister act—the aforementioned Matthew and Eleanor—is actually a quartet on stage, made complete by the stellar rhythm section of drummer Andy Knowles, and bass guitarist Toshi Yano. Together, they bring ferocious energy and a revisionist’s take to the band’s unique catalog, turning dense, sporadic art rock into a paired-down, blistering live show that is no less sporadic, and all the more engaging for its relentless delivery.

They also have a new record to promote, called Rehearsing My Choir, and it was featured prominently in tonight’s show, with eight selections sandwiched between choice cuts from their first two records, 2003's Gallowsbird’s Bark and last year’s exceptional Blueberry Boat. They also previewed a new song from another record set to release early next year, but most of the focus was on Choir, which drops on October 25th. The album is not unlike past efforts, but does have one thing unique unto itself: the Friedberger’s grandmother, Olga Sarantos, sings on every song. Her recollections serve as the basis for the music, but its her singing voice that already has some talking, for better or worse, as it oscillates wildly between off-putting and endearing, and resembles, you might say, an old Speak & Spell (fans online have even suggested it sounds like Kermit the Frog).

Nonetheless, Matthew filled in dutifully for his grandmother—apparently, she isn’t touring with the band, but what a sight that would be—adding an overall sense of function to the lyrics more than anything. He’s not the “singer” of the two; that would be Eleanor, and although she was fantastic in her delivery—strutting and head-bobbing in place for emphasis—it was easy to miss priceless lines like, “And they’re both wearing vintage throwback forty-five dollar 1983 White Sox hats,” under the rough vocal mix—indeed Matthew stopped the show at one point to complain to the sound booth about persistent microphone feedback.

Still, the energy was incredible, and they tore through “My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found,” “Asthma Attack,” and a rocked-out “Evergreen”—one of their few ballads—with abandon. Knowles was particularly exceptional on “Chris Michaels,” and fun to watch as he negotiated the tricky time-signature shifts. Matthew’s guitar playing was another highlight, providing wonderful lyrical responses reminiscent of his keyboard playing style, where notes warble, scream, and bend.

Of the new material, the instantly memorable Rehearsing My Choir track “Slavin’ Away” was maybe the best. An adventurous and delightful number, it’s everything you could hope for from a great Fiery Furnaces song. “Slavin’ away, all for you my love/And I’ve nothin’ to show for it,” Eleanor sang, but in front of a sold-out crowd pouring over her every move, she couldn’t possibly have been talking about herself.

By Gary Knight