There are times that a band comes through town that you feel compelled to go see them. Maybe they played a big role in your life, maybe they influenced you to pick up that guitar that is now collecting dust in the corner of your office. Or perhaps you feel like you may never have the chance to catch them again. That’s the feeling I had while getting prepared to head to Trees on Sunday night to see Failure. I’ve talked about this a few times on our podcast, I feel like I have reached the point in my life that it’s easier for me to list off the bands that I haven’t seen, than those I have. There are a few that reside on the “haven’t seen” list that I will never have the chance to see, ie, Tom Petty, AC/DC, and David Bowie. And with the chaos this world has gone through over the last couple of years, I was beginning to wonder if Failure would ever hit the road again. It had been since Lollapalooza ’97 since I had last seen them. But to my surprise, not only did they release a new album, Wild Type Droid, in December of last year, but they also announced a tour in support of it for this June and July.
As I made my way to Dallas I also began to wonder if the band would mesmerize me as they did with the 1994 album Magnified, or slap me across the face as they did with the 1996 album Fantastic Planet. Both albums have been heralded as two of the most influential albums of the 90s. I’m happy to report, that as the band took the stage and started chugging through old familiar riffs and distorted bass lines, it all took me back to a happy place in my youth, and reminded me of why I picked up my bass and tried to make it as nasty and spacey as possible. For the next hour and a half, Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii Scott waltzed through their entire catalog, with the majority of the set consisting of tracks off Fantastic Planet and Wild Type Droid. The crowd fed off the trio’s continuous sonic waves, track after track, at times singing along to those anthems of their youth as well as the brand new material. It was another intimate night in this post-lockdown world that completely rattled my bones. I enjoyed every single bit of it.
For an interesting little change-up, the band decided to ditch having an opener for this tour, and instead, they opted to show 30 minutes from an upcoming documentary about the band that will be released in 2023. The documentary features appearances from Hayley Williams, Jason Schwartzman, Maynard James Keenan, Tommy Lee, Butch Vig, Troy Sanders, Margaret Cho, Troy Van Leeuwen, and more. Most of those listed spent time talking about how Failure influenced them and their way of writing and creating music. Here is a link to an extended trailer for the upcoming documentary.
There are still quite a few dates available to catch them as they make a counterclockwise rotation around the country, and I highly recommend you do. As for myself, I really hope this isn’t the last time we get to see them roll through our little outpost.
Future stops on this tour:
June 14 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
June 15 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
June 16 – New Orleans, LA @ The Parish Room at House of Blues
June 17 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
June 18 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
June 19 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
June 21 – Raleigh, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
June 22 – Baltimore, MD @ Sound Stage
June 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
June 24 – New York, NY @ Warsaw
June 25 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
June 26 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
June 28 – Detroit, MI @ The Crofoot
June 29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
June 30 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
July 01 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
July 02 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
July 05 – Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s
July 06 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
July 07 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
July 08 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theatre
