I hadn’t seen Failure live since 1997 – when Lollapalooza still toured. They played the second stage late in the date and put on a killer set – one of the best of the festival. I got to meet three of the (at the time) four lads – Ken Andrews, Kellii Scott, Greg Edwards, and Tory Van Leeuwen (who would later go on to join Queens of the Stone Age) – after their set, where they signed their photo in the festival program.
Fast forward twenty-five years later, and Failure were now back with three new albums of original material, a live album, four EPs, and numerous side projects. They’d also done a couple tours by now, and I missed one due to illness. I wasn’t going to miss this show at Chicago’s Bottom Lounge, and when they offered a VIP experience for a great price, I jumped on it.
There were twenty-three of us there for the VIP experience a full four and a half hours before Failure went on stage. We had early access to the merch table (and our own exclusive VIP merch), but even better – a meet and greet with the band and the opportunity to watch their three-song sound check.
Afterward, we got to hang out with Failure for nearly two hours. They chatted with all of us, signed anything we asked them to sign (and some things they requested to sign – i.e., “Let me sign your VIP badge!”), and posed for a photo with each of us. We heard plenty of stories about the making of their new album Wild Type Droid (review coming soon), possible re-releases of side projects, and how the pandemic affected their touring schedule and everything else. They were extremely gracious and kind to everyone there. The highlight of the meet and greet for me was being able to tell each of them how much “Another Space Song” (from their 1995 masterpiece Fantastic Planet) has come to mean to me since my wife’s death in 2021. I choked up with each telling of the story, and all of them were thankful to hear how the song has become one of hope for me.
We had time after the meet and greet to drop off our merch at our vehicles and come back for a bite and / or a drink at the Bottom Lounge’s restaurant before heading in for the main show – which was either a sell-out or a near sell-out. The place was packed.
Their opening act was a half-hour clip of the upcoming documentary about the band, which made even more eager to see it. The addition of the Ren & Stimpy episode “Space Madness” before their set was also a nice, fun touch – as a lot of the band’s music has themes of space, the cosmos, and the effects of both on one’s mind.
They came out gunning with tracks like “Submarines,” “Macaque,” and “Frogs,” spanning some of their earliest material to their newest. I’d forgotten how powerful they are live, and their sound engineers did a top-notch job. Greg Edwards’ guitar tones are like the sound of magic happening in front of you, Kellii Scott has some of the best chops of any drummer in all of rock, and Ken Andrews’ bass riffs were sometimes so heavy it sounded like Failure had become a doom metal band.
The crowd was bonkers by the time they were at “Counterfeit Sky.” The power they were generating could’ve lit up a Las Vegas casino marquee. They saved multiple tracks from Fantastic Planet for their encore – and, yes, I did cry when they played “Another Space Song.”
Everyone left with a buzz pin their bodies and / or ears. This was the best show I’ve seen so far this year, and I will always be thankful to Failure for offering the VIP experience to us beforehand. Don’t miss them if they come near you.
Keep your mind open.
[Thanks also to the mighty Rebecca, who ran the VIP experience and worked hard for everyone.]
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