AXIS|OF|LIVE

My decision to see The Fiery Furnaces at Northsix this past Friday evening was last-minute. I’d been waiting to see if any of my friends were going to show interest in attending with me and then suddenly it was sold out! And then I desperately wanted to go. Pam drove all the way up from Delaware to “ride the Blueberry Boat” with me and thanks to a lawyer-type Brooklynite with an extra pair of tickets, we were in the door and among the likes of famous indie rock types to see Eleanor and her brother Matt kick out the jams to a psyched and supportive hometown crowd.

We missed the opening bands for the chance to mix with the hipsters on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg and check out a Polish-American diner. Good chicken soup. At Northsix, the front entrance was jammed with people trying to fight their way onto the guestlist, but we eventually found our way through the crowd and even managed to snag a pair of beers on our way to the front. We got fairly close, though we ended up right in front of the speakers. I’d seen a sign by the bar advertising earplugs with an illustration of a bleeding ear, and eventually came to understand the deeper meaning of said message. Ouch. But it wasn’t loud beyond belief, which was a welcome change from most shows these days; just pretty loud. And noisy and raucous and fun and schizophrenic, as The Fiery Furnaces always are.

I just could not miss this band last Friday night. Eventhough I had to rush off after their set to go my office holiday party, I'm so glad I went, because these guys sounded even better than last time. With a new guitarist, Sean Beste, to round out the trio, Maxeen ran through a set that included a few favorites from their debut CD, as well as lots of new gems from their new CD "Hello Echo". Jay Skowronek's drumming was mind-blowing, and Tom Bailey's singing and bass playing was as powerful and energetic as ever...

Set List:

Loud as War
Seconds Later
Beautiful Disaster
Strangers
Love Goes a Long Way
Good Enough
Block Out the World
Please

So, like… who knew that so many people liked The Sounds? Not me. A few months ago, I saw Carson Daly pushing the hell out of them on his show, and I figured that they were still struggling to get some recognition in the US. I suppose the release of their new album, Dying To Say This To You, has helped them a lot, not to mention the fact that their lead singer took part in that ill-conceived theme song to Snakes On A Plane. (I can just see the light bulbs going off in the prepubescent minds of young men across America as they realise, “Dude, this chick’s hot! Who is she?” and pull up Wikipedia on their Dells.) Apparently the line to get into Webster Hall was around the block, and the crowd consisted of tiny hipsters, club kids, and dudes fresh off the Girls Gone Wild tour bus. The latter group all seemed to know the words to every Shiny Toy Guns song, and that was kind of creepy. And they all absolutely loved The Sounds.

The evening got off to a late start before opening band Liam and Me played, a quartet of wee, cute boys from Philadelphia. Their keyboard-heavy pop-punk sound reminded me a lot of the now defunct Elkland, especially when lead singer Matt O’Dowd (NB: No one in this band is named Liam and I wondered if the band name was a reference to a Gallagher of choice, but I imagine this probably isn’t the case) gestured robotically towards the crowd. Granted, no one will ever beat the dude from Elkland at awkward, robotic dance moves, but Matt made up for it by being basically adorable, dedicating songs to the ladies and such. He won the hearts of all of my friends, that’s for sure. They were clamoring for the merch table after the set was over. I’m not sure if everyone else felt the same; a thrown drumstick was passed around by a few folks because no one wanted it. Poor Liam and Me. For the most part, they were well-received and I’m sure in a few days, they’ll be all I read about in every blog out there. That sort of thing always happens to me. See: Professor Murder.