photos : valerie@fremin.net

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m getting to that point of being an old, jaded music snob. I’ve been fighting it for years, and will do my best to remain as partial as I can, but the reality is… I’ve got a few years of experience under my belt, and I’ve seen and heard a few bands in my lifetime. It’s like anything in life. The more that you experience as time passes, the more your palette changes, and matures. The point of this intro is to lay down the foundation of what I have to say about my experience with The Faint on this Monday eve in Austin, Texas.

I can’t claim to be a big fan of the band, but will admit that my interest in the band was stirred about 4 years ago compliments of a favorite online station. I give kudos to this station for introducing me to great music on a regular basis. If you don’t know what station I speak of, then you’ll have to keep reading to find out, as I speak highly of them on a regular basis. That aside, The Faint had produced a couple of songs that I enjoyed and that reminded me of a time when my interest was more focused on the music that was more beat/electronica based and a lifestyle more fitting. A time when you might find me obsessed with bands like Depeche Mode, Front 242, Nitzer Ebb, and My Life With Thrill Kill Kult, amongst others. I found it a current reminder of a time when I was a different person, and the music scene was a different scene.

Curiosity peaked, and not ever seen the band before, I opted for a Monday venture with The Faint @ LaZona Rosa. I’ve spent some time with the latest release from the band, and to be quite honest, it’s not doing much for me. It’s been 4 years since the band has put out an album. Things change, and people change, with time.

I have a couple of quick observations based on the first 15 minutes that I was in the venue.

1) There are a lot of couples at this show. Not just a guy and a girl together, but obviously together. Is there something about The Faint’s music that relates to good sex? Is it great f*** music? If it is, I’m buying a t-shirt at the minimum.

2) There are quite a few people who seem really eXcited to be here. Really eXcited! Maybe that has something to do with number 1?

Now I understand why those days are in the past. I’m just too old for that shit.

Aside from the environment that was a stark reminder of a former self, I was impressed with the intensity of the fans love for the band.  The band has a following, a solid following of fans who are into the band and what they do, and as the set started with ‘Agenda Suicide’, I was that fan for a moment. The song was tight, the light show dazzled, and the screaming, dancing fans made it feel like 1988 was alive and well in 2008. And, just like any high you achieve, you come down, and the down arrived as the band completed stirring the audience into a frenzy for the first three songs, which included a personal fave ‘Take Me To The Hospital’, to lead into the new material. Not to knock the new material anymore than already mentioned, but the songs just didn’t seem to deliver the driving punch of beat laden, bass heavy dance rock than what was just delivered from the band moments before. The true fans stayed true through the newer material and the band dropped the occasional older song in the set to keep up the pace established at the beginning of the set.

I wasn’t really expecting much from this show, but what I did experience reminds of why I’m such a fan/geek about music in the first place. I go to shows for a couple of reasons these days. I go see bands that I’m a huge fan of, to have that experience of feeling connected and unified with a group of people unified and moved by the words and sounds produced by a group on stage. I also find myself attending shows purely to witness the exact experience while looking in from the outside. Watching a group connect with an audience on a level that resembles a religious experience, is pretty cool, even if I’m not a fan of the music. I’ve become a music voyeur of sorts.

Would I go see The Faint again? Yes. Whether or not I think that the new material is as good as the previous work, isn’t relevant. What matters is that the band has managed to achieve what thousands of bands could only dream of doing if even for one day. They’ve tapped into some human emotion or psyche that fans relate to on a level that envokes a sort of rapture. Or maybe it’s just good music to f*** to?

The Faint ‘Agenda Suicide’

Words by: michaelE

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am and is filed under live shots, mp3's, Uncategorized.