Live at Fingerprints

Often overlooked for quality of performance, arguably the most integral objective of any kind of live recording is the ability to make the listener feel like they are at the venue. Also the most difficult of qualities to accomplish, it is an aim which if achieved, goes a long way to making that particular release a resounding success. It is the realization of this goal, which makes ‘Live At Fingerprints’ - a five song E.P by New York based indie-pop trio fun. – so enjoyable and (dare I say) fun to experience. Released as part of the celebrations for Record Store Day, ‘Live At Fingerprints’ was recorded at the Fingerprints Indie record shop located in Long Beach, California. From the between-song banter to the instrumentation and vocals, fun.’s performance is so natural, sincere and real, that you can almost hear the waves striking the shore some two blocks away. In fact, it would not have surprised if the band had ended up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean themselves, if the hilarious anecdote describing the violent shaking of their van (forever to be known as Quivers Cuomo) earlier in the day, is anything to go by. Exactly half of the tracks contained on the outfits tremendous debut LP ‘Aim and Ignite’ have been stripped down here, as fun. create some magic with only their voices, a couple of acoustic guitars, a piano and the barest of percussion. From the fantastic vocal harmonies of ‘All The Pretty Girls’, to the liveliness and offbeat vocal interplay which raises ‘At Least I’m Not As Sad’ to EP highlight, the trio (with the occasional help of a female backing vocalist) hardly put a foot wrong. Even their adaptation abilities shine, as can be seen on closer ‘Take Your Time’ – humorously introduced as the Cannibal Corpse version – which loses very little in adjusting its joyous African rhythms to an acoustic setting. ‘Live At Fingerprints’ is not totally perfect. Ninety percent of the three minute long Interlude is an uninteresting discussion concerning the words “boss” and “biz”, that should have been edited down to only include the relevant introduction to emotional piano-ballad ‘The Gambler’, while the absence of (my #6 song of 2009) ‘Be Calm’ and ‘Barlights’ must also be questioned. These are relatively minor quips however, and in no way take away from what remains a thoroughly delightful 29 minutes worth that is difficult to dislike. Quivers Cuomo would most certainly approve, even if Cannibal Corpse may not. Recommended Tracks: At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be), Take Your Time (Coming Home) & The Gambler.