Handsome Furs SFBH Wellington

THREE WAY LIVE REVIEW: HANDSOME FURS SFBH 26TH AUGUST 2009

Ask anyone. I had been pumped for this show for such a Long.Time. An interview with Dan Boeckner a couple of months before the show that involved an inspirational conversation was the premise for my excitement, but Face Control is one of my Albums of 2009 to date and Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary and At Mount Zoomer were albums of the year for me before that. So this was a big deal. And I’d heard / watched / read amazing tales of the duet live, and a friend of mine who went at the Powerstation in Auckland emailed me the day of the Wellington show and further caffeinated my anxiety. Having convinced (read: forced) many a friend of mine to come whether they could afford it or had heard of the band or not, we prepped for the gig by going to a preview screening of Taking Woodstock (the acid trip scene is beautiful – as is the whole film really) and having snacks (curly fries at Sweet Mothers Kitchen – if you haven’t been here it is a MUST in Wellington) and red wine. Perfect pre-gig outing, during which the fact that I was reviewing the show came up, during which a couple of volunteers offered to write short, sharp quips about their experiences of the show. So here you go: 100 word reviews by Anna Scorey, Sarah Cathy and myself. Why? Because I always find in post-gig catch-ups everyone has something to add that another has omitted, or has an alternative angle on the show as a whole. And ultimately, surely three opinions is better than one…

Anna: It felt like my best Sunday morning (perhaps one where I am still out or even still in). Apart from the moment where the bitch in the heels felt that her presence was needed on the dance floor. My foot continues to disagree. If you think you may dance at any point within a tight bunch of highly enthused sweaty people wear flats or a wedge even. It’s not rocket science.

Sarah: If I was to ever go to a gig on a whim, I’m glad I went to this. Not quite sure what to expect (I’d listened to one song) I rolled along highly intoxicated…following a girl relentlessly talking about how pumped she was. And what can I say, Handsome Furs have so much chemistry on stage it left me wondering, what do these two get up too off stage? And made for an extremely rocking set. And I was left feeling…. What can I say? PUMPED!

Courtney: Like Face Control, Handsome Furs live were short, sharp, invasive, and sexy. Interspersed between quips like “this song is about fucking” and on-stage pashing that was quickly followed up by Alexei Perry with “oh sorry, sometimes we forget we’re onstage” ‘I’m Confused’, ‘All we want, baby is everything’, ‘Radio Kaliningrad’ and ‘Legal Tender’ (opener) sounded like the sexy, raspy soundtrack to the sexy part of a Tarantino film, heroin chic, crazy dancing (Perry looked like some sort of flailing psychotic crab for most of the set – I have no idea how she managed to keep this up) and all. Oh, and like the interview Boeckner waxed lyrical about The Chills’ ‘Pink Frost’. Swoon and swoon.