Face Featured on NBC’s Sing Off

Congratulations to Face, Boulder’s all-vocal rock group, for their appearance tonight on NBC’s competition Sing Off.

I was disappointed that Face was one of the two bands voted out of the show tonight, out of eight contestants. But those who know Face know that vote is not any indication of their talent or musical force. Guys, your fans are thrilled to vote you back onto our island.

I just noticed that Face’s new album, Momentum, now sells at iTunes. If you want to get a better feel for Face’s tremendous talent, check out this album or the group’s previous two albums. (Forward also sells through iTunes.)

I thought that Face was an obviously better singing group than several of the groups that made it through the first round, though I really enjoyed all of the groups. (My other two personal favorites of the night were the SoCals and Noteworthy.)

I was scratching my head by Face’s song selection; they picked “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. I thought the song is too popular, Face didn’t give it any particularly unique reinterpretation, and the song doesn’t let the group’s vocal strengths shine through. I wondered, though, if the show’s producers restricted what songs the bands could sing. If I had made a list of ten songs I’d have liked to see Face sing as their opener, “Living on a Prayer” wouldn’t have made the list. Face’s fans know the band has some extremely strong “signature” songs that would have been much better for the show (if allowed).

Several of Face’s covers I like much better than the original recordings, including “Home” by Marc Broussard, “Calling All Angels” by Train, and “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. I also really like Face’s version of “O Fortuna” and “On the Turning Away.”

As an aside, my wife Jennifer made a brief appearance on the show, because NBC filmed Face performing at Nissis, the Lafayette restaurant owned by the same person who owns the design firm where Jennifer works.

I’ve been a fan of Face since I heard them perform at Nissis four years ago. I was frankly nervous to hear them sing, as I believe they were following the amazing Dave Beegle, and I thought there was no way an all-vocal group could compete with that. Face proved me wrong in a hurry (though I don’t know anybody who can match Beegle on an acoustic guitar.) I even began a first and second opinion column for Boulder Weekly with a discussion of Face.

I think I reflect the sentiments of all your fans, guys, by saying that we’re extremely proud of you. I hope the NBC show allows a lot more people to discover your talented and inspiring voices. And don’t stop believing.