20 Faith No More Shows You Wish You Were At
- Faith No More Followers
- 7 hours ago
- 13 min read
Which Faith No More show do you wish you had attended? The first answer we are all in no doubt shouting at the screen is ‘the next one’, but until that happens (we still have hope) let us look back over the band’s touring history and some of their most memorable gigs.
Every FNM show is very different from era to era and some will of course mean more to certain fans than others - however there are some performances which are more significant within the band's time-line than others.
We must thank Andrew at the Faith No More Gig Database and his tireless efforts in collecting an encyclopaedia of FNM's concert info. Thanks to journalists such as Steffan Chirazi, Neil Perry, and Mike Gitter for writing reviews that, regardless whether they were good or bad, preserve Faith No More touring history. And, we must also thank broadcasters and bootleggers who keep memories of these events alive - whether that be legally or not.
20 Faith No More Shows You Wish You Were At
Imagine being at Faith No More's first ever show.
In the summer of 1983 Faith. No Man went through several line-up changes, the most significant was that keyboard player Wade Worthington was replaced by Roddy Bottum. Soon bassist Bill Gould, drummer Mike Bordin and Roddy broke away and changed their name to Faith. No More. Their first show was in October at On Broadway featuring Jake Smith on guitar (his only ever show with the band) and Joe Pop-o-Pie on vocals. Early versions of The Jungle, Why Do You Bother? and Spirit were in the set and it was recorded by Matt Wallace.
Even though the band was not yet complete FNM's unmistakable sound can be heard at this gig. So historic is this first performance as Faith. No More, Adrian Harte dedicates a full chapter to this night in his book Small Victories: The True Story.
‘We had incense. It was part of that neo-hippie vibe we were pushing. Incense, dashikis, dreadlocks. We were super ramshackle hodgepodge fashion. We wore dashikis for sure. We had gotten into Last Poets, and we loved fucking with all the punkers who were wearing the
traditional Doc Martens. It was so uncool to be a dirty hippie at that time. It was our main intention to set ourselves apart from the scene that was going on at the time. And we just found it all really provocative and hilarious.' - Roddy Bottum 2014
The famous show that began Mike Patton's journey into FNM.
There is no set list available but you can bet that the band included early versions of songs from the Introduce Yourself album as well as We Care A Lot album tracks. Witness accounts suggest that there were only about 6 people in the crowd as the university was on study leave, and that the band’s performance wasn’t great.
However, if you are a student of Faith No More history you will understand the significance of this show. The eighteen year old Patton and his buddy Trey Spruance were in the crowd and famously handed Mike Bordin a copy of Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny which was the catalyst that led to Patton joining FNM.
'Faith No More played Eureka in a pizza parlour place we played dozens of times. There were 6 people there and 3 of them were my friends. It was really bad, a really pathetic show and I remember them standing around the van really upset. Puffy was really uptight wanting to know where to get weed. Nobody was talking to him, I think he asked us because we were just hanging around. But their situation then never even registered with me, touring was unreal, Warner Bros was like a Tom And Jerry cartoon. At that time I didn't wanna know about any of that shit. I gave them a tape and told them, This is what music from around here sounds like, from this region.' - Mike Patton 1993
FNM’s first show outside the USA.
By early '88 the band had already established a dedicated fan base in the UK mainly due to their sound fitting right in with English popular post punk / new wave. Many fans would follow FNM around England on this maiden voyage and stay connected to the band for the next twenty years.
Reviews in Sounds and Kerrang! suggest the live mix was bad but the talent and personality of the band were enough to make a great show.
'The sound never improves and Chuck never really sung a note. If it's Metal then you could just die laughing. If Faith No More are a little more important then you may well be on the right track. "You've been a great audience. An ugly audience, but still a great audience!"' - Kerrang! 1988
Patton's first live performance with Faith No More.
Another first, as Patton appears on stage as FNM’s front man for the first time introducing the band's new lineup to their home town.
According to Steffan Chirazi the sound was terrible and the FNM fan base didn’t take well to the appointment of a new singer. In fact one fan gave a note to Patton reading ‘'You stupid, sexist, macho asshole. What are you doing? Get off the stage. Where's Chuck? He rocks...’
Would you want to be there? Of course you would. What a chance to see to earliest incarnation of what would become the band that changed the face of music over the next decade.
