Editor's note: Review and pic by B.Treotch.
Though not heavily attended, the crowd of mostly diehard fans were packed tight under the red and white striped tent at Jannus Landing on Fri., Oct. 24. The Faint lead singer Todd Fink was wearing what looked to be a Calvin Klein designed lab coat with WWII aviator goggles. That turned out to be fitting. The Nebraskan quintet creates a music experiment that sits on the cusp of dance party and indie noise-rock — stylish, but never letting you get too comfortable. It works.
After a lively opening number, The Faint went into "Glass Danse" followed by "Take Me to the Hospital," a song not found on any album, but with enough deep bass and chopped beats to get all those under the tent shaking ass. One fan was overheard saying, "These indie rock kids better have their Chucks tied tight, or they're going to get funked right out of em.'" Pretty spot on, I thought. Mixing songs from its newest album, Fasciinatiion, along with older tracks — "Forever Growing Centipedes," "Posed to Death," "Psycho" — The Faint kept the energy elevated. A short, but solid set left most of the hipsters craving more.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2008.