Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow
Written and Directed by: Kerry Conran
Starring: Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi

Remember those old black and white sci-fi serials from the 30’s like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon? Hmmm… neither do I. And somehow I doubt first-time director Kerry Conran does either, but that hasn’t stopped him from recreating a highly stylized, visually stunning modern representation of what these fantastical adventures were like. Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow is the first movie shot completely with blue screen techniques; that is to say, the first movie where everything except the actors are digitally created. You may wonder how the latest computer graphics technology could possibly generate images similar to a 30’s sci-fi TV show, but by applying cutting edge filters to mimic the Technicolor process, the super cool retro look of the movie was achieved.

Seeing this movie on the big screen, it does take a little time for your eyes to adjust to the look. The soft lighting and grainy colours make it blurry and hard to focus on at first (a complaint many people had about Star Wars Episode II). I think this is another movie that will look better on DVD than on film because of its native digital format. The visuals do work great though, they are believable and consistent. Conran took the one thing that never looks real in CGI movies (human beings) and brought them into a CGI world, allowing him to place the actors literally anywhere his imagination could take them. The computer effects stand up well to close examination, as I found myself often wondering just how many props, doors and other objects were small exceptions to the otherwise strictly digital landscape. It’s hard to tell. A few of the backdrops do look a little too much like scenery out of Lord Of The Rings movies though, and they didn’t fit the tone of the movie.

The story of Sky Captain is not a complicated one, and is heavily influenced by the sci-fi serials it tries to emulate. The story takes place in New York City in 1939, with a news reporter named Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) chasing down a caper involving some disappearing scientists around the world. When the city is attacked by an army of giant robots, she meets up with her old flame Jack aka Sky Captain (Jude Law), a heroic vigilante pilot and his sidekick, technology whiz Dex (Giovanni Ribisi). Together they set off across the globe hot on the trail of an evil mastermind named Dr. Totenkopf.

Basically, take every adventure movie you’ve ever seen and mix them together and you’ve got Sky Captain - Indiana Jones, Star Wars, The Rocketeer, and the Wizard of Oz… you’ll find elements of all these movies here. Conran even included a scene in a movie theatre where The Wizard Of Oz is playing on the screen, probably to emphasize the fact that he isn’t stealing from these movies per se, but rather “borrowing” out of respect. The uber-nerds will also find plenty of hidden references to old sci-fi flicks like the Godzilla movies and King Kong if they look hard enough. The plot is pretty thin and the characters are two-dimensional, and I found this to be the only real problem with the film. Although it’s clear the formulaic story was intended as both a throwback and a tribute, I was hoping for something a little more original. With all the visual power behind Sky Captain, they could have created a whole new world and really run with it.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s character is annoying at first (although maybe it was the actress more than the character that bothered me), but in the end the chemistry between her and Jude Law grew to be entertaining. When they finally found a comfortable rhythm, the campy sense of humour began to shine through. Too often, however, the scenes seemed too rushed and the pace of the movie too fast for its own good. There was no time to build up emotion or suspense, so you could never really care about the characters or see them as anything more than cardboard cut-outs.

With Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, Kerry Conran has created a movie primarily for himself, finishing a personal project that he has wanted to do all his life. But when the thrill of the movie’s innovative visual effects has worn off, what’s left is a story and characters that are pretty disposable. Sky Captain is a lot of fun, and an impressive feat in its own right. However, I can’t see it being remembered years from now as a landmark film, more than likely it will be a small footnote in movie history. After all, the special effects may dazzle you, but in the end it’s the story and characters you remember most of all. — Sean

Fable (X-Box)
Developed by: Lionhead Studios
Published by: Microsoft

Fable has been a long time in the making, and with renowned designer Peter Molyneux (Populous, Black & White, Theme Park) at the helm, expectations were high. Fable is not your typical Molyneux strategy/sim game either. Touted as an open-ended action/adventure RPG where your character grows up over time and your decisions shape his appearance and abilities (along with the others’ perceptions of your character), Fable has been an ambitious project right from the start. Maybe a little too ambitious.

