Over the Weekend: Liam Finn @The Palladium

I think it's safe to say most of the 4,000 people packed into the Palladium Ballroom on Friday night were there to see (or to be seen at) Wilco, but I for one was rather interested to see how the neo-singer/songwriter stylings of Liam Finn would sound in the cavernous venue. When I got there was both surprised and impressed to find the Aussie heartthrob wasn't relying on a backing band to fill out his live sound. Instead he opted to pull off a feat I've never before witnessed; he was able to rely almost exclusively on a loop pedal to create his heavily layered soundscapes without once coming off as a doucher.

Everytime I'd make a mental note to remember to describe his blend of soulful vocals and lyricism with his audacious guitar stylings as that of a modern day Cat Stevens he would do something to quell any of my misguided comparisons altogher. Whether it would be jumping around wildly, ripping out a quick and wild guitar solo, or hopping over to the drumkit to bang out a rauccous beat he was consistantly impressive.

And as it turned out I was not the only one in the building who thought so; Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche eagerly joined Finn for a song early in the set. When Finn returned the favor later on during Wilco's first encore set, playing guitar on "You Never Know," Tweedy made sure to tell the kid that he's the real deal. Of course for all of us who had seen his performance earlier in the night it was no big revelation.

Liam Finn was a gentle, good-looking, charasmatic, engaging performer who actually writes some pretty impressive songs. I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience seeing him live, and for the first time in nearly a year I was not ready for an opening act to leave the stage when their set was over.

MP3: Liam Finn - Plane Crash

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