I don’t know if I will ever have another listening experience like the first time I heard Blueberry Boat by the Fiery Furnaces.

klk and I were headed on a road trip to see some band play in Chapel Hill, and all of the record stores(all two that would carry it) had sold out of the album in Charleston, SC.  We made an hour an a half (maybe more) detour to stop in Columbia, SC and grab a copy of that album.

We popped Blueberry Boat into my 96′ Jetta’s CD player, and I’m pretty sure that was the only album we listened to all the way to Chapel Hill (about a five hour drive).  At this point I can’t remember what show we went to…all I can remember is Blueberry Boat.

The crushing sounds at the beginning of “Quay Cur” opening the album, and then finally Eleanor’s sing song vocals break in to calm the noise…and how the album continues from beginning to end as if it were one song constantly changing tempo, rhythm, and style.  The sometimes nonsensical lyrics with pop culture references, countless verses, and story telling style just baffled me at first, and then you slowly start to embrace it and sing along.  Blueberry Boat is an album that ventures into territories that I didn’t know were were sonically possible, and still amazes me with each listen.

The first time I saw the Fiery Furnaces was on the Blueberry Boat tour in Chapel Hill (when you live in SC there are lots of road trips to see bands you love), and that show was a very similar experience to hearing the record for the first time.  At this show the Fiery Furnaces only played two songs…their set and an encore. Two medleys with only a brief pause between them.  It truly was amazing to see how tight the band was.  It seemed that Mathew Friedberger and the drummer would lock eyes, nod, and then switch songs…then Eleanor would follow suit with the lyrics.  Songs were chopped up, rearranged, and even revisited throughout their set.  A truly amazing feat that I have never seen performed again (by the Fiery Furnaces or any other band for that matter).

“Straight Street” is the second song on this extremely well composed, mind boggling album…it is only a small taste of an album that has several songs that make it toward the ten minute mark.  Another one of those albums that is best to be heard from beginning to end:

[mp3] Fiery Furnaces- “Straight Street”

• Buy Blueberry Boat here.

It’s hard to believe that this album came out way back in 2004.

A blogger friend of mine who is a bit younger than I am once said that he picked Radiohead over the Fiery Furnaces to get into…I never really thought of them in the same category, but I can say…Radiohead never made a Blueberry Boat.

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While I’ve never seen another Fiery Furnaces set like the one on that Blueberry Boat tour, they are always innovative and interesting live… and they have two NYC show coming up, and one of them is part of Northside Festival:

the Fiery Furnaces live
at Brooklyn Bowl
Friday June 25th, 2010
tickets are $10, buy them here.

Please note the Fiery Furnaces are scheduled to play at 10pm. Doors at 6pm, John Mulaney plays at 9pm.

Additional tour dates leading up to this show:

• 6/19 BERWYN, IL / Fitzgerald’s
• 6/21 TORONTO, ON / The Drake Hotel
• 6/22 MONTREAL, QC / Cabaret Du Mile-End
• 6/23 BURLINGTON, VT / Higher Ground
• 6/24 HOBOKEN, NJ / Maxwell’s w/ John Mulaney
• 6/26 NEW YORK, NY / Mercury Lounge w/ John Mulaney

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Fiery Furnaces have been releasing great albums one after another.  The single from their 2009 I’m Going Away is titled  “The End Is Near,” and it is a surprisingly straight forward piano piece, and shows off one of the main talents of the band…Eleanor’s vocals.  While this might seem simplistic for the band… Eleanor and Mathew each recorded their own solo versions of the record and have that for sale as a download from Thrill Jockey…those Fiery Furnaces are always changing it up.

[mp3] Fiery Furnaces- “The End is Near”

• Buy the End is Near EP here.
• Buy the I’m Going Away here.
• Buy Eleanor & Mathew’s reinterpretation of I’m Going Away here.
  

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• More on the Fiery Furnaces can be found here.
• More on Northside Fest 2010 here.
  • Northside Fest is a music, art, and film Festival happening in Williamsburg and Greenpoint Brooklyn from June 24-27th.  For a complete schedule click here, to buy an all access pass click here.
• Brooklyn Bowl now has it’s own beer…read about it here.
• More Time-Slip posts can be found here.