The Fiery Furnaces
Zilker Park, Sept. 24
“Now we’re going to play songs from our new album – Tommy.” Well, at least the Fiery Furnaces have a sense of humor about the endless Who comparisons, as keyboardist Matthew Friedberger revealed during the band’s blazing afternoon set. The siblings Friedberger, Matthew decked out in all black and Eleanor in a pale yellow shirt that read “Texas Has It All,” have taken their theatre-appreciation classes along with their choir practice, and it shows. Eleanor’s storytelling style of vocal delivery is what keeps the train moving, as heard on the first song, “I’m Gonna Run” (“I pierced my ears with a three-hole punch, ate 12 dozen doughnuts for lunch”). “Straight Street,” from Blueberry Boat, swerved and ran into an anthemic chorus and fistfuls of fuzzy piano. They also played new songs from their upcoming album Rehearsing My Choir, which features vocals by their 82-year-old grandmother. “Zapped by the Zombie” and the title track went from a trot to a gallop, a kaleidoscopic Seventies jaunt through Friedberger’s lyrics about food and murder. The latter almost sounded like Cheap Trick or a Bay City Rollers song. Screw the Who. It was S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night, after all. Tommy, can you hear that?
This article appears in September 30 • 2005.