The Faint Is Bringing Their Egowerk Tour To Fine Line 8/12

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When you go to a show almost every night, it means a lot when you say that a band is in your top 50 live shows of all time. Well, The Faint is in my top ten and they will be making a stop at The Fine Line on Monday, August 12th for a show that you truly don’t want to miss.

At its genesis, social-media platforms posited themselves as new, innovative ways to connect with friends and family. You could share and promote your work, trade insights on the latest pop-culture phenomenon, coo over a friend’s new pet or baby—the possibilities seemed as boundless as the Internet itself had in the early ‘90s.

But as one platform begot another, and then another, the proverbial milk started to curdle. Especially in the last decade, as algorithms evolve, Facebook and Twitter have morphed into warped personalized mirrors, where users can gaze at and react to left- or right-leaning news sources, specific-to-them advertisements, and—perhaps most relevant—fiery political opinions. Facebook in particular has become a breeding ground for hate speech and bullying, among other issues.

This is precisely what troubles Omaha electro-punk pioneers The Faint on their forthcoming seventh studio album, Egowerk, which arrived on March 15, 2019 via Saddle Creek. “Social media is turning well-meaning people into self-important cruel monsters,” asserts lead singer Todd Fink. “Egowerk’s focus is on the current social state of the Internet: an amazing world of free knowledge, communication, and opportunity is proving to be a toxic battleground.  One where the people most sure of their opinion are quick to take a stand and destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with them.”

Despite The Faint’s nihilistic musings on Egowerk, Fink and Baechle remain optimistic that things can improve if society is willing to absorb dueling perspectives. “The more you learn about any issue, any issue at all, the more you understand that it’s more complicated than you think,” Fink says. “I’d like to see people less convinced that they’re right about everything all the time. I guess I think we’ll figure it out as time goes on.”

Opening up for The Faint will be Ritual Howls. Detroit’s Paul Bancell, Ben Saginaw and Chris Samuels are Ritual Howls. They collect samples of the physical world and feed them with guitar, vox, bass, synth and drum machines to create an aura of darkness over a pop sensibility. Paul Bancell provides lyrics that Lovecraft would approve of while Chris Samuels and Ben Saginaw provide sounds that bring his macabre tales lurching into the world of the living. Collaboratively, Ritual Howls create a surreal, introspective gloom that could fuel a disco in hell, a soundtrack to your favorite nightmares and most grisly fantasies.

 
Tickets are still available HERE!
 
 
Remaining Tour Dates:
July 30 – New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom 
Aug. 2 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts 
Aug. 3 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club 
Aug. 4 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall 
Aug. 6 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop 
Aug. 7 – Detroit, MI – El Club 
Aug. 9 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues 
Aug.10 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave ll (Downstairs) 
Aug.12 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line Music Cafe 
Aug.13 – Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theatre 
Aug.15 – Dallas, TX – Gas Monkey Live! 
Aug.16 – Austin, TX – Scoot Inn 
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