D.C. hipsters of all kinds flocked to the 9:30 club Sunday to dance their troubles away to the sweet 'danse'-punk-retro-new-wave-noise-core of Omaha, Neb.'s the Faint and their songs about sex and violence. Having built a reputation for loud, dark, danceable beats, the Faint came to the District with all stops firmly and irrevocably pulled. Everyone in the crowd, and even the poor saps without tickets who were waiting outside the sold-out show, seemed somewhat excited - which is a feat for the cynical '80s-night set.
The Faint was preceded by two openers, label-and-city mates Beep Beep, and Brooklyn's TV on the Radio. The former played a good 35 minutes, all of which were entirely laborious and undeserved. They screamed like an uninspired Blood Brothers, they made dumb jokes between songs, and one of the guitarists grinned like Sean William Scott on way too much pot. In the words of one incensed concert-goer: "Beep Beep, get out of the way and bring on the next band."
Then came the gospel of TV on the Radio. The biggest thing that separated them from the rest of the bands on the bill was that they had soul. From the first song they proved to be tight and in control. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe hopped around the stage as if possessed. He proved, quite refreshingly, that one could be a contributing member of this thing called indie rock and still honestly express emotion without cynicism. Highlights of their set include "Dreams" and "Staring at the Sun" from this year's "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes" LP, and "Satellite" from the Young Liars EP. TV on the Radio is a refreshing and original band that put on a great show, despite what the little girls standing behind me said.
When TV on the Radio's 40-minute set ended some people left, but more seemed to pile in. The huge hall was filled with a sea of white belts, skinny ties, lip rings and swooping hair that surged its way ever closer to the stage. It's hard to say what the big deal is with Omaha and why kids feel so strongly for the music that comes out of it. It's a mystery.
"The Faint is coming up next to slap you in the face," TV on the Radio said at the end of their set. All the kids seemed ready to be slapped in the face, and waved their hands in the air like they just didn't care to show it. The opening song, "Birth," got the crowd riled to a level that didn't drop until the last song of the evening. If the Faint know how to do anything, they know how to get the kids going.
Highlights of the 50-minute set were mostly off of the last two records, "Agenda Suicide" and "Posed to Death" off "Danse Macabre," and "Worked up so Sexual" on "Blank-Wave Arcade." A delightful cover of the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" added to the evening, while paying homage to one of the dance bands from which they borrow at least a little something.
Going to the show was a little like stepping into another world. All these kids, most of whom would scoff at the idea of going to a regular dance club, were shaking it like a Lulu's Friday night. And it was really impossible not to move. Everyone was packed like tiny fishes on the floor and moved en masse to the throbbing beats and synth riffs - riffs that burrowed holes in your chest, that vibrated inside you.
Throughout the set, the Faint played Flash animation videos behind them on two massive screens. The movies for the most part echoed the content of the songs. For example, during the song "Paranoiaattack," off the new record "Wet From Birth," the screens showed Fox News' resident Droopy look-alike, Brit Hume, magically singing the words to the song. It was clever, but when they started showing desert war scenes and bombs, it was a bit too much. Unjust war, blah blah. We'll vote, but these kids just want to dance.
