"This heat is bulls---!" shouted Faith No More frontman Mike Patton towards the end of his band's set at the Williamsburg Waterfront in Brooklyn, New York on Monday night (July 5). He was not wrong. The heat wave had pushed temperatures up into the high 90s during the day and had cooled to a no-less-miserable 88 by the time the band took the stage shortly before 8:30 p.m. for the second of two gigs at the venue during the band's reunion tour. It was their first visit to the New York area in over 10 years, which is why so many bearded and tattooed devotees braved dehydration and body odor to check out one of the most dynamic heavy rock bands of all time.
Despite the heat, Patton still played the show dressed in his signature all-red suit (though he did discard the jacket about two songs in) and engaged in his typically manic on-stage routine of bouncing, dancing and even a stage dive or two. Faith No More's brand of funk-infused metal (they exist somewhere between Bad Brains, early Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction and Anthrax) has always relied as much on cheeky humor as it does on savage execution, and that attitude was on display often when the band dipped into their deep well of covers. In fact, many of the most memorable moments from the show came courtesy of other people's songs, including a wacky cover of the Jackson 5's "Ben," a surprisingly blistering approach to the Bee Gees' "I Started a Joke" and a faithful, almost lovely rendition of the Commodores' "Easy."
But the headbangers who came for the funky brutality walked away happy too. The groovy grind of "Last Cup of Sorrow" sounded just as envelope-pushing and catchy as it did on 1997's Album of the Year, while "Chinese Arithmetic" was a stunning bit of jiu-jitsu (aided by some beatboxing care of special guest Rahzel). Their MTV hit "Epic" was greeted as the memorable smash that it is (though Patton sounded slightly self-conscious busting out that rap) and the powerful, bouncy tracks "Be Aggressive" and "We Care a Lot" provided ample opportunities for the fans to chant along while the boys did some banging around. They even busted out "The Crab Song," a deep cut from their 1987 album Introduce Yourself.
"You guys look a little older," Patton remarked about the crowd. There may have been some gray patches in the goatees and some awfully worn T-shirts in the audience, but Patton — and more importantly, his band's approach to hard rock — remains shockingly timeless.