It seems that the development team at Lionhead was forced to gradually scale back a lot of the innovative features that were originally promised. What we are left with upon its release is an adventure game comparable to a graphically superior Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, using a Grand Theft Auto style mission-based quest system and a Knights Of The Old Republic morality scale to develop your character. In addition, however, there are still a handful of cool concepts introduced that have never been done before in RPGs, and while the core of Fable may not be groundbreaking, it is still a very fun game.

The first thing you may notice about the game is the high production value. Parts of the story are told through medieval-style paintings and narration, giving it an epic and historic feel (although it takes place in a fantasy world named Albion, not on Earth during the Middle Ages). The music also significantly ups the ante, with a title theme composed by Danny Elfman and the rest of the game’s music penned by Lionhead Studios sound man Russell Shaw, it bares similarity to other great fantasy soundtracks like the Lord Of The Rings movies and Zelda games, with its own subtle sense of mystery and intrigue. The game’s sound effects also make the world spring to life around you — knocking on the door of a house at night may cause a dog to start barking in the background, for example — and the voice acting is some of the best I’ve heard in a game (it helps that Lionhead Studios is based in England because the British accents seem so much more proper). Graphically speaking, Fable does not disappoint, often making use of the popular new Bloom lighting technique to give the environments and characters a soft glow. The tone of the game is mostly light-hearted, which may turn off some of the X-Box fanbase. It’s cartoony but not in that family-friendly “primary colours” Nintendo way.

So what is this blasted game all about? You start off as a nameless young boy whose town is attacked and burned to the ground by bandits. Did I mention that your father is murdered and your mother and sister are kidnapped? Pretty generic stuff really. From this point you are rescued by a mysterious man who brings you to the Heroes’ Guild where you will be trained to become (what else?) a hero. Thus your teenage years are played out as you learn the various combat techniques in the game, after which you are set free to explore the world and take on various quests.

Combat and controls are for the most part similar to Zelda, complete with the patented “Z-targeting” feature (and both its benefits and annoyances). You have 3 main areas of expertise that are developed over time: melee attacks, ranged weapon attacks, and magic. The controls are all easy to learn but have enough flexibility that you can choose your favourite types of attacks to specialize in. This specialization can affect your character’s development over time, as a character that relies on his sword and brute force will develop a muscular physique, whereas a magic user will age faster and eventually lose his hair, for example. You can mix and match quite a bit though, spending various skill points to level up various areas of your choice.

The quest system attempts to be open-ended, but it’s not nearly as huge and explorative as, say, Morrowind. Most of the side quests are just small favours you can do for people. You can’t get too far off track since you will hear a voice reminding you of what major task should do next if you wander around for a bit, kind of like Navi in Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The thing is, it’s sometimes hard to navigate through the world as the map system isn’t very intuitive, and nothing in the world is clearly labelled. The instruction manual is of little help and many of the gameplay concepts are left open for you to experiment with on your own. But it is this experimentation with non-essential elements of the game that allow you to get the most out of Fable.

Where the game tries to set itself apart from other action RPGs is with character progression and NPC interaction. Throughout the game you have the opportunity to perform both good and evil deeds, and these will affect how others react to you. When you perform a good or evil task you will gain good or evil points (just like KOTOR) and eventually this will affect your player. If you continue to play the role of the kind-hearted knight in shining armour, you will eventually get a halo above your head and an angelic glow about you, attracting people to you. (You can actually get married in this game.) If you terrorize people and loot towns, you will eventually sprout horns and be followed around by a cloud of flies, causing people to cower from you or look away in disgust.

Unfortunately everything in the game is very black and white (ironic, I know). If you do something bad and get caught, you will immediately be reprimanded by city guards and forced to pay a fine (unless you want to fight them). There is not as much fun in playing a balanced character, as only the extreme cases receive a noticeable change in their character’s progression. In the end, playing the “evil” side isn’t as beneficial either since you still have to complete certain quests and become the “hero” you are destined to be. You can further customize your appearance with tattoos, hairstyles, and by earning (or buying) “titles” that people will come to know you by (”Chicken Chaser” and “Piemaster” being my favourites, thus far). Supposedly if you go on an eating binge you can cause your character to gain a lot of weight too… I’ll have to try that one out sometime.

