Ladytron < The Faint @ The Fillmore, 4/29/09

It was the first night of The Faint and Ladytron’s two night mini residency at The Fillmore. As co-headliners, each band would take a turn closing (imagine that!). Guess which night I picked? The Faint’s closing night, because I just like them like that.

It was to be my first time seeing Ladytron. I’ve skipped out on seeing them several times because I’ve heard mixed things. The band comes out to take their spots at what are essentially five stations of electronic doo dads. The 2 front women are kind of an odd pair- the pixie, who’s hairstyle is mimicked throughout the crowd, and the scary one. I say ‘scary’ because this woman’s intensity, paired with her starkly contrasting ’80s dress and flats, conjured up the movie Secretary for me. I just couldn’t get it out of my head.

Ladytron crafts some stellar beats, and they sound very good live. But, they are confined to their workstations, and generally seem to lack enthusiasm for the majority of the set. Perhaps this is in comparison to what I know I will be getting from The Faint, but frankly, I got bored. Maybe the vocals are too girly for me, “They only want you when you’re seventeen…When you’re twenty-one, you’re no fun”. Honestly, I don’t want to be reminded of that right now, thanks.

During the break, a couple people leave on the rail and we walk over and take their spots. I thought they were bored waiting for The Faint, too, but apparently the Ladytron fans just don’t move during the set. Watching the setup, and knowing that most of the guys set up their own equipment, I came to a shocking discovery. Joel, the bassist, and Clark, the drummer, look like they’ve lost their razors somewhere along their massive, non-stop tour. And the real shocker, Dapose comes waltzing out with short hair. NOOOO!!!!

The set begins, surprisingly, with ‘Mirror Error’ (‘Danse’ and ‘Agenda’ had taken turns opening all last year). Todd has lost the Dr. Horrible ensemble and now is heavily guylinered. I’m jumping around when I notice that I can hear myself singing, which- let me tell you- is NEVER a good thing under any circumstance. The sound was oddly quiet- not sure what was going on there.

Moving into the set, we heard the usual suspects, the oldies but goodies. ‘The Conducter’ was a great one to hear again, as was ‘Southern Belles’, which hadn’t made it into the set at any of last year’s shows. Still missing ‘Erection’ though…

The last Faint show I went to was pretty rough. Long story short- I kinda ended up choking a girl. But this time, no one touched me, nor I them, and I had room to dance around, which was great. Todd was making use of the stage, shaking the mic like a maraca, posing for the cameras. Jacob has even more crazy moves- no longer is there just a backbend, but a twist side step backbend like an olympic event or something. Joel, however, I’m a little worried about. To be honest, he looks a bit strung out. I think the guys need a good long break after this tour.

I came home with a poster and a setlist (my third Faint setlist!). Considering this is my fifth time seeing them in the past year, there is really nothing more for me to write about them (at least, until I get that interview I’ve been begging them for). I think this will be my last Faint show for awhile…but if you still haven’t seen them, I don’t know what is wrong with you (swine flu?), but you better get your ass in gear and do it now. They never disappoint.

OVERALL: 8.5/10
The Faint performance: 9/10
Ladytron performance: 7/10
venue (The Fillmore): 9/10
crowd/scene: 8/10
value ($41.50/ticket): 7.5/10
memorable: 7/10