ARTICLE BY OSCAR RANGEL
PHOTOS BY JAKE MA
AUG. 7 | HOLLYWOOD—There was a lot of anticipation leading up to The Faint’s first solo tour in a few years, and people were here early to get a good spot in what was the first of two sold-out shows at the Music Box. Although The Faint previously played last year’s Neighborhood Festival in Downtown Los Angeles, there was a lot of curiosity to see how the material from new album Fasciinatiion would translate live.
Compromised of former members of the now defunct Blood Brothers and Pretty Girls Make Graves, Jaguar Love did their best to get the crowd going. With a lot of new material and having just formed earlier this year, it took awhile for the crowd to warm up to Johnny Whitney and the band, especially with the reputation of the Blood Brothers live show to aspire to. Johnny did make it a point between songs to pump up the audience with his loud, shrill voice, which you were sure to notice no matter where you were on the venue floor. With their mix of glam and punk, Jaguar Love managed to get a good number of the crowd dancing to songs from their new album, Take Me to the Sea.
When The Faint came on stage, the crowd went ballistic to opening song “Agenda Suicide.” I was a bit surprised that the band would start the show with one of their biggest hits, but if they wanted the crowd to tear each other to pieces, mission accomplished. Dressed in a lab coat and goggles, singer Todd Fink was especially eye-catching with the macabre lighting. The show was a ball of non-stop energy, though there were some lulls in between, as fans were unfamiliar with the Fasciinatiion tracks. Of the new material, single “The Geeks Were Right” was the most recognized. But the Faint made sure to also include the well-known songs, such as “Glass Dance,” “Worked Up So Sexual” and “I Disappear.” Despite the late 11:30 p.m. start time, the show really felt like the place to be if you wanted to dance and get crazy. Even those in the venue’s upstairs seating were out of their seats and dancing.
After the performance, The Scenestar spoke with Todd, who acknowledged that tonight’s show was much better than the Glass House the night before. It didn’t help that the Pomona show had technical difficulties, and at one point, he fell off the stage. Nevertheless, Todd said the Southern California crowds have been supportive of the band. After finishing this headlining tour, The Faint will travel overseas, with Australia being one of their future stops for a few tour dates.
For more photos of this show, see the Scenestar photo gallery.
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