Adding to your ability to interact with people are a list of emotes which grows over time, and can be used to elicit responses from NPCs. From giggling and flirting, to farting and belching (you KNOW certain people could spend endless hours amusing themselves with just those two emotes alone), sometimes these can accomplish something useful, but most of the time they just produce generic reactions. Even the generic reactions are fun for a while though. In the game you can build up “renown” by showing off, bragging or doing heroic things in front of as many witnesses as possible. With more renown comes greater rewards on quests.

While many of these interactions are cool on a surface level, they do not significantly change one’s experience of the game. The story does not take different paths based on your choices, and although there are reportedly a few slightly different endings, the story is quite linear. Thankfully, the majority of the linear game is fun, and fans of Zelda or Morrowind will definitely want to check out what is likely to become Microsoft’s own patented adventure franchise. The mixing of sim-game elements with an RPG has never really been done before and it still makes Fable one of the most interesting games to come out this year. The only problem is, all the hype had most people expecting the “wow factor” on this game to be just a little bit higher than it actually turned out to be. — Sean

Trekkies 2 (DVD)
Directed by: Roger Nygard
Starring: Denise Crosby and a bunch of trekkies

Star Trek fans have been an obvious target of derision for many years now; their love for a fictional universe and its characters often goes above and beyond what most people would say is normal or healthy. The 1997 documentary Trekkies set out to both poke fun at and validate the dedication of a wide variety of Star Trek lovers, and it did exactly that. There were Star Trek fans who were unhappy with some of the weird images it portrayed, however, and those fans will probably be none too happy to find out that the filmmakers have decided to revisit the material for a sequel. Personally, I couldn’t be more pleased.

You’d think that seven years later, material for another Trekkies movie would be hard to come by. After all, Trek itself is on the ropes as of late with the only active Star Trek TV series (Enterprise) staving off cancellation, and the last Star Trek feature film (Nemesis) performing poorly at the box office and putting the future of the film franchise in question. But Denise Crosby and director Roger Nygard needed only to peek outside the confines of the United States to find a limitless supply of wild and crazy Star Trek enthusiasts that would make Trekkies 2 a reality.

It’s clear from the start that Trekkies 2 does not possess the same level of hilarity that the original Trekkies had going for it. Most of the new people introduced in this movie are not as interesting or as memorable as the ones featured in Trekkies, and in fact, the best moments in the sequel are the ones where we revisit personalities like the ultimate fanboy Gabriel Koerner and Whitewater Juror Barbara Adams. However, this may be because Trekkies 2 strives to showcase the true extent of Star Trek’s fandom in all its shapes and forms as opposed to getting well acquainted with just a few nutty individuals. Some of the fans featured in this documentary simply aren’t all that wacky, but this may have been a conscious decision to balance out the images of Trekkies that are portrayed in the film (so as not to offend any more “Trekkers” who take themselves a little too seriously). But as Star Trek writer/producer Brannon Braga points out, a movie about all the boring, everyday Trekkies would not be all that fascinating… and Trekkies 2 proves this at times.

But don’t for a minute think that Trekkies 2 does not have its share of classic moments. In their worldly travels, the filmmakers meet up with a guy in England who turned his entire flat into an authentic- looking Star Trek: TNG set complete with transporter (and nowhere to sleep), a priest in Italy who conducts his services by teaching lessons from Star Trek episodes, and they even find Star Trek fans amidst the people of previously war-torn Serbia.

There is also a feature on “filk” music (the pursuit of folk singers who write songs about Star Trek and other sci-fi characters) and a number of Star Trek tribute bands including Stovokor, a Klingon metal band. There is also interview footage with some Star Trek actors and writers mixed in, which are pretty interesting as well… especially the segment about the weird stuff that the writers receive in the mail.

The movie wouldn’t be complete without revisiting Lieutenant-Commander Barbara Adams, the woman who wore her Star Trek uniform while attending jury duty. In her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, we meet some of her co-workers (including one simple fellow who thinks Star Trek would be better if it was “more like Star Wars”), and also a rather loopy member of her fan club who firmly believes in ET’s.

