One of Orange County’s most beloved indie bands, The Devious Means, bid a heartfelt farewell at their final show last Saturday night at The Wayfarer, which was packed to capacity with fans and friends of the band.
The band have played together for 6 years in various iterations, releasing two EPs, ‘Presenting The Devious Means’, and ‘Songs We Are All Singing’ and one full length album, ‘Other Animals’. They won OC Music Awards ‘Best indie band in Orange County’, and even beat out No Doubt for the People’s Choice award. They lived up to their expectations and then some and their final show at The Wayfarer in Costa Mesa.
They donned the stage clad in their trademark dapper attire; waistcoats, button up shirts, ties and side parted hair. They attacked every song with the kind of stage presence you would expect out of a last performance, and engaged the audience every through every moment of the night. Three songs into their set, they split the audience down the middle of the dance floor and to gauge their investment, had each side sing the chorus line of Hey Jude in a grand battle of volume.
On calling it quits, lead singer and guitarist Christopher Faris says the decision has come primarily out of his personal investment in his triplet daughters who were born last year, saying, “Personally speaking, I feel drained creatively. There isn’t much I feel compelled to say. Being a father of eight-month-old triplets will do that. But I’m not stressed about it. I know that my creative side will flourish and maybe when I start communicating in this way again I’ll have something else to say. I don’t want to force anything though. What I care about most right now is being a good father to my girls, and a good husband to my wife.”
It seemed everyone in the audience knew the lyrics to all of the songs throughout the night. Christopher brought his brother, the original guitarist on stage for a couple songs, and even brought his dad on stage to play tambourine for the fiery foot stomper “Get Right.” For the finale, the band brought a host of their close friends from the bands they’ve played with over the years on stage to help them close out the night with a heart-warming rendition of “Hey Jude.” (At this point it became apparent why they had chosen the song to warm up the audience earlier in the evening).
After witnessing the last performance first hand, we can say it was an absolute pleasure to get to see the band live, but if you still haven’t heard them, it’s not too late to get their music, which will live on in the annals of Orange County music. Christopher says, “Given the chance to go back in time there really isn’t anything drastic I’d change overall. I think we communicated as much as people as we did as artists. I feel very satisfied overall with what is on the discography.”
We’re glad you’re satisfied with your output, Christopher. So are we.
To listen to all of The Devious Means discography, check out http://www.thedeviousmeans.com/music
