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 fourteenth date was on Wednesday May 13th at Webster Hall in NYC.
Diffuser | Faith No More Crush NYC's Webster Hall, Proving They Are Back From The Dead
For a band that released its first full-length 30 years ago -- and has been enjoying international acclaim for the better part of those three decades, even in the midst of a frontman change -- Faith No More are acting like they've still got something to prove. Taking over New York City's Webster Hall for a two-night run, Faith No More kicked things off last night (May 13) with a staggering 90-minute performance that covered their storied career and highlighted their seemingly never-ending future. The sold-out venue was packed to the brim with anxious fans who were all unified in their anticipation for Faith No More's first show in New York City since a couple of one-offs in July 2010. As soon as Mike Patton, Mike Bordin, Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum and Jon Hudson took the stage, the anticipatory buzz was replaced with a frenetic excitement that was matched -- and at times, surpassed -- by the band's onstage presence. After an explosive performance of the first single from their new LP, Sol Invictus, "Motherf---er," and an even more charged "Land of Sunshine," Patton looked to the crowd, gave a salute, and simply said, "New York. What it is." Whether it was Patton calling out a "hipster" in the balcony or Bottum telling the fans that they "look beautiful," that sort of dry humor and succinct conversation was strewn throughout the night's set. With a band like Faith No More, it's easy to hold them in high, godlike regard, but Patton and company's relaxed demeanor with each other and with the crowd was indicative of their journey's current location: They're happy and they seem to be enjoying every single second of their career in 2015. That's not to say they're comfortable or complacent; the energetic gig felt representative of something much bigger, that Faith No More are far from calling it a day and they (hopefully) have big plans for their future. Regardless of what that future might hold, though, the fact is this: Sol Invictus is a significant statement (and return) for the band, and the live renditions of the new songs hold just as much weight with fans as favorites like "Epic" and "Surprise! You're Dead." Few rock bands can ebb and flow throughout an hour-and-a-half set laced with heavy metal, alternative rock, "west coast hippie s---" (that's how Patton described the final song of the night, "From the Dead") and a Burt Bacharach cover, but Faith No More did it with ease ... we only hope that this is just the beginning of the next chapter for one of the most meaningful and genre-bending bands of our -- or any -- generation. Pancakes and Whiskey | Faith No More Blasts Webster Hall Into Oblivion
New York Times | Faith No More, Reunited and Reclaiming Its Spot
Single-minded sincerity isn’t for everyone. Faith No More, which is about to release “Sol Invictus” (Ipecac), its first new studio album since 1997, has always trafficked in more contradictory impulses, and they were all on display when the reunited band played the first of two sold-out shows at Webster Hall on Wednesday night. The band members (and most of their equipment) were dressed in white and surrounded by bouquets of flowers, while the music was decidedly less angelic. Earnestness and mockery, sympathy and malevolence, doom and glee all ricochet through Faith No More’s songs, both in the lyrics and in music that slams styles and attitudes against one another. The band’s lead singer and lyricist, Mike Patton, is a vocal chameleon who can sustain a full-throated ballad, unleash the screams of punk and hardcore, yowl like a funk singer or come on loungey and unctuous. He’s so virtuosic that he never has to commit to a single stance. In a way, Faith No More anticipated the Internet era of innumerable choices and peculiar juxtapositions: the shuffled playlist, the heartfelt screed interrupted by a pop-up ad. Faith No More’s commercial peak was its Top 10 single in 1990, “Epic,” a chanted, cackling verse followed by a monumental hard-rock chorus that proclaims, “You want it all but you can’t have it.” It was rap-metal, a combination that would pay off repeatedly for other bands in the 1990s, but Faith No More chose to experiment instead on its next albums. “Where’s the rap-metal, dude?” Mr. Patton jibed from the stage. Actually, it was there, not only in “Epic,” which appeared early in the set, but also in the band’s opening song on Wednesday night, a track on the new album with a title that’s not publishable here. The reunited band, with the same lineup as the one that recorded “Album of the Year” in 1997, flexes old muscles in its new material. The churning, triplet-driven hard rock of “Separation Anxiety,” from the new album, follows through on “Land of Sunshine” from 1992; both were in the set, and both set off moshing near the stage. “Superhero,” another new song, seesawed between punk and melody along the lines of “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies” from 1995. A reunited band has to reclaim its mantle (although Faith No More has been touring internationally since 2009), and that’s what it was doing at Webster Hall. In new songs and old ones, the band had its longtime brawn and precision. It also reiterated its old ploy of contrasting its own tumultuous songs with easy-listening standards like the Herb Alpert hit “This Guy’s In Love With You,” which reassured the audience, “We know each other very well.” But maybe — only maybe — Faith No More is less cynical now. Its last encore, which Mr. Patton introduced as “West Coast hippie” stuff, was “From the Dead, “ a late-1960s-flavored, guitar-strumming ballad. It’s a song about resurrection: “Back from the dead,” Mr. Patton sang, with three-part backup harmonies. “Welcome home, my friend.”
Motherfucker Land Of Sunshine Caffeine Evidence Epic Sunny Side Up Surprise! You're Dead! Midlife Crisis Last Cup Of Sorrow The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies Easy [ Commodores ] Separation Anxiety King For A Day Ashes To Ashes Superhero Sol Invictus As The Worm Turns This Guy's In Love With You [ Burt Bacharach ] From The Dead
