The only time I’ve missed a Failure show since their post-1990s reunion was due to illness. I will see them at any opportunity, and so should you. Seeing them at a small venue like The Pyramid Scheme was an easy decision (as was the meet-and-greet beforehand). How would you not want to sit in on a Failure soundcheck? Those guys are some of the best musicians and producers in the business. They were all gracious and happy to chat with everyone for close to an hour. My stepdaughter walked out with three shirts – two Failure shirts and one Quannic shirt.
Quannic, if you didn’t know, are a young shoegaze band who put on a good set of 90s-style shoegaze rock that matched well with Failure’s set. Quannic’s drummer got in a serious workout during the set, and his bass drum head ended up with a jagged hole in it by the end.
Failure opened with “Crash Test Delayed” from their new album, Location Lost, and then walloped the crowd with “Saturday Savior” and “Sergeant Politeness” from Fantastic Planet. Two young women behind me, who were seeing them for the first time, about had out-of-body experiences during the double-shot.
“Undone” was a pleasant deep cut surprise, and it was great to hear “Counterfeit Sky” live. “A Way Down” from the new album followed, and then another short Fantastic Planet set followed that which included “Solaris,” “Smoking Umbrellas” (which I hadn’t heard live in a long while), “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” and “Another Space Song” (which always makes me cry).
They came back for a solid encore of “The Rising Skyline,” “Stuck on You,” and “Heliotropic.” The finale always leaves the audience stunned because no one can figure out how they generate that much power. I’m not even sure if they know. They just enter a Zen flow and let the cosmos flow through them.
It’s like that every show for the entire time, really. This one is the best show I’ve seen in 2026 so far.
Keep your mind open.
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