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. The fifth date was on Monday April 20th at The Warfield in San Francisco.
National Rock Review | Faith No More at The Warfield in San Francisco, CA on 20-Apr-2015
Faith No More make a more than triumphant return to San Francisco with two sold out shows at the Warfield Theater. With the release of their latest studio offering, Sol Invictus, coming early next month (May 9, to be exact), Faith No More have hit the road for their first U.S. tour in over five years. If the San Francisco shows were any indication, they are not to be missed. As the lights dimmed and the gimp took his place, the band hit the stage with their new single, “Motherfucker,” and spent the next two hours delivering nothing short of a brilliant performance. Dressed all in white with a stage full of bright, colorful flowers, Mike Patton and his band mates not only played the hits the crowd expected, (including “Epic,” “Midlife Crisis,” and “Easy,”) but also introduced new songs “Sunny Side Up,” “Sol Invictus,” and “Super Hero.” By the time they wrapped things up with a cover of Burt Bacharach’s “This Guys In Love With You,” everyone in the entire venue was on their feet. Providing support on this night were long time San Francisco punk rock icons Frightwig, who actually shared a bill with Faith No More way back in 1984. With their bass and guitar driven old school punk rock, they were the perfect band to open the show.
Hot on the heels of last night’s sold out gig (which one die hard in the audience proclaimed was “the best show [he’d] ever seen”), Faith No More didn’t skip a beat for their second night at the Warfield. Though the band hasn’t toured in five years, they greeted the capacity San Francisco crowd (their entire US tour sold out in hours) with the ferocity of a band eager to show the world why they deserve their rabid following.
Pinpoint Music | Faith No More @ The Warfield – 4.20.15 At 9:25, the band (Album of the Year-era lineup consisting of Mike Patton, Mike Bordin, Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum, and Jon Hudson [oh, and “the Gimp”]) started their set with the haunting “Motherfucker.” Moments after the track hit its last note, the Bay Area natives broke into The Real Thing’s opening track, “From Out of Nowhere” just to remind the old-school fans that they can still shred as hard as they did for the final two decades of the 20th century. By 9:40, veteran vocalist Mike Patton had already taken 2 stage dives into his sea of loyalists and it was clear he was just getting warmed up. Their 90-minute set covered much of the band’s catalog as they churned through favorites like “Epic,” “Midlife Crisis,” and “Ashes to Ashes” while sprinkling in new tracks “Superhero” and “Sol Invictus.” Shredders like “Surpise! You’re Dead!” and “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” kept the audience on their toes, in the pit, and in the air while the band demonstrated that they’re performing as tight as ever. One would think that a voice like Patton’s would deteriorate over time, especially given the incredible range of extremes he’s able to produce but he flawlessly nailed every gentle note and every blood-curdling scream. Bordin, Gould, Bottum, and Hudson followed suit with their respective instruments by providing a sonic masterpiece to serve as the backdrop to Patton’s recital. All too soon, the evening was appropriately brought to a close by a crooning cover of Burt Bacharach’s heartbreaker, “This Guy’s in Love With You.” Ask any attendee and I’m sure they’ll tell you that Faith No More can’t come back soon enough. The night was impeccably described by a close friend as “transcendent.”
Motherfucker From Out of Nowhere Caffeine Evidence Epic Sunny Side Up Surprise! You're Dead! Midlife Crisis [ Boz Scaggs, "Lowdown" ] The Gentle Art of Making Enemies Easy [ Commodores ] Spirit King for a Day Ashes to Ashes Superhero Sol Invictus Digging the Grave This Guy's in Love With You [ Burt Bacharach ]
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