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The Fiery Furnaces Turn Shows Into Pro-Health Care Reform Rallies

3:51 p.m. · August 12, 2009 · by Nick Neyland

You’ve gotta love the Fiery Furnaces. Democ-rock rallies, recording solo tribute albums to themselves and threatening to release a ‘silent’ album are all an integral part of the job for the Friedberger siblings. Naturally, health care reform is a topic that concerns the band, so they’ve decided to turn their shows in August into Pro-Health Care Reform Rallies.

A post on their MySpace blog outlines the details:

“Come on down and pick up some information about how you can show your support for, and talk to your neighbors about, this patriotic, eminently capitalist-friendly thing called Health Care Reform! And you know, for better or worse, it's capitalist-friendly. And pro-Rock-n-Roll.

 

Talk to the band about it. Talk to somebody we put on the guest list to talk to you about it. Talk to the guy texting next to you about it. Text your friend or congressperson from the show while you ignore the band about it. In other words, regular old Summertime Fun!”

The band members are also encouraging other artists to turn their shows into Pro-Health Care Reform Rallies, and have some words of advice for music websites:

“Perhaps even more importantly: FF encourages all those American music websites to ask all their favorite bands to turn their shows into Pro-Health Care Reform Rallies! Why not make sure the world knows that all of us true grandmother-loving, pro-American, 'young people' haven't given up our political involvement?

Of course, the Friedbergers have a decent sense of democracy, so they’re inviting anyone in opposition to the idea to attend:

“By the way, if you happen to be a member of an anti-health care reform mob, why not come down and picket one of the Pro-Health Care Rallies 'N Rock Shows listed below? Us Patriotic Pro-Reform--which in this case just means Pro-American-- Rock-n-Roll fans inside the building will raise you a toast. To your health!”

To conclude this piece, here’s a video clip of what to expect outside a Fiery Furnaces show when they next pull into your town. Full Fiery Furnaces tour dates can be found here.