LIVE REVIEW: The Fiery Furnaces at the Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto ON 2007.06.25

This particular blog's favourite rock duo-- Chicago's Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger, better known as The Fiery Furnaces-- returned to Toronto last night to serve a cup of ridiculously bitter fucking tea to an eager audience. Having just spent a half-dozen months recording & finalizing their sixth LP Widow City, due out in October, the Furnaces rocked the Legendary Horseshoe Tavern as a part of their so-called Fourth of July tour. Are they playing on the Fourth of July, you may ask? Of course not.

After spending some time talking to Matthew and ignoring a forgetful opening set by California's Dios, the band took the stage and erupted into a medley of last year's exceptional Bitter Tea. Identical to the arrangement they played on their last tour, which is completely different to the naked ear from their record, salsafied numbers like "I'm In No Mood" and "Black-Hearted Boy" pulsed quickly and urgently, Eleanor's voice sometimes rapping and sometimes soaring above. Filled out by Sebadoh's Jason Loewenstein on guitar and the rhythm section of Bob D'Amico and Michael Goodman, they were not only playing tighter but appeared much more comfortable with the material than last fall. The usually stoic Matthew looked to be having genuine fun, relaxed in his role as the band's conductor. This medley starts off strong with the killer funk of "In My Little Thatched Hut" and ends beautifully with the flying "Whistle Rhapsody" into "Teach Me Sweetheart", but some of the middle parts could use some more spunk in them. Maybe they don't-- by the end of this portion I was already quite exhausted.

A short intermission later and Eleanor was back on-stage with the band to kick off the second half of the set. They played three new songs from the upcoming record: "Wicker Park", "Japanese Slippers" and "Restorative Beer". "Tropical Iceland" had a lot of fat, dirty riffs in it, while "Here Comes the Summer" was slowed down, perhaps in an effort to make the song a little more melancholy. The highlight for me in this portion was the mashing of songs from the latter half of Blueberry Boat, "Spaniolated", "1917" and "Birdie Brain". The songs were played fairly similar to how they appear on the record, though Matthew didn't bother to sing his spots. These songs, along with "Quay Cur" and "Blueberry Boat", got a big rise out of the crowd as usual. After the end of this set, and a thirty-second encore plea from the audience, the band came back on and played "Widow City" before taking requests and playing the first verse of "Smelling Cigarettes" and "Police Sweater Blood Vow". The second they left again I bee-lined it for the washroom. I had to go at the beginning of their set too, but there was no way I was taking my eyes off these performers.

All in all, another great Fiery Furnaces show. Once again thank you to Matthew, Eleanor & the rest of the band for being so nice in person. As for the new album? From what I've heard of the new record, it's going to be amazing. Eleanor was kind enough to show me some advanced copies and... yeah. Get excited freaks.

SETLIST:
(I can't remember when they played "Beer" or "Slippers", but they did.)
The Bitter Tea Medley
Single Again
Wicker Park
Quay Cur
I'm Gonna Run
Here Comes the Summer
Blueberry Boat
Tropical Iceland
Spaniolated
Inca Rag/Name Game
Birdie Brain
1917

Widow City
Smelling Cigarettes
Police Sweater Blood Vow


(picture courtesy of PitchforkMedia)

Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky"

Sky Blue Sky
Wilco
Released May 15th, 2007 (Nonesuch)

I'm really not going to go on about this one. I'm limiting myself to 300 words. Basically, Jeff Tweedy, a man the world came to knew for his bleak observations and profound statements on the much-lauded Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and it's follow-up A Ghost is Born, is now freshly rehabiliated. He hasn't had a cigarette in years, he's off his pain medication, the migraines are few to nil. His band's lineup, as he has proclaimed himself, is in top shape-- the music will be astounding.

But Jeff doesn't want to write about distance making love understandable anymore, or whether Coca-Cola is satanic or not. His head once clouded with sadness and confusion, is now a Sky Blue Sky, and really, I don't care to hear for your complaints. For over ten years and across five LPs (including the live Kicking Television record), Wilco have been consistantly praised for their ground-breaking, genre-pushing efforts. Are they not allowed to take a breath and release music that they just generally enjoy playing? Haven't we already taken enough pleasure from Jeff Tweedy's pain? Close your eyes, forget about their earlier stuff, and just fucking listen.

Remember when Bob Dylan punched you three times in the face with his majestic Bringing Your Blondes All Back Home to Highway 61? Remember a few years later when he released Nashville Skyline? Well, that album has held up over the years, hasn't it? So don't give up on Wilco just because they're letting loose and shakin' off. Put your trust in the man you've come to love and you won't look back.