Gabriel Koerner ends up stealing the show however. Best known from the first movie for the line, “This is the worst possible time you could call me!”, he has become a cult hero to many. This time around, not only do we get to meet his wife (no, that’s not a typo) but we also learn that he is working as a visual effects artist now, and in fact contributed some of his CGI work to this movie. He is also working on a fan film, which is included in the special features on the DVD.

Nygard and Crosby treat the people they interview with respect and a certain restrained curiosity, and as a result the movie has a good-natured feel to it. Of course, it helps having Crosby involved because she gives the film credibility; it doesn’t feel like someone from outside the Star Trek world looking in and making fun, it feels like someone from inside the Star Trek world trying to understand and celebrate the fans instead.

Trekkies 2 was a direct-to-DVD release, and this is probably the best way to see the movie because some of the extra features are essential. The audio commentary track with Roger Nygard, Denise Crosby, and producer Mike Leahy serves up mostly obvious facts and personal tidbits about the making of the film, but it is the deleted scenes and fan films that complete the experience. There are a ton of deleted scenes, many of which should have been included but were probably cut for timing reasons. The two fan films are Brian Dellis’ “The Final Frontier: Revisited”, a rather dull but briefly amusing Western take on Star Trek (complete with audio commentary — who does this guy think he is??) and Gabriel Koerner’s “Really Bad Star Trek” (an appropriate title).

One thing is clear after seeing Trekkies 2, and that is the universal appeal of Gene Roddenberry’s imaginative worlds, characters and ideas. It also offers proof that obsessive fans are every bit as crazy in the rest of the world as they are in North America. I don’t see Trekkies 2 as being better than the original, it’s more like a companion to it, and it’s worth owning whether you’re a Trekkie, Trekker, or simply a closet fan who refuses to admit to their love for the final frontier. — Sean

theMark - The Catastrophist
(Ind.)

When you sit down to listen to an album that has a black and white DIY photocopied cover and comes burned on a CD-R, there are definitely some biases that need to be overcome right off the bat. You can’t hold a startup band like this to the same standards as you would an experienced group of musicians on an established label. Expectations like that are unfair and unrealistic. And yet, every time you hear a demo or indepedently-released debut album from a band, you’re always hoping that it will turn out to be one of those rare occasions when the music blows you away beyond all expectations.

The truth is, all bands have to get their start somewhere, and building a strong musical repertoire takes time. Simply writing and recording 11 original songs is a major accomplishment in itself and Boston’s theMark have put in a respectable effort with their debut “The Catastrophist”. Unfortunately, the record also suffers from some of the flaws you would expect from a young band, such as the lack of a cohesive style, thin production, and uncertain musical delivery.

The album starts off strong with “Identity Theft” and “Glacier”, two songs that place them firmly in the post-punk/indie rock genre by mixing angular guitar riffs and throbbing rhythms. The vocals seem to be striving for an emotional resonance but they come across as too bare and grating, though the music in general shows promise.

From here theMark start to drop the intriguing guitar work in favour of a more conventional rock sound, reaching out towards something more reminscent of Eve 6 or 3 Doors Down. “Faith In Flight” is a three minute ballad carried completely by soaring vocals and faint guitars that remind me of a bad Metallica slow song. “Coffee Stains & Cigarette Blisters” again had me wishing the shaky vocals were buried in the mix a little more, while the 8-minute “Trains” needlessly extends a simple song beyond reason with a dueling guitar solo jam. The title track “The Catastrophist” hinges on an interesting stop-start pattern and a little bit of metal riffage but without any hooks it fails to leave much of a lasting impression.

