Gig Watch: Liam Finn @ Toff of the Town
By Sean Lynch
 Download EP Here 
Read The Album Review: Click Here
Watch the "Second Chance" Film Clip: Click Here
For
most people, the mere mention of a 'One Man Band' will bring about
visions of Dick Van Dyke with a bad English accent and poorly slamming
a drum while seranading Mary Poppins. Thankfully, that isn't the case when it comes to former Betchadupa front man and son of Crowded House's Neil Finn, Liam. In fact, there ain't one chim chim charoo in sight! Returning
to Melbourne for the first time in over two years, Finn took to the
stage at the new (and extremely cool) Toff of the Town and (without
sugar coating it) he blew the f***king roof off. Now, it has been a long time between drinks for my live "Finn" experience. I can vividly recall the final Betchadupa
show back in 2004. After several months lingering between the
mainstream and the underground, the boys made their final goodbye to
Australian shores to head to the UK at The Tote on a cold Tuesday night
- with a crowd that hardly did justice to their talent. It was, as
always, a flawless and energetic show - and since then - a hole has
existed in my gig going experiences. There has been nothing to rival
the enjoyment of a Betchadupa gig since that night...until now. It's
a fantastic thing to be a part of really. To be part of the new
generation of music goers. Much like my parents generation would have
stood in a similar venue 30 odd years ago and watched Split Enz or Paul Kelly, I can now stand and watch their offspring (Liam Finn or Dan Kelly and the Aplha Males) and experience it all over again. With
a fresh batch of songs, and a fresh new beard, Finn took to the stage
just after 10pm following an interesting support set from a local
musician who amazingly did a 'One Man Nirvana' playing drums, guitar and keyboard similataneouly. The
room was packed with eager music fans (and some of the most amazing
looking Pint glasses in Melbourne). The pint-sized Finn strode onto the
stage and began what would become the most impressive solo stage
performance I've yet encountered. Using a series of pedals, loops,
drums, an electro-theramin and a single guitar Finn created the noise
of a close knit five piece band. Opening with a track from his up coming album "I'll Be Lightning", Fire In Your Belly,
Finn merged extactic rock with sweet harmonies and touching lyrics -
backed up superbly by female vocalist EJ who added a touch of sweetness
to the spice of Finn's performance. The show swayed to and fro
between heart achingly beautiful ballads to looped guitar jams, with
Finn looking like a robot that was short circuiting when he really got
into his guitar solos - over run by the manic nature of the music. Just
an amazing sight. The first single from the album, Second Chance, was a clear crowd favourite - as was a song which I haven't been able to get out of my head for weeks, Wise Man.
After the first bout of drums, Finn became visably more relaxed with
the audience, with his charm, humour and charisma making the show feel
that so much more intimate and personal. Several looped jams later, Finn left the stage, only to return for a much appreciated encore. Beginning with the superb Betchadupa track My Army of Birds And Gulls
(which seems to have been a template for Liam's solo outing), Finn then
encouraged the audience to take a deep breath while he calmed himself
down from his ADD inspired performance. "Breath in, Breath Out. This is
my Zen! I'll do it one more time, because I don't have time for c*nts
who don't listen", which was met with a massive cheer. Lead Balloon, again, was a great success, finishing up on the ever so tender Lulluby. It
is with my greatest emphasis that any music fan do themselves the
favour of getting their butts to see Liam Finn perform live at one
stage in their lives. It is a truly amazing, unique and enjoyable
experience that can't be parralled. Bring on the new album!
Overall: 95%
Liam Finn is currently doing a limited promotional tour, the album "I'll Be Lighting" is due out in July of 2007. |
