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Say what you want about expensive toys - back in the day we passed the time with our siblings, playing games we made up on our own. The best of which would innocently delight us while managing to piss off every adult in the vicinity. One of our favorites? Singing instead of speaking, especially when strung together in one long, drawn out drone. Let’sgotothe pool…totallyiagree…STOPHITTINGME and so on.

The same could be said of the vocal stylings of the lovely Eleanor Friedberger, front-woman of indie sibling superpower the Fiery Furnaces. This technique was demonstrated masterfully at their Studio B set in support of their latest album Bitter Tea. Commanding attention with the vocal range of a cello, the venue was uncharacteristically quiet as the audience stood hypnotized by her performance. New tracks such as 'Black Hearted Boy' were reinterpreted along with old favorites including a deliciously down-tempo version of 'Here Comes the Summer.'

At times Eleanor's subtle delivery and continuous sidelong glances made us wonder if she really wanted to be there, but songwriter brother Matt repeatedly encouraged her while joyously pounding his Korg. The energy swung higher in the second half of the set, and when the band unleashed 'Tropical Ice-land,' proving the Fiery Furnaces deserve every critical accolade they get. Now, if you'll pardon us, we need to leave an epic singsong-y voicemail for our older brother.

~Text and Film by Abbey Braden

Special Thanks to Studio B