With local radio station WFNX 101.7 FM and Miller Lite combining to do their usual bang up promotional thing, Copperfield’s was filled to capacity for their “Free in the Fens” show on this sweltering Boston evening. So much so, there was a considerable line outside the doors unable to enter when fast-rising New York band Flying Machines took the stage.
As FNX DJ Big Jim waited on mic to introduce them, the quartet struggled through the crowd to get onstage. Once situated they launched into “Talk About It”, a rabble-rousing opener designed to immediately state FM’s intent - to rock melodically with memorable tunes, sensitive subject matter, crack musicianship, multiple range vocals and passionate delivery. From opening power chord to closing sweet harmonics they did just that.
“On a Whim”, the first single from Flying Machines’ eponymous album (due out 9/22 on Meteor 17/EMI) was up next; a rousing, danceable tune with a subtle underlying theme of co-dependency, it found a home with the twenty-something crowd who were wowed with the band’s precision and John Wlaysewski’s brilliantly economical guitar break.
Hot on its heels came “I Can’t Stop”, a furious piece of locomotive thunder driven by Ken Weisbach’s Stewart Copeland-ian percussive punches and Evan Joyce’s intensely percolating bass lines. Proof positive this band can go from “pop” to “heavy” in the space of a downbeat.
Not to be outdone by his bandmate’s virtuoso chops, vocalist/keyboardist William Ryan George brought a hush to the crowd with the sweetly ethereal, heartbreaking vocals on “I Don't Remember Why.” Throughout the night, George was able to elicit both raucous approval and knowing sighs with a vocal performance that effortlessly moved from full-throttle to sensitive, and back again ….think Freddie Mercury or, closer yet, Keane’s Tom Chapin.
“Video Games” nudged the band away from the longing of “I Don't Remember Why”, settling into an irresistible groove with George hopefully singing “Dreaming of a day / when I can say/ I finally made it” preceding a launch into a prog-flavored “Clearing the Boards”, replete with epic bridge and soaring guitar break. The song superbly showcased the band’s dexterity and musical ambition, carefully crafting a sonic mix of stellar instrumental prowess and effortless vocals done with passion, precision and, somehow…breathless abandon.
Set-ending “April’s Fool” proved a cathartic close to Flying Machines’ performance as Wlaysewski summoned the specter of Eddie Van Halen with an insanely-fast-yet-still-melodic Fender shred-fest. Joyce and Weisbach somehow managed to keep things earthbound while simultaneously taking off, and George expended his last feverish breath on a searing exclamation point to the set.
Musically ambitious, instrumentally dynamic, and with songwriting and vocal performances firmly entrenched in the mold of McCartney circa Abbey Road, these Flying Machines are poised for lift-off.
--Jon Sinfield [August 24, 2009]
Photos: Derek Kouyoumjian
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