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Sergeant Politeness Saturday Saviour Pillowhead Bernie Pitiful Frogs Another Space Song Solaris Blank Smoking Umbrellas Stuck On You Wonderful Life Are 'Friends' Electric? Muffled Snaps The Nurse Who Loved Me E N C O R E S Segue 3 Leo Dirty Blue Balloons Undone Screen Man 
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Much like the sirens of ancient lore, the alluring live performances by Failure ensnare one's mind, body, and soul. The transcendental assault of ambient grunge-tinged pop tunes at the Whisky was testament to the existence of greek myth, for muses were surely at work. This night's performance was the last date of a six-week whirlwind U.S. tour and also marked a return home from this voyage. Playing to a packed crowd of around 400, Failure launched into a set which would consist of no less than 20 tunes, focusing on their most recent effort 'Fantastic Planet', but also including songs from their previous two albums 'Magnified' and 'Comfort' as well as a track from the Replicants (a side project of singer Ken Andrews and bassist Greg Edwards). During this recent leg of the Fantastic Planet tour, Failure opened up for label mates Soul Coughing as well as performing various radio shows. Singer Ken Andrews acknowledged this fact by starting off the set by saying that they only got to play 6 or 7 songs as openers, and that tonight they would be playing a lot more songs, much to the delight of the crowd. The band was much more talkative than usual and seemed to be very relaxed. For those who have not caught Failure live, it is of interest to note that Andrews (vocals/guitar) and Edwards (bass) are somewhat ambidextrous when performing live. Before performing 'Frogs' the two exchanged instrument, and Andrews introduced the song as being about 'amphibian reptiles'. This exchange of instruments is due to their fluid songwriting, with both individuals contributing lyrics, bass and guitar lines, and even drum rifts. In fact during soundcheck, when drummer Kellii Scott was indisposed searching for drum parts, Edwards stepped in on drum duties. Troy Van Leeuwen, a recent addition to the Failure line-up, certainly demonstrated the depth he adds to the band through both his talented guitar leads and his backing vocals. A highlight of the show was when both he and Edwards provided backing vocals to 'Blank' singing 'Bop Bop Bop', which had me reminiscing of barbershop quartets. What's a real rock show without a cover tune? Tonight's token cover tune was the Gary Numan song, 'Are Friends Electric' a la Replicants. The Replicants was a project Edwards and Andrews worked on with members of Tool and Zaum after they completed Fantastic Planet -- a whole album's worth of cover tunes. This song was great to hear live, as the Replicants have never toured, and my guess is they probably never will. The encore was simply amazing with Greg and Troy, both on guitar, starting off with Segue 3. Failure finished off their performance with two songs off their earlier albums. The show ended with 'Screen Man' off of 'Comfort' which seems to be becoming a signature encore. The intimacy of the show compacted with a brilliant performance made for one breathtaking aural experience. If you have the opportunity to see Failure live ... do so, for in the proverbial words of Yoda 'Try not, do. There is no try.' - mike lin |