The timing was perfect. We needed this.
It’s November… in Seattle. Not a couple days earlier, we were cruelly wrenched out of a too-good-to-be-true stretch of autumn weather that would have made the resident of any idyllic, northern New England hamlet proud. While many Seattleites revel in the masochistic glory of being methodically pissed on for the next five months, Mother Nature’s annual kick to our proverbial nuts seems more jarring than usual.
Luckily, on this damp Tuesday evening in the Emerald City, we were delivered a much needed dose of catharsis, courtesy of Omaha’s The Faint, and Seattle’s own synth-punk wunderkinds, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head.
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head (NPSH from here on out, as repeat mentions of their name only amplifies its absurdity) treated their hometown crowd to a fast-paced 11-song set, mostly culled from their recent release, Glistening Pleasure. NPSH has succeeded in creating a variety of infinitely danceable beats and catchy synth hooks, many of which become firmly lodged in your brain, whether you want them there or not. Their over-the-top, kitschy image (look at our weird shirts and face paint!) only occasionally detracts from their music (see: the annoyingly catchy yet somehow overly popular “Sophisticated Side Ponytail”). The memorable hooks and thumping rhythms of “Me + Yr Daughter” and “Bedroom Costume” kept the crowd in dance euphoria, via Liam Downey Jr. on drums and Claire England on synth-bass. These songs and other NPSH winners, such as “Hush Hush” and “Slow Motion Tag Team,” are bound to please any listener who is fond of classic new wave (Human League, early Depeche Mode) or some of the newer electro-punk acts (The Go! Team, CSS).
After NPSH’s bouncy, fun set, The Faint opened with “Agenda Suicide” from their 2001 release, Danse Macabre. With Jacob Thiele (keyboards), Dapose (guitar), Clark Baechle (drums) and Joel Peterson (bass) crafting the track’s bass-heavy electronic thump, the crowd, who had grown restless from the brief break between sets, immediately resumed dancing.
As The Faint powered through more of its energetic, trance-inducing offerings, the crowd followed every step of the way, and not seem to care which song came next, as long as the beats kept rolling and their sweaty compatriots urged them to dance on. “Desperate Guys” and “Posed to Death” were a couple of the mid-set highlights, with Fink pausing in between songs to remark: “I don’t remember this stage bouncing so much before!” This had the two-fold effect of instilling a sense of accomplishment in the giddy crowd, while also challenging them to dance harder and take the Showbox’s floors to the brink of collapse.
Their set closed out with the memorable “The Geeks Were Right,” from Facsciination, and the classic “Glass Danse,” which helped earn the band acclaim back in 2001 for its dark, Kraftwerk-inspired stylings.
Someone not familiar with the band’s material might label some of their songs as indistinguishable, and precariously close to generic dance-club techno. But The Faint have helped fill the niche of dance-rock for the ADD-generation, performed live by excellent musicians. Perhaps the best indicator of their success was the throngs of perspiring, shell-shocked fans who wandered out of the venue, in a daze, not yet ready to be brought back down from their Faint-induced high.
At least for one night, not even shitty Seattle weather could bring them down.
Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
It’s awesome to see that The Faint are still on form