I Couldn’t Get The Notion Out Of My Head

The Fiery Furnaces @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg 12/8/2007
The Philadelphia Grand Jury / Navy Nurse / My Egyptian Grammar / Evergreen / Duplexes of the Dead – Automatic Husband – Ex-Guru / Black-Hearted Boy / Bitter Tea / Right By Conquest / Slavin’ Away mashed up with The Garfield El – Candy Maker’s Knife In My Handbag – 48-23 22nd Street – Seven Silver Curses – Slavin’ Away / Don’t Dance Her Down – Single Again – Smelling Cigarettes – Single Again – Don’t Dance Her Down / Japanese Slippers / Widow City / Restorative Beer / Clear Signal To Cairo // Tropical Iceland / Police Sweater Blood Vow / Bright Blue Tie / I’m In No Mood (brief) / Chris Michaels (tease) / Waiting To Know You / Blueberry Boat

Even if you’re just a casual reader of this site, you know that I’ve seen the Fiery Furnaces in concert many times over since the end of 2003. So believe me when I say that this was probably the best show I’ve seen them play thus far. Aside from the encore, this was essentially a slightly tweaked, subtly superior variation of the set I saw them play last month at the Hiro Ballroom, but the thing that put this show over the top was the sheer joy and enthusiasm the band displayed on stage. I’ve never seen Eleanor Friedberger seem so extremely happy to be on stage, and entirely at ease in her performance. Not coincidentally, her voice was in remarkable form, effortlessly conveying the humanity in the songs just as well as pulling off her typically impressive feats of diction. The entire quartet was at the top of their game, and the uniformly lean arrangements called attention to the essential quality of the material rather than distract the listener with their penchant for self-sabotaging excess. A few of the performances may well have been the finest versions of the songs I’ve ever heard — surely the gorgeous, piano-based reading of “Waiting To Know You” was the definitive version of the tune.

The Fiery Furnaces “Bright Blue Tie” (Alternate Version) – “Bright Blue Tie” was played as a request, and the simple piano arrangement for the song was the most pleasant, unexpected surprise of the set. I’d only seen the band play the song once before back in 2004, but the full band piano-centric version from this show was certainly superior, in part because it so nicely echoed the relatively lush alternate take from the Gallowsbird’s Bark sessions. (Click here to buy Gallowsbird’s Bark from Amazon.)

The Fiery Furnaces “Japanese Slippers” (Live on Fair Game) – This simple recording of “Japanese Slippers” — it’s just Eleanor on vocals, and Matthew on a grand piano — isn’t much like the rollicking version that the band played in this set, but it’s one of the most charming things the duo have ever put to tape, mainly because it seems to capture the most basic essence of the tune and explicitly connects it to tradition. (Click here to buy Widow City from Thrill Jockey.)

Elsewhere: NYC Taper has this entire concert available for download.

Also: Building the perfect lolcat.