It was a steamy night at the Cat's Cradle on Friday. A sold-out crowd packed in to see The Faint play a flawless set of electro-dance rock songs.The Nebraska quintet kicked off the night with an old tune "Glass Danse" from their 2001 album Danse Macabre. Lead singer Todd Fink took the stage wearing a long white lab coat and goggles, looking like the mad scientist. The look fits his on-stage persona.
The band sounded amazing all night, playing a mix of old and new songs from their new album Faciinatiion. One interesting inclusion was the song "Take Me to the Hospital," available only on Saddle Creek sampler, Saddle Creek 50.
The packed house really took the night from great to phenomenal. The crowd returned the energy the band exuded from the stage and their willingness to let loose and dance/bounce, made the experience all the more enjoyable.
The visual elements on stage also added to the overall vibe of the show. The band brought in their own lighting as well as a screen projected images of the band behind the stage. The lighting technician for the show put on a great show himself. He grooved to the music, manually hitting the lighting cues in sync with the music. Well done, sir.
The Faint were at the top of their game Friday night. Let's hope they make another stop in the area again soon, because their shows are just a damn good time.
The Faint set list:
Glass Danse
Dropkick the Punks
Take Me to the Hospital
Forever Growing Centipedes
Psycho
Call Call
I Treat You Wrong
Desperate Guys
Machine in the Ghost
? (I missed this one)
Worked Up So Sexual
The Conductor
I Disappear
Victim Convenience
Paranoiattack
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Birth
The Geeks Were Right
Agenda Suicide
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The two-piece New York band Shy Child was the first of two openers Friday night. The band's two instruments were drums and keytar. Yes, keytar. The band played a short set of fun little dance numbers, and lead singer/keytar player Pete Cafarella rocks the keytar like no one I've ever seen. [Ed. note: Ben Folds circa "Rockin' The Suburbs would be a contender. Keytar machine gun! Come on.] Check out this video to see what I mean. The band were joined by a saxaphone player on a few songs which "funked" things up a bit. These guys were good, but thirty minutes of them was definitely enough.
The second opener was Jaguar Love. I had high hopes for these guys going into the show, but the antics of their lead singer Johnny Whitney ruined the show. He looked like he belonged in a 80s metal cover band and sounded the same. When he sang and spoke to the crowd, he shrieked everything and I and I'm fairly sure everyone else could hardly understand a word he said besides "thanks" and "Chapel Hill." [Ed. note: I swear he told everyone to look at his balls toward the end of the night.] Check out the mp3 below which is pretty cool, but I don't recommend the band live.
Shy Child
Jaguar Love
Shy Child - "Astronaut" (mp3) from Noise Won't Stop
Jaguar Love - "Bats Over the Pacific Ocean" (mp3) from Take Me to the Sea
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