I woke up with an urge to listen to both Danzig and The Faint this morning. The Faint won out. The weather is beautiful, not too warm and yet FINALLY warming up after the unusually cold winter we experienced here in Florida.. Just a perfect day. Oh, did I mention that I also got a job? I’m sure that’s also contributing to this fantastic mood that I’m in. At any rate, while Danzig is excellent sing-a-long music, I guess I just needed something more.. energetic. More pop-ish, something I could shake my ass to while cleaning the house (there is nothing like being in a great mood to get you motivated for housework), something sassy. If that’s not The Faint, then I don’t know what is.
Just like smells are strongly tied to memory, I find that music has the ability to transport me back to different places and times. Although I can’t remember exactly when it was that I last saw this band– 2004, or maybe 2005– I remember the experience like it was yesterday. Both of my younger sisters were with me, and we always have an absolute blast hanging out together. Especially at shows. The Faint was playing at Club Firestone in Orlando and while not my favorite venue, it’s much better than going to some huge and expensive place like Hard Rock Live or the House of Blues.
Les Savy Fav was opening and while I still am not a huge fan of theirs, I have to say, they were fun to watch. We didn’t catch all of them because if you know anything about me, you know that I am never on time for anything. We got to see the very end of their set but they definitely got the crowd warmed up for the dance party that was about to explode all over downtown Orlando.
As sort of an aside, let me just say this. I have been to a lot of shows. I’ve seen most of my favorite bands at least 3 times. The Faint is not necessarily one of my favorite bands but I’ve seen them twice and both of those shows undoubtedly take a place on the list of top ten most entertaining amazing downright awesome live music experiences I’ve ever had. And that’s that.
The first time I saw The Faint was in 2001 if I’m not mistaken, and it was at the Social, also in downtown Orlando. Only I think it may have still been known as the Sapphire Supper Club at that time. (Can I just add that writing this is making me feel a little old?) The Social is a tiny little venue and when the band took the stage and started up, there wasn’t a set of hips in that place that wasn’t shaking to the music. It’s infectious and I dare to you even try to give them a listen without wanting to shimmy a little yourself. The interesting thing about the show at Club Firestone was that there was a visible division on the floor, a sort of dance-no dance line. Since we got there late, we ended up spending the duration of the show on this line, and completely annoying the crap out of all the sad sacks behind us who for whatever reason decided they were too far away from the stage to bust a move. We still had an amazing time, and it was sort of fun to stand at the back and watch a mass of people moving in unison with one another. That never gets old for me.
Now as I said before, the first word that comes to mind when I think of The Faint is ‘sass.’ They just exude it. Their interactions with the crowd, their movements on stage, the music itself, all of the above. I have been scouring the internet high and low today, trying to find videos of the two songs that were on heavy rotation this morning. I couldn’t really find any that I feel adequately convey the “wall of sound” type experience that I got from seeing these songs live but then again, maybe it’s just one of those “had to be there” things. At any rate, the ones I settled on at least give a good idea of how much fun this band is to see live.
The first is a live performance of the song “Glass Danse” (from the album “Danse Macabre”), live at The Trocadero in Philadelphia. Obviously not a video taken by me, being that I.. clearly was not at this show. But the audio and video are both well done, so this is what you get. :) I swear, I cannot watch this video without grinning like an idiot and wanting to dance around my living room.
And in some of the shots, you can even see that dance party I was talking about! So much fun.
My other favorite song of theirs, live at least, is “Agenda Suicide,” and this is where that whole “wall of sound” things really comes in. I’m not a music critic and don’t claim to know a ton about it, but I happen to think that this song is so well orchestrated.. It’s repetitive, yes, but also progresses, and makes use of the contrast between very soft sound and very large, loud sound to create an audio experience for the listener. Not just a song, an experience. Again, that’s just my opinion, but I really just cannot get enough of this tune. And when they perform it live, they do it against a backdrop of what looked to be old black and white war films. This not only fits with the lyrics of the song, but also connects the actual music to the video with footage that includes frames of marching soldiers. It just goes together so well. Pure genius or cosmic accident? Who knows? Who cares? I get to enjoy it all the same.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find a live video I really liked for this one, so I’m just gonna post the actual music video instead. Hopefully you get the idea. :) As a note: It’s my opinion that this song is best played at top volume. Just saying.
Sigh. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to such a fun show!
Anyway. I just wanted to share a little of my fangirl love for a band that really never fails to put a smile on my face. They’re not everyone’s cup of tea but hey, different folks, right?
Enjoy!
[Videos used without permission.]
rotting out 