Liam Finn, Miracle Fortress @ DC9 [3/19/08]

Pretty good show over at DC9 tonight.

First up was Liam Finn, who I had seen just a few days ago at SXSW. I can't say I was impressed with his show in Austin, but I decided tonight that a big part of the problem I had with his show on Saturday was the size of the room - he'd played in the so-called "Bat Bar", which was little more than a huge stage set up in one of the conference halls at the Austin Convention Center, and which did not suit his music well at all. DC9, on the other hand, was much more appropriate, and I actually quite enjoyed his set.

If you haven't heard his music, you can check out a video for his song "Second Chance" here, and you can stream his latest album, I'll Be Lightning, in its entirety here.

Oh, and yeah, he's Neil Finn's son.

Next up was Miracle Fortress, whose debut album, Five Roses, has been on near-constant replay on my iPod since I got it several months ago. This was the first time I've seen the band, and their set was solid. Not as good as the album, but still pretty good, and it seemed to pick up steam with each song. That said, I'm still kicking myself for missing lead singer Graham Van Pelt's other band, Think About Life, in Austin.

Check out a great Miracle Fortress video for "Have You Seen In Your Dreams" here.

I left after Miracle Fortress because, well, I don't much like Most Serene Republic, who were headlining the show. So that's all there is to say about that.

Liam Finn



Miracle Fortress