Concert Recap: Faith No More

Author: Jhonny Heller

Fans stood waiting for what felt like forever on May 15th, 2015 at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, but none of that would matter soon. This was the moment where we were finally going to see Faith No More live after years of hiatus other than a few select shows. We were ready. The background music set the mood before the performance. An eclectic mix of slow jazz and vintage show tunes. The crowd stood and watched as roadies set up the white amps and flowers on stage while tracks like Moon River by Andy Williams’s played softly throughout the venue.

As the pre-concert music faded and the lights went down, the crowd went crazy. Then the whispering began. “Get the motherfucker on the phone, on the phone… Get the motherfucker on the phone.” The lights flooded the stage as the music blared and this Faith No More performance exploded into a wave of light and chaos.

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Faith No More – Electric Factory – Philadelphia

As one of the most prolific alternative rock bands of this generation, Faith No More reminded us why we have all been long time fans for years. This was the culmination for me. Having seen Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, and Mike Patton solo, I had waited a very long time to see the band that pioneered one of the most unique sounds in the genre. They did not disappoint.

Abstract in their Rockwell-esque white attire and a set made entirely of white paint, white sheets and pastel flowers, Faith No More flowed between hard and soft effortlessly. They pounded out hits, new tracks, and even a few well received covers. You could see that the crowd was intoxicated with the performance. Everyone was hanging on to every word blasted from Mike’s trademark megaphone. There was a clear swell as Epic was played, but the best part was that it wasn’t overstated. It wasn’t a finale or encore. They played it as the fifth song and moved on, leaving room for the whole rest of the set to move you for the remainder of the show.

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Faith No More – Electric Factory – Philadelphia

Their interactions with the crowd were natural and playful. At times they had everyone singing along and at others Mike Patton would stop the show to ask if it was English we were singing back to him. Specifically during their incredible modified version of Midlife Crisis, where after the crowd had sung as much as they could, the band transformed their song into a mix of Dirty Lowdown by Bozz Skags and layed the words to Midlife Crisis perfectly on top of it.

This was the show of a lifetime, ending with their newest track Superhero before coming back and doing a three song encore of more fan favorites. If there was ever a question of if the experience would still be the same for long time fans, I’m here to tell you that Faith No More is as brilliant as ever. They stand on their own as one of the greatest gifts the 90s grunge era ever gave to us. And we were privileged to have a chance to witness it. Do we still care about a band still belting out songs written 20 years ago? The answer is a resounding yes. We care a lot.

Current Band Members:

  • Mike Patton
  • Mike Bordin
  • Bill Gould
  • Roddy Bottum
  • Jon Hudson

Faith No More’s Set list:

  • Motherfucker
  • Land of Sunshine
  • Caffeine
  • Evidence
  • Epic
  • Sunny Side Up
  • Surprise! You’re Dead!
  • Midlife Crisis
  • Everything’s Ruined
  • The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
  • Easy
  • We Care a Lot
  • King for a Day
  • Ashes to Ashes
  • Superhero

Encore:

  • Sol Invictus
  • Be Aggressive
  • I Started a Joke

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