Faith No More | Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh - July 31st 2015

Updated: Mar 16

Faith No More's North American tour in support of Sol Invictus was five years ago.

FNM began their Sol Invictus tour in Japan and Australia, they returned to the USA for the first time since October 1997 in April 2015. After this they toured in Europe and the UK before returning to the USA for a second leg. The fifth date was on Friday July 31st at Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh.

Raleigh Music

Faith No More has been around off and on for the better part of three decades and a key to that longevity has been its founding members — bassist Billy Gould, drummer Mike Bordin, and keyboardist Roddy Bottum — being a constant throughout that time. The dreadlocked Bordin played the skins with precision, power, and accented grace, while the nimble fingers of Gould punctuated fills and complemented Bordin, providing the groove that worked as the consistent thread unifying FNM’s diverse sound. Roddy Bottum’s contribution on keyboards provided a theatrical component that enhanced the rock and metal sound and somehow made it seem darker and heavier. Lead guitarist Jon Hudson (technically “the newest” member of the band, sort of) demonstrated a clear ability with the music that came before his tenure and made those parts his own. All of this gave singer and master of ceremonies, Mike Patton, the proper canvas on which to color with his vocals. And a singer like Patton has a colorful palette. From song to song, he shifted from a growling scream to a soulful croon to almost operatic-like vocal sounds.

In the middle of one particularly psychedelic section of a song, someone a few rows behind me yelled “You guys are f***ing weird! . . . And I love it!” If the men from Faith No More had heard that, they likely would’ve just thanked him and then quoted one of their encore songs, “We Care a Lot”: It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.