Went to see the Fiery Furnaces last night at Webster Hall on 11th Street with Ben, Andy, Sarah and Jem. I think I'd heard of them before, but wasn't sure what to expect. So we listened to a couple of their tracks back at Andy and Sarah's place by way of introduction in advance of the concert. At first I was skeptical. The first track played started off very similar to Ross's experimental keyboard work in Friends - not in a good way.
Anyway, although we arrived a little late, I have to say it was a great gig. Good venue, busy but not heaving, and even though some of the tracks were a little odd, on the whole I thought the music was great. Eleanor Friedberger, the lead singer, was enthralling, both with her unusual vocals and her slightly haunting stare. She also came across as being really nervous, which I felt went towards bettering her performance, oddly enough.
While trying to find a cab to take me home, I was asked by a bunch of drunken girls whether I'd like to drive a cab for them. A slightly odd proposition, but there certainly was a driverless Town Car idling at the side of the road, towards which they were beckoning me. Not sure where they were headed, but I felt it better for them to wait for a more suitable driver, one comfortable with an automatic left-hand drive, and one sufficiently sober to get them where they needed to go.
It was great to see Ben again, complete with Samsonian hair - his hairdresser's maternity leave has meant that he has not had a haircut since May 2004. It seems that the weather has broken just in time for his arrival - blue skies and temperatures in the 60s all weekend, with a similar forecast throughout next week.
While walking down Chambers Street this morning, there was a Ford Mustang sat at the lights ready to go north up the Westside Highway. With the windows down and a lone guy in the car, Irene Cara's Flashdance was blaring out of the stereo. Somewhat surreal.
