finger eleven
April 14, 1999
Lee's Palace, Toronto, ON

"We're finger eleven...and we're home." Singer Scott Anderson's first words to the capacity crowd at Lee's Palace were met with a boisterous round of applause. This was one of the only shows the band have played in Canada since 1997, let alone close enough to their old stompin' grounds to have it feel like a homecoming. The quintet have probably spent more time in Burlington, Vermont than Burlington, Ontario since signing to U.S. label Wind-Up Records (home of Creed), but all the hard work and mind-numbing travel has paid two very lucrative dividends.

1) Musically, finger eleven are now a much tighter unit than in the past (and they were plenty good in the old days).

2) They have established a devoted American fanbase who follow their every move, and who have made the album tip (released in Sept. '98 stateside) a staple at modern rock radio.

Tonight, f11 played two shows: one early engagement served as an album launch party (Sony distributes Wind-Up in Canada, and delivered tip to retail just last month), and one to the abovementioned full house. Both shows were impressive to hear — Anderson's ever-improving vocal range and dark lyrical imagery pitted against the jarring, impossibly loud bursts of guitar — but the second show was a truly electrifying performance which saw audience and band drawing strength and inspiration from one another. Rock and roll symbiosis, if you will.

The stage was littered with deformed mannequin torsos, each one created for the "Above" video. As the chattering intro tape (Nurse With Wound, if you're keeping score at home) swelled, the band took their positions one by one and in darkness. "Shudder" acted as the sonic equivalent of starting a high-performance vehicle in third gear: finger eleven christened this show at a level most bands strive to achieve in their encores.

James Black, clad in head-to-toe obsidian (including a tight stocking terrorist-style over his face), jerked and stuttered like a marionette fighting against its puppeteer. Rick Jackett leapt about as though he wanted out of his own skin. Rich Beddoe's muscular drumming was punctuated by thunderous fills and precision handling of time signature changes ("Costume For A Gutterball" is now officially a motherfucker of a song live). Scott Anderson and his brother Sean (bass) are more reserved in their roles, but a beast lurks in the former's larynx.

tip was performed in its entirety tonight, with a few extra treats thrown in to reward the loyal and vocal crowd. "Glimpse" segued into an eerily accurate and fitting rendition of Pink Floyd's classic "Welcome To The Machine", while "Condenser" (featuring the best ascending guitar riff these ears have ever heard) was immediately followed by a double-time cover of Depeche Mode's minor-key confessional "Walking In My Shoes".

As the set neared its all-too-abrupt end, Scott thanked the room for the heaping boxes of canned goods and non-perishable food items that were donated tonight. "It's not like we saved the world or anything tonight, but you all did good", he grinned. "Quicksand" signalled the end of the set; James and Scott's harmonies on the "sink slowly, my treasure" refrain filled the room with smiles and shaking heads. Nobody could have expected them to be this damn good.

A hush fell over Lee's (a rare occurence not witnessed since the Red House Painters show in '97) during a compelling and delicate run through tip's closing track "Swallowtail", and then a blistering, incendiary version of the album's title track turned the whole bar on its ear. Who says you can't go home again?

Note to finger eleven's current touring partners (I Mother Earth, Killjoys) and all bands on Edgefest this year: your asses are grass...

Set List

Shudder
Above
Temporary Arms
Thin Spirits
Awake And Dreaming
Glimpse/Welcome To The Machine
Condenser
Walking In My Shoes
Costume For A Gutterball
Quicksand

Encore

Swallowtail
Tip

— review by Mike McCann