The Faint, The Presets, Snap!Crakk! @ The Gaelic Club,08/01/05

Tue 11th Jan, 2005 in Gig Reviews

Ten years on from the humble beginnings of playing the coffee shops of Omaha The Faint arrive in Australia.

With an energy that seems to defy jet lag The Faint are clearly here to make an impression, and that they do.

First up Melbourne’s Snap! Crakk! hit the stage. What sounded like an ungodly mess of sound at the beginning of the set actually ended up being a catchy, dancy band full of good beats and foot stomping rhythms. The large crowd that had amassed so early on Saturday night clearly liked what they heard.

Next to appear from the wings of The Gaelic Club stage were The Presets. The brainchild of Prop members Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. After listening to the full fuzzy sound of their debut EP Blow Up I was expecting more than just a drummer and a guy playing the synthesiser. Truth be told their live set is two or three band members short of an entertaining show. While songs such Pretty Little Eyes and Beat On/Beat Off jump out of your stereo at home, the live show did not translate so well.

On to the main course. After 30 seconds on stage, any fears that ten years of touring and four albums have taken the fun out of these five guys was quickly diminished. To a backdrop of roving sperm and a plethora of flickering images The Faint turn up the volume and let loose.

With the use of projected images and video clips, displayed on a giant whiteboard, The Faint provide a show for the eyes as well as the ears. What could quiet easily be an annoying distraction is pulled off in style. Pulsing images writhing in colour and motion blast across the back of the stage, while the boys up front give it all they’ve got. If Decoder Ring had an older, more sinister, brother it would be The Faint.

Playing tracks predominantly from their two most recent albums, Danse Macabre and Wet From Birth, lead singer Todd Baechle belted out the crowd-pleasers. Hits Glass Danse, I Disappear and Total Job got the audience (and even the Gaelic Club bar staff) dancing, swaying and singing along in appreciation. With a cover of the Talking Heads classic Psycho Killer glammed up and thrown in for good measure they showed their musical diversity and sense of humour all in one song.

A well-rounded set lasted just over an hour. Finishing off with Paranoiattack and, aptly enough, the track that launched the band into the mainstream, Agenda Suicide.

What appeals most about The Faint is the inability to put them in a genre bracket. Is it dance, alternative, electronic, hi-fi, lo-fi? Who cares? As long as they bring their synthesiser, projector, and boundless energy they will make friends wherever they go.

Here’s hoping for ten more years.