A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Faith No More
Williamsburg Waterfront, Williamsburg July 5, 2010

When a popular band breaks up, fans often fantasize about the possibility of them getting back together for the ever-satisfying reunion tour. Faith No More called it quits some ten years ago, when lead singer Mike Patton went onto a well received solo career. And although he was never able to find the same success as a solo frontman, he embraced the opportunity to experiment with new sounds and new music. Several times over the years, Patton would claim that a Faith No More reunion would never happen, and then later intimated that a reunion was a possibility. As a fan, I thought all of this was just talk, and the band would forever be remembered as a cool funk metal band from the early nineties, who have helped influence a lot of the music we have seen in the past decade.

But 2010 proved to be different. After a successful run of international festivals, Faith No More announced a sprinkling of domestic tour dates (four in California and three east coast stops), two of which were at the incredible Williamsburg Waterfront (also home to Jelly’s Pool Parties) on July 2nd and July 5th as a part of their reunion tour. LocalBozo.com got a great spot to check out the monumental July 5th show live and outdoors in Brooklyn.

Before Faith No More took the stage, the opener was “America’s Funnyman,” Neil Hamburger, whose moniker was self-appointed. If you have not heard of Mr. Hamburger, imagine a modern day, living, Andy Kaufman. Hamburger wears an ill-fitting suit, drinks on stage, and basically insults the audience, which all happens when he’s not telling horribly offensive, bad jokes. But I admire his courage and I think that comedy needs more guys like him- a truly polarizing figure- and he knows it.

The venue was packed- a totally sold out show. The temperature was in the upper nineties, and while water and shade were a must, most people settled for beer and baking in the blistering Brooklyn sun. The crowd surprised me a little since it wasn’t filled with denim wearing metal heads from the eighties. In retrospect, I guess it makes sense because I got into Faith No More around 1991 when they struck mass appeal with the single “Epic,” a funky, precursor to rap/nu-metal. They were in heavy MTV rotation at the time, even making a promotional appearance on the afternoon request show “Hangin With MTV.”

Faith No More took the stage with a fury and seeing them onstage in person was an awesome experience. Some of my personal highlights of the show were songs off of their sophomore album Angel Dust. “Land of Sunshine” rocked the crowd and brought strangers together (myself included), belting out the lyrics almost louder then Patton himself. Speaking of Mike Patton, this guy doesn’t miss a note. He is an amazing vocalist who appears possessed on stage. “Midlife Crisis,” also from Angel Dust brought the crowd to a feverish frenzy, as mosh pits started to form all over the spread out concert grounds. It was great to finally hear “Epic” off of the album The Real Thing, live. They put a great new spin on it while at the same time retaining the great studio arraignment that made it a catchy funk-metal song in the first place. Bass was also in full effect and turned up to the highest levels on such treats as “Be Aggressive” and the encore, “We Care A lot” which featured the Rahzel, “The Human Beatbox.” These tunes had the entire Waterfront on a constant vibration.

Even though the energy remained high throughout the whole show, I would be remiss not to comment on the fact they left out some of my favorite songs. Since this was a reunion tour, I was hoping to hear “From Out Of Nowhere” and “Falling to Pieces.” But beggars can’t be choosers- the band didn’t even have to get back together at all.

I went into the show with extremely high expectations. I don’t want to say that I was disappointed, as there was plenty that was really great. I guess when you like a band as a kid you often romanticize about finally seeing them perform live. This time, the fantasy was better than the reality. But hey, it was metal. It was the summer. And there was plenty of good food, beer, and people to make it a memorable concert going experience overall.

Faith No More- Live at the Williamsburg Waterfront, Brooklyn, NY

July 5, 2010

Setlist (Courtesy of Setlist.fm)

1. Midnight Cowboy (John Barry cover)

2. The Real Thing

3. Be Aggressive

4. Land of Sunshine

5. The Crab Song

6. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

7. Last Cup of Sorrow

8. Chinese Arithmetic (with Rahzel)

9. Easy (The Commodores cover)

10. Midlife Crisis

11. Digging the Grave

12. Ashes to Ashes

13. Ben (Michael Jackson cover)

14. King for a Day

15. Epic

16. Just a Man

17. I Started a Joke (Bee Gees cover)

18. As the Worm Turns

19. We Care a Lot (with Rahzel)

20. Stripsearch

- Alan Smithee