Rock City in Nottingham UK was a favourite venue during the 90's and Faith No More played at the club no less than seven times. Including their first two UK tours in '88, in 89, twice in 90, their very first Angel Dust Tour gig in '92 and finally a show in '97.
Faith No More | Rock City - May 11th 1988
Sounds | Published 21.05.1988 Talk About The Passion by Neil Perry THERE ARE times when you almost hate this band for being so goddamn complete. They excite you then punish you, harm you then charm you. Invite you in, then kick you right out. Four months since their debut UK tour and Faith No More reappear to continue what they started. Rock City was certainly no dumping ground for first night nerves; this gig was a proclamation, a forearm smash reminder that this ten-legged tragic-comedy from America is very possibly live rock's hottest exponent. Now heavily armed with increased power, accuracy and confidence, FNM are no gaggle of gratuitously amplified bullies. They're a double-edged two-way thrill, a heaving and weaving symmetrical organism. For every fearful chunk of bitter bile thrown up - a trick FNM pull off with pugnacious ease - so there is melody, harmony, emotion and more than a few belly laughs. Clad in a horrendous wide-boy suit and blond wig, lending a certain surrealism to the huge omnipotent sound, singer Chuck grooves wildly to the zoom and grind of the opening 'Arabian Disco'. A little later, during the massive, gleaming metallifunk of 'R 'N' R', he opts for a bare chest, hippy skirt and baseball boots. And what a soundtrack to this idiosyncratic anti-fashion parade; boasting the many highlights of both LPs (the first still criminally unavailable over here) the rest of FNM interlace a display of near-precision passion. If wayward Jim's vindictive, vehement. Mount Vesuvius guitar occasionally roars out of sync with drummer Mike's galloping skin rituals, the whole monster swiftly tightens with renewed vengeance. Aside from Chuck's acoustic spot - a bemused rendition of Suzanne Vega's 'Luka' — the pace is admirably relentless. The hit single 'We Care A Lot' sees its creator, mohawk synth-player Roddy, gesticulating madly like a cult dictator; when the killdozer riff of the ardent 'Chinese Arithmetic' kicks in, otherwise benign bassist Billy switches to headbanging overdrive, the band charging towards the closing orgiastic 'War Pigs'. All's fair in the world of Faith No More; hell, insert your own superlatives, they are the heart of noise.
Faith No More | Rock City - May 13th 1992 Kerrang! | published 26.05.1992 Great No More? by Morat Much as I'd been looking forward to seeing Faith No More again, it has to be said that the way they opened the set - by ambling into a track from the new album - was not encouraging. Apart from the fact that it sounded like a dodgy Country & Western piss-take, the band seemed vaguely disinterested in the proceedings right from the start. A few songs in, and things still haven't realty got any better. We get a couple of tunes from 'Introduce Yourself' and then the band plod back off into unfamiliar territory, all of which seems politely received but doesn't really get anyone worked up. It's not until 'The Real Thing' comes around that any of the usually very enthusiastic Nottingham crowd actually get it together to go apeshit - and even then it's only a very small poo. For some reason Faith No More seem all disjointed and out of synch tonight, and it comes across in their music in a big way. Mike Patton plays his usual half-psycho, half-twat act as well as ever, and thankfully refrains from putting on silly voices, but Roddy Bottom and Jim Martin seem to spend most of their time glaring across the stage at each other, it's only the first date of the tour and already they hate each other; God only knows what they'll be like by the end of it all. Although the single 'Midlife Crisis' sounds pretty good and is well received, much of the new material from 'Angel Dust' (and there's a lot of it) comes across, on first impressions, like rehashed old stuff. It's either a fast-ish Faith No More song or a slow one, and nothing particularly stands out apart from a song that was introduced as 'Piss Flaps'. The few old favourites that get an airing this evening are sloppy beyond belief. 'Surprise! You're Dead' all but falls apart midway through, and they round the set off with an awful rendition of 'Woodpecker From Mars', which is held together only by Bordin's drumming. Having only ever seen Faith No More play absolutely perfect gigs before, it comes as rather a shock to witness them on such bad form. I know it's the first night of the tour and everyone does the occasional duff gig, but this felt like they were charging people a tenner to watch them rehearse. An encore of the magnificent 'Zombie Eaters' and 'Epic' just about salvaged the show, but with overzealous bouncers and T-shirts at £13 to contend with, it wasn't exactly a great night out. Faith No More are much, much more impressive than this, and if it was your first time tonight then it's well worth giving them another chance. Show a little Faith - they can do better.
Faith No More | Rock City - May 13th 1997
RAW Magazine | published May 1997
Faith No More's Riotous Return by Liz Evans
NOTTINGHAM'S ROCK City is packed to the hilt. The air is so close, you could do with at least one oxygen tank strapped to your back. Bodies, covered in sweat, are stacked uncomfortably next to each other in an effort to witness proceedings. This, you see, hasn't happened for two years. This is Faith No More.
Or it will be in approximately 75 minutes. Before San Francisco's finest re-tread Rock City's creaking boards, London's brightest, barmiest combo, ‘A', are here to warm things up. And with their upbeat melodies, dotty lyrics and stark, staring bankers stage antics, this is precisely what they do. Bouncing around like baby wallabies, 'A' unleash a torrent of shiveringly good tunes like 'Singalong' and 'Bad Idea', get soaked with water, and leave the stage with characteristic cheeky monkey grins. They’re barking, they’re brilliant and you should bloody well like them.
You should also bloody well like Faith No Mare. Having survived enough 'split' rumours to sink a million ships, the band are here, intact and on form. Like - and this is the good bit - never before.
Striding out onstage in the sort of suits which wouldn't look out of place at a Mafia wedding, Faith No More immediately remind everyone just how classy, original and imaginative they are. Never a band to dumbly trot along in the wake of anyone's tradition, they've always struck out in a knowingly provocative manner, teasing the sometimes stubborn rock fraternity with their behaviour, their image, their music and their attitude.
Without resorting to gimmickry, granny's wardrobe or Hammer Horror's make-up division, Faith No More are clever, defiant and full of tricks. Tonight is no exception.
The sheer fury of Faith No More's rhythm-led anthems rockets out with old favourites 'We Care A Lot', 'Introduce Yourself and 'Midlife Crisis'. They t' throw in 'Surprise, You're Dead’ and ‘Epic' to keep the faithful happy, but their perversity rings out with 'Be Aggressive' and 'Easy', and the force of the new material breaks through with current single 'Ashes To Ashes' and the brilliant 'Last Cup Of Sorrow'. New guitarist John Hudson's Sabbath-esque riffs are just as powerful as Jim Martin's ever were, but his presence gels far better with the rest of the band: for the first time in what feels like an age, y Faith No More feel like a unit again.
Alter a riotous set and a final wave to the crowd. Faith No More disappear, leaving behind a venue full of very satisfied customers. Seventeen years old and going stronger than ever, they've made a truly triumphant return. It had better not be another two years before they are back.
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