“For the upcoming Tree of Stars tour, since people have not seen us play in so long, we want to be able to play a wide breadth of material from all three of our albums. Having an opening act would cut down our set list options significantly. Therefore in lieu of the traditional opening band we will be playing a short opening film followed by an extended set of Failure songs. We hope this meets with your satisfaction.”
This is the message that Failure put on their website to set expectations for the band’s first tour since 1997, and it’s genius.
But really, who goes to artist websites anymore, right? Regardless, the Los Angeles trio are having one hell of a year so far. First an opening slot on the Tool tour, then their epic celebration of Maynard James Keenan’s 50 at the Greek, followed by the announcment of a full US tour, and finally the new studio material in the form of Tree of Stars. Does it get any better than this?
Yes, it does. The live show is simply spectacular. These guys are pulling out all the stops for the “comeback” tour. An evening with Failure is exactly what it should be—’90s alt rock bliss turned up to eleven, devoted fans waiting in the wings, and ultimately a mindblowing performance executed flawlessly.
It’s truly a triumphant return of a band that should have been much bigger during their time.
Opening up with the classic “Another Space Song” from the band’s 1997 masterpiece Fantastic Planet, the set list for the evening was broken into two parts and culled from the band’s three LPs. There would be plenty to choose from including a brilliant performance of “The Nurse who Loved Me” (which was famously covered by A Perfect Circle on Thirteenth Step), “Heliotropic,” and “Smoking Umbrellas” just to name a few.
As both a fan and a music blogger/ ex music industry professoinal, I have never seen a band do a better job returning to the stage after a 17 year hiatus.
Ken Andrews and company are not just doing a tour and reliving their glory days, instead Failure is delivering a full-on content experience and one that other artists should take note of. THIS is how you stage a comeback for the ages.
Failure have released their first new studio material in nearly two decades. “Come Crashing” appears on the band’s EP Tree of Stars, which will be available on their current reunion tour throughout North America.
Check out all the photos is hi res at the gallery.
