Huh? Wha?
What are you doing here?
Uhhh… Ackehmmm…
Sorry, one second… pardon my dust…
Okay, now I’m ready for you. Sorry about that, dude. This is kind of embarrassing, but I wasn’t really expecting anyone to actually click on that headline! Heh heh… soooo, I kinda don’t have anything clever prepared for you. See, I was pretty sure that you’d, you know, already seen a few Furnaces shows in the past and are therefore pretty familiar with the way in which they’ve managed to systematically alienate any semblance of a casual (that is to say: “non-die-hard” or “non-Duchamp-loving”) fanbase through the somewhat-intriguing-but-probably-just-another-middle-finger mystery box that is their live show.
But, well, here you are anyway. So, without further ado: The Fiery Furnaces are touring a small cross section of US clubs in May. Each of these shows is billed as an “intimate duo” set, featuring just the bro-sis duo of Matt and Eleanor Friedberger. And seeing as how the band hasn’t technically released anything official since 2009’s I’m Going Away (remixes and solo endeavors by Eleanor and Matt aside), one can probably imagine the concept for this tour as a Fiery Furnaces Review of sorts. After all, according to their ever-so-patient Thrill Jockey label, the goal of these shows will be “to play Fiery Furnaces songs, lots of them, as simply as possible.” Each set will feature Eleanor on vocals and Matt on piano and vocals. That’s it.
You know, actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad show. Maybe I was wrong about them driving people away whenever they play live. Oh, wait, there’s also “a short karaoke interlude” planned for each show. Never mind.
05.04.11 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall
05.05.11 - New York, NY - Rockwood Music Hall
05.06.11 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live Upstairs
05.07.11 - Cambridge, MA - Lizard Lounge
05.10.11 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
05.11.11 - Chicago, IL - Schubas
05.13.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center
05.14.11 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre
05.17.11 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo
05.18.11 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
05.20.11 - Austin, TX - Lambert’s
05.21.11 - Austin, TX - Lambert’s
• The Fiery Furnaces: http://www.thefieryfurnaces.com
• Thrill Jockey: http://www.thrilljockey.com