The album closes on a high note with “Cluster Bombs”; here we finally get to hear the band shake loose with a burst of energy and some edgier vocal attacks.

theMark prefaces their bio with a dictionary definition of the term “rock n roll”, and it seems fitting because at times their songwriting appears to be guided more by a dictionary definition than on creative impulses. theMark’s musical talent is obvious, but it’s that certain “je ne sais quoi”, the undefinable element of danger and rebellion that is missing from their music. As they continue to refine their influences and develop their chemistry this band will be worth keeping an eye on. However, “The Catastrophist” is a decent debut from a band that still has a ways to go before they can hope to really start turning heads. — Seanc

The Reason - Ravenna
(Smallman)

The Ontario band formerly known as Sewing With Nancie have definitely gone through some changes since the last time I heard them. They’ve renamed themselves to The Reason and refocused their sound with a new style that’s a lot tighter, a lot harder and a lot more in line with current trends. If you dig all the current trends in punk rock, you’re going to love this record. Personally, I have heard enough screaming/singing combos in recent months to last me for at least another 50 years. Do we really need another band like this out there?

I will say this: I can see why Smallman Records decided to sign these guys, because Ravenna is a very solid album in terms of musicianship and production. It was recorded with ex-members of Grade in Burlington and their influence has helped bring out an edgier sound in the band. The Reason combine the glossy melodic new school sound of bands like A New Found Glory and The Starting Line with the hardcore screaming and metallic riffs of Sick Of It All or Earth Crisis. In their bio the band also mentions that they have incorporated dance and funk elements into their sound as well — but that might be stretching it a bit.

Songs like “My Prescription” and “Subways In Pittsburgh” are poppy enough that I could see them played on commercial radio alongside A Simple Plan or Blink 182. On the other hand, songs like “Red Sky At Dawn” and “A Timeless Classic” feature a lot more thrash and hardcore than Muchmusic is probably willing to play — for the moment at least.

The problem is that there are just so many bands that are doing this exact combination of styles right now. Thursday, Senses Fail, Poison The Well, From Autumn To Ashes, Atreyu, Thrice, Alexisonfire … the list goes on. All of these bands have hardcore parts so the angry kids can feel rebellious, and poppy choruses so their girlfriends can swoon and sing along. If you think it’s a good thing that The Reason sound exactly like these bands, then by all means do whatever it takes to get your hands on this 10-song CD. I just find this melding of styles to be almost humourous, as it attempts to fuse two completely opposite ends of the punk rock spectrum.

The high point of the album for me is the only real break in the formula, “Afterparty at the Actor’s Estate”, capturing the bitter melancholy of The Promise Ring and The Alkaline Trio in the lowest energy song of the bunch.

Biases aside, I can’t say The Reason don’t have some catchy hooks and a few breakdowns that “slay”. But when I listen to an album like this, I just can’t help discarding it with the realization that it will not stand the test of time once the trend dies away. It’s clear that there is talent here, but as long as the music is so tightly bound to current conventions, The Reason will never give anyone a real reason to pay closer attention to them. — Sean

ESPN NHL 2K5 (X-Box)
Developed by: Visual Concepts/Kush Games
Published by: Sega

Ahh yes, hockey season is here again. The leaves are falling from the trees, frost is spreading across our window panes, and the first snowflakes are starting to crystallize in the air. Wait a minute… what the–? It seems I’m still wearing shorts. Something’s not quite right here.

This year Sega has once again decided to up the ante by releasing their new ESPN hockey game a good 3 weeks ahead of EA, and at less than half the cost — a true early bird special if I’ve ever seen one. It’s hard to argue with a Canadian price tag of $29.99, especially for gamers who know that Sega’s sports titles have been quickly closing in on EA’s in terms of production value. This year’s ESPN football game received rave reviews and was believed by many critics to be superior to EA’s almighty Madden franchise. As a result, I had high expectations for ESPN NHL 2K5.

Unfortunately, hockey as a sport does not even come close to football in terms of popularity, and the development manpower for the two games appears to have been scaled appropriately. ESPN NHL 2K5 does not meet the high standards set by NFL 2K5, and indeed at first glance it doesn’t even seem to have changed much from NHL 2K4. However, I thought last year’s game was pretty damn good on its own, and 2K5 contains a number of subtle improvements that make this another high quality title.

