FACS played Union Pool (review), announce spring tour dates
Chicago trio FACS are currently in the middle of a short Northeast tour where they’re previewing songs off their forthcoming fifth album, Still Life in Decay (out 4/7 via Trouble in Mind). That hit Brooklyn on Valentine’s Day for a show at Union Pool that was part of the venue’s Free Tuesdays series. Most of their set was from the new album — plus a few older songs like “Strawberry Cough” — but FACS fans tend to be comfortable with the new, and the crowd was into very into it.
The Union Pool show was the first time I’d seen FACS since Jonathan van Herik, who was an original member of FACS (and Disappears before that) but left before their first album was released, had rejoined the band. Van Herik was beaming the whole show, blasting out steely, sky-scraping bass lines that were powered by Noah Leger’s immensely powerful drumming and buoyed by frontman Brian Case’s atmospheric guitarwork. They are heavy but also ambient, somewhere between post-rock and post-hardcore, with a strong dose of post-punk. They are a phenomenal live band — go see them if they play near you.
Fine Place, the duo of Frankie Rose and Matthew Hord (Running, Pop. 1280), played a short opening set of songs from 2021’s This New Heaven. As usual, Frankie’s looped vocal harmonies were the star of the show. Frankie’s got a new solo album out in March.
FACS play Kingston tonight, Troy, NY on Thursday, and will be back on the road in the spring, including record release shows in Milwaukee and Chicago in April, and then more Northeast dates in May. Those include another NYC show, this one at TV Eye on May 18 with P.E. and Bedridden. All dates are listed, along with the video for “What You Say” from the new album, below.
FACS – 2023 TOUR DATES
Wed, FEB 15 – Tubby’s – Kingston, NY
Thu, FEB 16 – No Fun – Troy, NY
Thu, APR 6 – Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI
Fri, APR 7 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
Mon, MAY 15 – THE GOVERNMENT CENTER – Pittsburgh, PA
Tue, MAY 16 – DC9 – Washington, DC
Wed, MAY 17 – PhilaMOCA – Philadelphia, PA
Thu, MAY 18 – TV Eye – Ridgewood, NY
Fri, MAY 19 – Fete Music Hall – Providence, RI
Sat, MAY 20 – La Sotterenea – Montréal, Canada
Sun, MAY 21 – The Garrison – Toronto, Canada
Jul. 28 – 29, 2023 – HI-FI & HI-FI Annex – Indianapolis, IN
