| Furnaces Turn Up The Heat |
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| Written by Mark Rifkin, twi-ny.com | |
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Williamsburg Band Plays Fiery Outdoor Show in Queens Sculpture Park Exclusive photos: flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601634456221  The Fiery Furnaces play hot show in Socrates Sculpture Park  Eleanor Friedberger leads killer set  Matt Friedberger grooves on the organ Initially meant to preview songs from the band’s forthcoming album, October’s "Widow City," the performance instead concentrated on older numbers, opening with a killer suite from last spring’s "Bitter Tea," ripping through such controlled mayhem as “In My Little Thatched Hut,” “Black-Hearted Boy,” “The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry,” and “Benton Harbor Blues.” Stitching together a few bars of surf music and straight-on rock here, pop psychedelia and new wave there, and plenty of goth punk and whatever else they could think of (did we hear some medieval minstrel music?), often within the same song, appearing, disappearing, and then resurfacing, the Furnaces rarely stopped between numbers, with one song flowing seamlessly into the next as Eleanor’s outpouring of poetic musings recalled Patti Smith while Matt’s alternately grooving and dooming organ wove in and out and back again. Singing in front of a colorful vinyl curtain of snippets of their lyrics, Eleanor did manage to squeeze one new tune in, “Wicker Whatnots,” shortly before finishing the show with a frantic string of “Blueberry Boat,” “Tropical-Iceland,” “Spaniolated,” “Name Game,” “Birdie Brain,” and “1917.” After the gig, band members hung around the park--which featured a handful of sculptures and a whole bunch of tents--relaxing with friends, family, and fans and, in Eleanor’s case, even signing autographs on a few young men’s arms.
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