Rocking with Furnace and the Fundamentals
So Friday night I found myself on stage at The Metro Theatre copying a Richard Simmons' work out video in front of a few hundred people as part of the warm up gig for Furnace and the Fundamentals. It was a pretty surreal experience and I suppose the closest I'll ever feel to being a rock star. And yes, to our mild surprise, we were a hit. In retrospect, five attractive women stretching on stage: we shouldn't have been surprised at all. However, that wasn't exactly our intended feel. The quirky and literal "warm up" act suited the show perfectly. While I'm obviously biased (my opinion and memory greatly coloured by the adrenaline of performing) the whole show was fantastic. The band was great; not only superb musicians and performers (I could go into some detail but their stage presence) but lovely people too. This is without mentioning their unique and intuitive commentary on pop culture through their costuming, video work and song choice. They also presented an uncanny ability to seamlessly glide between hits without stopping between songs, melding melodies until each tune's individual cultural presence (the time,context and audience the original was released) was irrelevant. Instead, the medley of music become an eerily exceptional tribute to good time and great songs. The audience was just as excited for "Shake a Tail Feather" as they were "Bohemian Rhapsody" as they were "Royals." All in all, the whole experience was a fantastic night I am unlike to forget soon.