Face To Face
Shoot the Moon: The Essential Collection (Antagonist)
by Tim Den
A two-DVD companion set to the retrospective of the same name, Shoot the Moon… contains just about everything a fan could ask for from the celebrated pop punk band’s 13-year career. Detailed documentary? Check. Interviews with every member past and present? Check. Every music video ever made? Check. Recording of farewell show? Check. A sense of conclusion? Check. It’s all here, folks: The rise and fall of Face To Face, all the songs that made you sing out loud, all the disappointments both in and outside of the band, not to mention an electrifying final 22-song set that, unlike most live recordings, keeps every blemish and mistake for the sake of honestly capturing the outfit’s last night onstage. Watching these guys reminisce and jam out, I was reminded of how much Don’t Turn Away and Big Choice shaped my high school years. And despite having been let down by guitarist/vocalist Trever Keith occasionally (Ignorance is Bliss; him becoming “too big” to talk to old school fans around the time of the self-titled record), after all these years I still believe he is one of the best pop punk songwriters ever.
In fact, revisiting Reactionary, How to Ruin Everything, and even Ignorance is Bliss‘ best material via the music video collection made me rethink my opinion of these albums. Fuck, some of this stuff is amazing! I might not’ve thought so at the time, but a few years later, it’s apparent that Face To Face’s songs age very well. “Disappointed” and “The New Way” could easily kick most of Foo Fighters’ catalog’s ass, while “The Devil You Know (God is a Man)” should have hipsters falling to their knees at its sheer shoegazing magnificence. Even as recent as last year, I was mourning Face To Face’s break-up because of their early output. But now? I’m starting to feel the sadness of missing a band that was great the entire time they were around.
Take the journey that this DVD set has to offer. If you aren’t moved by the songs and fascinated by the stories, you have my permission to go back to your New Found Glory discs.
(www.antagonistrecords.com)