The most important thing is that the gameplay has been relatively untouched. The fluid skating and stickhandling controls are still just as intuitive and gratifying as they were last year, and once again I think this is the big advantage the ESPN games have over recent EA hockey installments. They’ve made a couple small changes that add some complexity to the overall control scheme but put some new moves at your fingertips. Skating backwards is now performed by squeezing the left trigger, at which point you can use the right analog stick to freely swing your stick back and forth with “Total Stick Control”, in an attempt to knock the puck away from your opponent. With a little practice, this may quickly become a more effective defensive strategy than simply throwing your weight around. Speaking of which, if you want to deal some damage, you can now use the right analog stick as you’re throwing a hit to activate the “Intense Contact Controls”. The disappointing thing about this new feature is that it usually results in a slash or a cross-check instead of an extra punishing body check, and it almost always lands you in the penalty box. Pinning is also a bigger part of the game this year, as it happens more frequently and the player being pinned can throw elbows, kick the puck, or call in a teammate for assistance.

In terms of puck handling, The “Total Control Dekes” are back from last year, and most of them are still kind of awkward to use as they cause your player to cross almost half the ice surface while they carry out one of these clumsy automatic dekes. What is useful, however, is the new give and go passing play. It may be of note to some players that there’s very little difference between Classic, Intermediate or Advanced controls this year, so if you’re hoping to avoid using many of the complex maneuvers you may still have to deal with an unwieldy controller setup whether you like it or not.

Visual Concepts answered my plea from last year (yes, mine specifically) and decided to create an all-new fighting system to do away with the typical button mashing contests that we’ve gotten so used to. The new fight controls allow you to skate around the ice more as you tussle, and perform a number of moves including grabbing jerseys, dealing uppercuts, ducking, and even taunting and throwing fake punches. The action is still a little too chaotic to form any sort of strategy though, and the fights all seem to end in the same way. Winning a fight will give your team an unlimited turbo boost for a limited length of time (so I guess it’s not really unlimited… hmmm). More than anything, their new fight system made me want more realism in terms of the context of fights… they still seem to be triggered by mostly random events, not specific harassments, and players who would never fight in real-life still wind up scrapping quite frequently. Why can’t we have an immediate brawl erupt if you run a goaltender or throw a brutal hit on their star player? Now that would feel like real hockey. I know you’re reading guys, so next year… make it happen!

The realism of the A.I. does seem to be improved in other respects though. Offensively, CPU controlled players make some very intelligent passing plays, and on defense they clog the front of the net and hound you tirelessly as you try to stickhandle around them. This year’s game is so much more balanced than last year, where it was either way too easy to score or next to impossible. There’s a ton of different ways to score this year, it’s not just about one-timers and the good ol’ S-deke. There does seem to be a little too much shot blocking going on from the players though.

The biggest disappointment about ESPN NHL 2K5 is probably the presentation in general. Compared to NFL 2K5, this hockey game is way behind in terms of both graphics and animations. They’ve added some new 3D crowd cutscenes that are kind of amusing, but a lot of stuff just looks the same as last year. They even seem to have recycled a lot of the animations and some of the play-by-play commentary. The players look stiff and unnatural in the replays… then again, simple animations might be part of the trade-off for smooth controls. I was also hoping for some of the cool new features that they had in the ESPN football game, such as simulated highlights from other games in the league if you’re playing a season. Not there, unfortunately. Another minor complaint about the game is that after every faceoff there is a temporary frame rate drop while the picture-in-picture window is still active.

Other than the visual gripes, the only problem with this game is that it feels like it was rushed to stores. There are a lot of little glitches you will find throughout the game… nothing major, but it definitely lacks polish. Playing online games has been troublesome for some, and although they finally came up with true soundtrack customization options, you can’t randomize your selections… and during the mini-games it will actually play your custom songs simultaneously over top of the default ones!

Even despite its flaws, the thing that really makes me recommend this year’s ESPN hockey game is the sheer amount of value you get for the money. The franchise mode this year is incredibly deep… to the point where you are hiring coaches and scouts for your team, and even playing games with your minor league teams to see which players you want to draft. They’ve also added a ton of new game modes, such as the Party Mode (over 15 wacky mini-games that can be played with 4 players like keep away, tag, and lots of obstacle course type things), a dream team challenge mode (where you play against teams that were handpicked by various hockey stars and personalities), an unlockable Heritage Classic game mode, all in addition to the pond hockey, skills competition, and other stuff they had last year. There even added some new mini-games in the Skybox… you can now play shuffleboard and trivia too! And of course, just about every setting in the game is customizable with a slider. Months later you’ll still be finding new things to try out in NHL 2K5, I can guarantee it.

