Old Man, Old Venue: The Faint @ The Neptune
The Faint Live @ The Neptune Theatre
May 30, 2014
November 28, 2004 was the last time I had the privilege of seeing Omaha, Nebraska band The Faint live in concert.
Before last Friday night, it had been even longer since I stepped a foot into the historic Neptune Theater located in the university district of Seattle. (I think I was last there to see Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man in 2002.) Two words describe the feeling that came over me upon stepping into the ornate interior of the building: nostalgia and fatigue. Nostalgia for the way The Faint’s music can make even this jaded “scenester” (“hipster” if you are being mean) dance and fatigue from realizing that ten years ago I felt the exact same way.
Luckily for me, after I danced, took some pictures and danced some more we were able to travel up the ramp (you can still choose stairs or a ramp!) and sit in the balcony section, a carryover from my Tobey Maguire & Kirsten Dunst days.
The band sounded great, playing the hits from 2001’s Danse Macabre and 2004’s Wet from Birth, to which most of the crowd sang along with…and quite on key I might add. They also played a healthy dose of stuff from their recent release, Doom Abuse, all which seemed to fit perfectly with the band’s catalog. The tracks could have been mistaken as long forgotten B sides from either of the aforementioned albums.
The central theme of the night seemed to be “getting old isn’t so bad.” The Faint have aged well, like a fine wine, and the Neptune has adapted itself for a new life without losing any of its original charm. In fact, I think I’ve adapted pretty well too. I might even prefer my Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone days to those wild rock ‘n roll days of old.
- For more pictures from The Faint’s May 30 set at The Neptune visit our Flickr page
- For videos from the show visit TBASA’s YouTube channel