Fiery Furnaces, Dappled CitiesFly, Expatriate @ Gaelic Club,17/03/05

Sat 19th Mar, 2005 in Gig Reviews

Do you like to see a show that contains a rock’n’roll front woman, manic drumming, story tale lyrics and quirky pop tunes? Then the Fiery Furnaces are definitely the show for you.

When I arrived at the Gaelic Club there were already a line of fashionably dressed (think high heels, vintage dresses and blazers) people waiting to go in inside. I didn’t know what to expect of the Fiery Furnaces crowd in Sydney as I haven’t heard much about their fan base here. One thing for sure, is that I didn’t walk away from this show disappointed with the fan interaction or the band.

The first band to perform were Expatriate, they are always a great band to see live. They have an amazing sound, one that I believe will become quite big within a matter of months. The lead singer always appears to look possessed, every member of that band looks like they want to be there and they are very tight. There was quite a large crowd to see them, a few up the front, mainly girls, who were dancing away.

The second support were Dappled Cities Fly, a band that have formed quite a following of loyal fans in Sydney. They played with their usual upbeat and slightly crazy energy, and fit in as the support for Fiery Furnaces very well. Both bands have a slight childlike vibe to them, but with hidden metaphors and a sense of depth to them. The band, once again, performed a show that got the crowd dancing and singing along to their odd but amazing lyrics.

Next on stage is the Fiery Furnaces. Making eye contact with almost everybody in the crowd as she sings, Eleanor Friedberger knows how to keep her audiences personal attention. Dressed in blue jeans with a red ribbon as a belt, and a white top, Eleanor looks the part of the storyteller singing of her adventures to the kids – that is, the audience. Her brother Matthew is on the keyboard, and joins in for a spot of singing every now and then.

The drummer Andy Knowles is one of the most amusing characters on stage, his arms flail around as if he were possessed, his facial expressions are the most amusing that you will see on any drummer. He looks like he is having the time of his life, as his elastic arms swing around often accidentally flipping drumsticks out of his hand, at one point Matthew throws a lost drumstick that has landed next to him back at Andy, who just catches it and and cheekily grins.

This show is a performance of unpredictable and almost childlike stories with depth. The songs are blended into one another, so as soon as one ends, the other begins. Eleanor’s voice is hypnotising and mysterious, the whole band create a great sound that is really not easy to categorise. The crowd are up and dancing, and as the show goes on, more people ease up and join in the dancing,  which is inevitable listening to a band like this. People are swinging their heads around, swaying their hips and of course there are the usual one or two drunk people up the front who are dancing like there’s no tomorrow, which is always fun.

The band came on for an encore after the crowd erupted into a frenzy of noise, Eleanor asks the crowd if anyone has any requests. It’s nice to see a band that interacts with the audience out of sincerity. They play their last song and walk offstage, later the band walk around the crowd, Eleanor wearing her black leather jacket, posing for pictures with fans. When you walk away from a Fiery Furnaces gig, you always feels as though you have witnessed something genuinely entertaining and you know the artists enjoyed the show as much as you did.