Sega’s presence in the sports market is definitely something EA needs to get used to. As long as they keep making games like this, they’re going to be competitive with them for a long time to come. If you like hockey, this is a game you can’t pass up. Even if you’re an EA fan, the price is right, and once you try it you just might find it plays smoother and more open-ended than EA’s games. One things for sure — with the impending NHL lockout weeks away, we can certainly all use as much virtual hockey as we can get this year. Check it. — Sean

Face To Face Farewell Tour w/ My Chemical Romance
Tues. August 24, 2004 @ Kool Haus, Toronto

It came as a shock to most fans that this past spring, Face to Face, one of the cornerstones of 90’s skate punk, announced that they were ending the band. The reasons were not out of anger, only the fact that the band had nothing left to say. Even that being said, fans felt that they were owed a final tour so that they could hear the songs that had meant so much to them one more time. After much pressing the band realized it was indeed a smart decision to give one last tour and not end on an abrupt note. And so it went that on the 24th of August, 2004, Face to Face would play their last show in Toronto.

The night started out on a porch with some cheap beer and friends arriving one after the other from out of town to help celebrate this momentous occasion. How nostalgic it was when we were all playing Face to Face covers on acoustic guitars and skateboarding in front the house. And the nostalgia wouldn’t be complete without angry dickhead neighbour calling the cops for skating outside his house, which is coincidentally attached to our house. Damn the man! People over thirty and the cops are always trying to ruin your good time dude! Now off to the show to burn off some half drunk, pseudo teenage skater angst!

It was nice to walk into the show and find a crowd closer to my age and not a bunch of Avril Lavigne clones acting like they belong. Since the band had most of their success in the 90’s there weren’t any kids to get in the way of a good old school pit forming in front of the stage. We missed the opening act My Chemical Romance due to bad gauging of time. Judging by what time the ticket says the doors open and how many opening acts there are you can usually show up exactly when the act you want to see hits the stage. However Moneen, who was originally supposed to play, dropped off the bill to support Dashboard Confessional in England. We figured that they would be replaced, when in fact they weren’t and to make matters worse the other opener didn’t get across the border. This chain of events caused us to just narrowly make it into the Kool Haus in time for Face to Face’s first song. But as soon as the band took the stage everything was alright again.

They burst through three of their staple songs before even saying a word to the crowd, which included “Resignation” a popular song of theirs off of the more alternative slanted self-titled album. Rarely stopping for breaks, other than to speak briefly to the crowd about the life of the band and thanking everyone for their support, they kept churning out all of our favourites. “Don’t Turn Away”, their first album and a big favourite of fans featured a lot of songs in the set, even some new songs made an appearance, but the best element was that this band may never play again and because of that they were playing all of their indie hits. Because the tour was prompted by fans it seemed as though the band was concentrating on assurance that everyone was satisfied with the songs, not trying to satisfy there own needs as artists which happens all to often. Through their career Face to Face have always kept their integrity as artists but it has always been apparent that their fans are just as important as their artistic statements. They have always made sure their fans have a good time and that’s exactly what was taking place at the show. Not suprisingly the song “Disconnected” was played towards the end — this was not surprising since it was the last tour but a bit of a treat as well since it was to Face to Face as “Satisfaction” is to the Rolling Stones. Tendency not to play this song was always high when you went to a Face show so it was good to hear live finally.

I was alone in the crowd by the end of the show and although energy was high and it was really friggin loud it was nice to see them off by myself and not feel obligated to comment to anyone at that moment how I was feeling. And I was feeling great. It’s odd that I may never see this band again but I felt no depression whatsoever, they came and delivered exactly what everyone came to see and didn’t treat it as a last show at all. It was a goodbye that felt like a high five. See ya later guys. — Jackson Main