Handsome Furs Live at Whelans September 15th 2011
Review by Vanessa Monaghan
The poster band for husband/wife duos, Handsome Furs made their way to Whelan’s for what seems like a never ending tour. On this trip they are promoting their recently released album Sound Kapital.
Funeral Suits kicked off the evening to, it has be said, a rather unpopulated Whelans. That didn’t deter the four piece as they have proved they have a strong set ready for the masses. Their art rock electronica sound is ready for the next step up the ladder, these guys get better with each gig. It was also nice to see the headliners standing in the middle of the venue, both one one foot tapping in time to the Dublin upstarts.
As if some magician clicked their fingers, the venue filled up within minutes in anticipation of Handsome Furs. There’s no airs and graces with Dan Broeckner and Alexei Perry, they come to the stage themselves and set up their gear as the waiting audience watch their every move. When they’re happy Dan signals that they’ll be back in a minute. This was a pointer to what was to come for the rest of the evening, as the pair interact and chat freely with the audience.
When they do come back to the stage, the crowd are right up the front. The pair start with the high octane opener from their current album, ‘When I Get Back Home’ and immediately everyone in the venue is on their side. Saying that Handsome Furs give it their all when on stage is an understatement. Alexei throws side kicks her hair around like a woman possessed. Dan songs and yes, despite many media heads running with ‘they wrote the album on keyboards’, plays lots of distorted guitar.
On stage, the set up is a couple of keyboards, a drum machine, Dan’s guitar and two microphones and they produce a huge sound, with the new material getting the entire audience dancing and singing along.
Where Handsome Furs really set themselves apart is through their interaction with the audience. They say they love Ireland, hell, everybody says it but onstage they tell the stories. Here, with a story of drinking trips with their friend Danny and a cancelled Belgian gig to back this up, turning this show into what could be a home gig away from home.
The band play ‘Memories of the Future’ and Alexei remarks that she’s terrified of playing Dublin because she wants to keep coming back. Going on the amount of energy she projects on stage and by how much the audience appreciate her gasping for air, that shouldn’t be a problem.
This tour really is about showcasing their new album and the pair do so in fine fashion. ‘Bury Me Standing’ has a pumping bass line and an infectious rhythm that has the entire audience dancing. Lead single ‘What about us?’ has a similar effect.
The barrier between the band and audience disappears completely as Broeckner takes his microphone and goes into crowd. Encircled by fans, urging the singer on, everybody wants to get a piece of him. Returning to the stage he then comments and points to the area he was in saying that ‘someone smells really good’. Live, ‘Repatriated’ works well and fan favourite ‘Radio Kalingrad’ sends the crowd a little bonkers.
Their seems to be a nice circle going on in the venue, the more the band give, the more the audience give and this goes back to the stage, leading to a really good vibe in the room. Broeckner describes ‘Serve the People’ as an American folksong. It has echoes of the understated bass and build up of U2’s ‘Numb’, with more melodic vocals.
As the duo leave the stage there are already calls for more. Dan reminds us to ‘Tip your bartender’. ‘Legal Tender’ and ‘Agony’ make the encore and the pair still have not stopped moving. And here we also see a little smooch onstage for the couple. For the past hour they have been giving 110%, Alexei’s manic breathing and falling on the floor are testament to this. I’ve never heard of an electronic/guitar based group being a people’s band but Handsome Furs have destroyed this myth. Great sound, great energy on stage and amazing camaraderie with the audience. I’ll definitely be going to see them again.