Faith No More at Brixton Academy
Faith No More
Brixton Academy, 10 June 2009
Back when I was 15 my favourite band in the world was Faith No More. I had The Real Thing on cassette and, in my room covered with FNM posters, I played that thing to death. Even when I decided I wanted to play bass, I saved up and bought one that looked like Billy Gould's. The first time I saw them live was actually supporting Guns N' Roses at Wembley Stadium, which was a weird show to say the least (Soundgarden were also on the bill and Brian May was Axl's surprise guest) but it was only a few months later that I finally got to see them headlining their own gig, at the infamous Brixton Academy where they recorded their sole live album and accompanying video (which I, of course, had watched a hundred times). L7 supported and it was awesome. Sadly I got into trouble with my parents, who didn't know I was sneaking out to Brixton for a gig with my friends, when I got home. My trouble-making older brother had gleefully told on me while I was out.
Years later I was back at the scene of the crime and it would be an understatement to say that anticipation was high. The support band Selfish Cunt, a sort of shoddy punk rock band with an Iggy-wannabe frontman, were lapping up the abuse being hurled at them, which was more amusing than their act. But to be fair people were just there to hear Faith No More's first show in 11 years and any act would have difficulty impressing the crowd impatient to see Patton and co back together again.
I think most people expected the band to start off with their loudest, most in -your-face number, but ever unpredictable, Patton, Gould, Roddy Bottum, Mike Bordin and Jon Hudson took to the stage in pastel suits (Patton in peach and Bottum in pink) and began the set with a gleeful cover of Peaches & Herb's 70s soul hit Reunited (as posted above). It was hilarious, unexpected and surprisingly touching, and an awesome way to start the show, beautifully segueing into The Real Thing.
The whole set was a highlight, with songs from The Real Thing and Angel Dust such as From Out Of Nowhere, Land Of Sunshine, Caffeine, Surprise! You're Dead!, Midlife Crisis and Be Aggressive, feeling like old friends, while the King For The Day and Album Of The Year tracks, Last Cup Of Sorrow, Evidence, Gentle Art Of Making Enemies and Stripsearch (prefaced by a snatch of Chariots Of Fire for some reason) sounding like lost classics.
Patton was as cheeky as ever, if not quite the brat he was back when I first saw them at Brixton, jokingly calling the crowd "fuckheads" and laughing when the audience started chanting "You fat bastards!" in tribute to the name of their live album, to which he replied smirking and grabbing his stomach "the funny thing is that's true these days".
The Chuck Mosely era wasn't forgotten either, with a suitably energetic and shouty version of Chinese Arithmatic, while the set ended with an atomospheric Mark Bowen. But thankfully it didn't end there, with not one, but two encores. The first was probably my favourite starting with the afore-mentioned moody, groove-filled version of Stripsearch and a glorious, building rendition of Just A Man, with Patton playfully hamming it up at every opportunity.
But the crowd called for even more and the band, who thankfully looked like they were having a blast, returned with their brilliant cover of the Bee Gee's I Started A Joke (a surprise but welcome addition to the set) and, perhaps suitably, ended the show with the very last track from their last album before their break-up, Pristina. I would have loved We Care A Lot (which they ended their Download set with apparently) or Digging The Grave but it's a small quibble to see the band live again and sounding so good.
This whole week, with the Dinosaur Jr gig as well, has been like a trip back in time for me and it was awesome that both bands still sound so good. Out of the four times I've seen FNM, this may be the best show yet, and that's saying a lot. Hopefully there's more to come too.
Years later I was back at the scene of the crime and it would be an understatement to say that anticipation was high. The support band Selfish Cunt, a sort of shoddy punk rock band with an Iggy-wannabe frontman, were lapping up the abuse being hurled at them, which was more amusing than their act. But to be fair people were just there to hear Faith No More's first show in 11 years and any act would have difficulty impressing the crowd impatient to see Patton and co back together again.
I think most people expected the band to start off with their loudest, most in -your-face number, but ever unpredictable, Patton, Gould, Roddy Bottum, Mike Bordin and Jon Hudson took to the stage in pastel suits (Patton in peach and Bottum in pink) and began the set with a gleeful cover of Peaches & Herb's 70s soul hit Reunited (as posted above). It was hilarious, unexpected and surprisingly touching, and an awesome way to start the show, beautifully segueing into The Real Thing.
The whole set was a highlight, with songs from The Real Thing and Angel Dust such as From Out Of Nowhere, Land Of Sunshine, Caffeine, Surprise! You're Dead!, Midlife Crisis and Be Aggressive, feeling like old friends, while the King For The Day and Album Of The Year tracks, Last Cup Of Sorrow, Evidence, Gentle Art Of Making Enemies and Stripsearch (prefaced by a snatch of Chariots Of Fire for some reason) sounding like lost classics.
Patton was as cheeky as ever, if not quite the brat he was back when I first saw them at Brixton, jokingly calling the crowd "fuckheads" and laughing when the audience started chanting "You fat bastards!" in tribute to the name of their live album, to which he replied smirking and grabbing his stomach "the funny thing is that's true these days".
The Chuck Mosely era wasn't forgotten either, with a suitably energetic and shouty version of Chinese Arithmatic, while the set ended with an atomospheric Mark Bowen. But thankfully it didn't end there, with not one, but two encores. The first was probably my favourite starting with the afore-mentioned moody, groove-filled version of Stripsearch and a glorious, building rendition of Just A Man, with Patton playfully hamming it up at every opportunity.
But the crowd called for even more and the band, who thankfully looked like they were having a blast, returned with their brilliant cover of the Bee Gee's I Started A Joke (a surprise but welcome addition to the set) and, perhaps suitably, ended the show with the very last track from their last album before their break-up, Pristina. I would have loved We Care A Lot (which they ended their Download set with apparently) or Digging The Grave but it's a small quibble to see the band live again and sounding so good.
This whole week, with the Dinosaur Jr gig as well, has been like a trip back in time for me and it was awesome that both bands still sound so good. Out of the four times I've seen FNM, this may be the best show yet, and that's saying a lot. Hopefully there's more to come too.
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