After The Faint finished their sound check, I asked Todd Fink and Jacob Thiele if they consider playing in NYC to be a high pressure gig. They smiled and said playing at home in Omaha was far more stressful. “There’s too many friends, too many family that show up,” they offered. Judging by last night’s performance at Terminal 5, they were indeed telling the truth. Kicking off with “Agenda Suicide” from Danse Macabre, the dance-rock five-piece tore through an energetic set that had hands in the air, from the stage to the rear bar, for much of the show. As Fink held the mic, he twisted and cavorted his body as the songs appeared to flow effortlessly through through body. Guitarist Dapose was perhaps the biggest surprise. A former metal guitarist, his skillful use of melody and rhythm is one of the elements that differentiates the band.
Out of all the songs The Faint played from their newly self-released album, Fasciinatiion, “Psycho” and “The Geeks Were Right” appeared to make the best connection with the crowd. The only problem, however, seemed to be the space in between songs: It seemed like people didn’t want to stop dancing, and they were smart not to offer too much banter. For a band whose bread and butter is mixing dance and rock music, that’s definitely not a bad problem to have.
Words and images: Darren Ressler
