HF, FF, and SFA @ Variety Playhouse! WTF!
Posted by Travis on January 31st, 2008
The Variety Playhouse had quite the bill last night. Holy Fuck, The Fiery Furnaces, and Super Furry Animals were in town, so a good time was pretty much guaranteed. The Variety Playhouse’s shows are about as prompt and predictable as Mussolini’s trains. That is to say, they start as soon as the doors open. So we didn’t make it in time for Holy Fuck, however I would like to talk a bit about the Fiery Furnaces.
The Fiery Furnaces put on an amazing show. Their set was a lively combination of their newest album Widow City, favorites from Bitter Tea, and a sprinkling of new tracks. They have a pretty interesting style that seems to fuse Brooklyn noise, indie-pop, jerky time signatures, sludgy keyboards, and even some Deerhoof caliber silliness. It was intense. After the show I was able to get their new album on vinyl. It includes a code to download the digital version of the album for free. I think all records should include free digital versions of the album, but I guess that’s just me.
Also, the Super Furry Animals played. You know, the actual headliner. Well, to be honest, SFA never really did it for me, and last night was no exception. I mean they were good, and they are amazingly accomplished musicians, I just couldn’t seem to muster excitement for a set that felt a little sterile and tired. Regardless, after the Fiery Furnaces played, it was all just icing on the cake. Now I can look forward to my next big show, Simian Mobile Disco at MJQ!