Awesome. They always put on a good show. Jenny’s got some new moves for their new songs – especially Smoke Detector, which follows in the tradition of The Frug in its celebration of random (and made-up?) dance moves. There were lots of smiles; the band looked like they were having fun and the crowd was into it. They played a good mix of old and new stuff. I totally forgot about the song I Never and it was great live. Jenny’s voice sounds better than ever. I think she has acquired more range; loved hearing Close Call and her vocal stylings near the end of the song.

Hearing the new songs live makes me like them even better. The disco/cheesiness/ballad/beats/performance/fun vibe really works in a live setting — so much better than on the cd. There was a definite dance party going on during Breakin’ Up, and Fifteen is a really fun, lively song, especially for being about creepy internet stalkers preying on underage girls. There’s all this talk about the 70s influence and Fleetwood Mac, and while I can definitely hear the 70s influence, the record is also very 80s to me. Some of it could really be the result of hitting the “demo” button on an old Casio…and this band has never disguised their love of the 80s. And I don’t think it’s an ironic/tongue-in-cheek kind of love either, it’s the real thing. That’s what I love about them. That was a bit of a digression…just on my mind.

Greetings in Braille (which I’ve been listening to a lot lately even though it’s years old…it really is a good song) and Rise Up With Fists were thrown in there. They opened with It’s a Hit, closed with Does He Love Her? and had a bunch of good songs in between, including Portions for Foxes, Spectacular Views, Wires and Waves, and With Arms Outstretched (always a crowd favorite, sing-a-long style).

I’m heading to Minnesota tomorrow, where I get to see them again with my sisters – reunion! I’m excited. More to come.

Fireworks was the theme of the night on Thursday. I drove downtown to Sokol, taking the 13th Street exit, which happens to be the same exit that the thousands of college baseball fans around the world take to go to Rosenblatt Stadium, the site of the College World Series. It was a pre-opening celebration, and I was there just in time for the traffic and the fireworks. I sat in my car watching the red brake lights blink and the red, white, and blue fireworks explode. There were some purple and green too, I think, but baseball is America’s pastime, so the red, white and blue seemed to be the colors of choice.

I arrived in Sokol just in time to see a big, burly Sokol worker frantically screaming, “Call the cops! Call the cops right now! Get that guy off stage!” This was a bit alarming. I imagined a guy with a gun jumping onstage and being psychotic. What I didn’t picture was the half of the duo Services totally naked onstage. He was promptly escorted off stage and arrested. The other half of the duo proceeded to fake hang himself with his tie, making a face not unlike Harold in the opening of Harold and Maude. Quite the fireworks to open the night!

The energetic, dance-tastic members of The Faint kept the night’s fireworks alive with their driving bass, pulsing beats, and super fine dance moves. They played a lot of their classics, such as “Worked Up So Sexual”, “Glass Danse”, “Take Me to the Hospital”, “Agenda Suicide”, “Paranoiattack”, and “Posed to Death” (love this song). They also played about 4 new songs. One was slower, one was about “ever growing centipedes”, another was introduced as “The Geeks Were Right.”

They came out and said, “It’s great to be home,” getting a huge cheer from the hometown crowd who had already gotten into the dancing mood from the beats coming out of the Sokol speakers before The Faint even came on.

It was great to see the classic moves of the band: Jacob’s 360s and full backbend touch the floor moves. Todd’s gospel revival movements, air drum playing along with the beat, and smiles. Clark’s hard hitting, sweaty long hair thrashing on the drums. DaPose’s side to side hip move/slide, often accompanied by a snap…pretty flamboyant looking for someone who looks they could’ve been in Slayer. And Joel’s more subtle arms up, occasional rocking out, otherwise bobbing to the beat. It’s oddly comforting to see a band you haven’t seen in awhile displaying their signature styles and moves…it’s the same for Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, the White Stripes, etc. It brought a smile to my face and made me feel kind of like everything was right in the world. Who knew that rock/dance music could provide security and stability as well as the feeling of freedom and endless possibility?

Todd made a point about how his friend was arrested for “being in the most natural state of himself he could be in.” He then conducted an informal poll of if people really minded nudity. The majority seemed not to mind nudity, but I have to say, the vote was quite close. This was probably a little closer to Todd’s heart considering he was also arrested for indecent exposure when he mooned the crowd while on tour with No Doubt. Maybe a group will be started: Rock crusaders for Nudity. They already have a few members in Omaha.

Sokol was also super hot. I was in the balcony and danced about 90% less than usual, and was still sweating. The majority of the attendees were completely soaked, including the 50 year old couple that I walked out behind. Their button downs and khaki shorts were soaked through and sticking to their skin. I hope they thought it was worth it. They stayed the whole time, which says something.