The Faint. Paradise. Boston. I went to London recently to see Devin Townsend’s one off “Retinal Circus” performance and that didn’t compare to this. I have never seen a band bring as much energy as The Faint do to the stage and each time I’ve seen them, they’ve continued to amaze me and remind me why they are continually one of my favorite bands on record and on stage (Especially on stage).
On their latest tour celebrating the 10th anniversary of Danse Macabre, The Faint brought an unparalleled excellence to their brand of electro rock. It was a celebratory performance not only for the anniversary of DM (Which they played in its’ entirety) but because it was the band’s first proper tour in years (They last came to these parts with Ladytron in 2009) and they had some new stuff to share.
That’s right, new material from The Faint! Straying from the norm, The Faint chose to open up with “Unseen Hand” (Off of the tour only limited to 1000 copies pressed 12 inch featuring four brand new songs) instead of “Agenda Suicide”. It was a bold yet wise move. The new song (Like the recently unveiled single “Evil Voices” which they played later on) was stunning and unlike Fasciination (Or even Wet From Birth to an extent) seemed to grab onto the electronic aspect that made Macabre so great and never let go. Like the rest of the set that followed, “Unseen Hand” was both hypnotic and enthralling as Todd Fink repeated “I’m looking for the unseen hand” over and over until the audience members were utterly convinced they should join him for the search.
If you’ve never seen The Faint then you’re missing out. Their on stage energy is infectious and it is inevitable that even the most jaded concert goer will be reduced to a sweaty mess from dancing along so hard. Now a four piece, The Faint ripped through the DM set with ease but it was the prelude and prologue that truly made the 20 plus song set stand apart from others. Rare gems like “Take Me To The Hospital” or the Sonic Youth cover of “Mote” played just as well as “Agenda Suicide” or “The Conductor” from Danse Macabre. The other new song played “Evil Voices” is already a crowd favorite and gives lots of hope towards the proposed full length coming in 2013.
If you don’t see them on their current tour or, more importantly, pick up the limited 12 inch then I’m afraid you’re 2012 is going to end unfulfilled.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKI112JvhIY]