'Who knew what to expect when FNM unveiled their new singer at The IBeam recently? But Patton lay waste to the band 's previous singer. Patton's advantages. He wasn't drunk, he can sing, he can dance. He has energy and conviction. The band seems recharged and ready to roar with new material that could break the band big. By the evening's end, the scene sported a return to real ugliness, broken glasses, a broken camera and a piece of Patton hate mail that read 'You guys were cool, but get this long haired asshole off the stage...' To the person that write that - stop taking drugs and realise it when talent spits you in the face.' - Steffan Chirazi. Bam Magazine.
Faith No More and Soundgarden on-stage together.
In 1990 FNM were on the verge of exploding into stardom. The Real Thing tour lasted for nearly three years and the band enjoyed success around the globe.
In March of the same year FNM were on the road with Voivod and Soundgarden. In this footage we see Kim Thayil and the late Chris Cornell invading the stage during War Pigs. What a chance to see two titans of the alternative metal scene in their early days.
'You Fat Bastards...'
The quintessential classic The Real Thing era show with FNM displaying all the characteristics we have come to love. A crude sense of humour, Patton's schizophrenic dance moves, Bordin's ferocity behind the kit, Jim Martin's statuesque brilliance, Roddy's sex faces and Bill's famous hunch and skip.
The gig includes moments that have become legend and that any Faith No More fan can recite. 'So what, are you ready to fuckin' go home?' or 'Hey, it's time to snap kids. It's time to fuckin' snap goddamnit.'
Imagine being in the crowd and being forever immortalised on film.
'Whether or not you appreciate the vinyl, there's no denying Faith No More are one of the most compelling bands to hit the live circuit recently. Their ingenious hybrid of rock, rap, funk and the odd classical break is transformed into something magical on stage, while the crazy showmanship of singer Mike Patton — as unpredictable a character as former vocalist Chuck Mosley — makes the show visually as well as aurally exciting. Brixton was packed and heaving, but its all starting to look a little bit too easy.' - RIP Magazine 1990
The show that began Faith No More's love affair with South America.
For FNM's first appearance in South America they had their largest audience to date of around two hundred thousand. The TV and press coverage was immense and the media storm that followed FNM around Brazil over those few days was intense - they were mobbed by fans in the street and interviewed for numerous TV stations including several features for MTV. Their set was broadcast throughout Latin America by TV Globo.
For most of the world it was this video footage shown on Raw Power at 3am that gave us a taste of this amazing performance.
'It was a huge moment for the world's best band right now, a culmination of their 18 month 'The Real Thing' campaign in the most spectacular of settings. The Maracana stadium was full. The band were on form. Vocalist Mike Patton was unstoppable.
Faith No More ate this show up and spat it right back at the people, almost making the damn venue seem like an intimate club gig, not a vast stadium. In rising to this occasion FNM proved they are really here to stay.' - Kerrang! 1991
Introducing Angel Dust to the world.
In May of 1992 Faith No More held their album release party for Angel Dust in their adopted home of London. A select crowd of journalists and friends were invited to the (now gone) Marquee Club to be the lucky few to hear FNM, under the pseudonym Haircuts That Kill, play songs from their fourth studio album a month before it's release. The band gathered with the press for a release party then performed that night to a packed crowd, a warm-up show for their stadium tour with Guns 'N Roses.
'The joy of Faith No More is that they belong nowhere, to no movement, scene, label or geographical youth club. They owe nothing to no one. "We're playing Wembley in June," Bill informs the crowd. "Don't come". "Yeah," nods Patton in agreement, "stay at home and phone in some bomb threats".' - Neil Perry NME
Faith No More playing a truly oddball set.
FNM took a rare break from supporting G'n'R at sell out stadiums to give fans a more intimate experience at this small club in Hamburg. The set is sloppy but a lot of fun and includes covers that the band only played on this night. What's more is that Mike Patton played bass for some of the songs.
This show is preserved in one of the most famous bootleg recordings titled Undercover Gig.
'The concert itself is a blur. It was crowded, it was hot, it was long, it was fantastic. At one point Mike Patton called for a break as he needed some air. Later he announced they would play until everybody left. Nobody did.' - Review 2022
Pouring piss over Axl Rose's monitor!
Angel Dust era Mike Patton was fascinated with all sorts of bodily fluids, the self proclaimed shit terrorist was guilty of many disgusting onstage antics. The band also found pleasure in taunting tour buddies Guns N Roses.
During an MTV interview Roddy revealed to fans that they enjoyed encouraging the crowd to throw litter on stage, and at a stadium show in Spain Patton had climbed up on Axl's monitor and emptied a bottle of urine over his head.
Footage taken from Video Croissant shows the air filled with trash at the following show in Lisbon.
'Faith No More love Hootie and the Blowfish. Go buy their fuckin' records. Everybody give it up for Hootie!'
Faith No More supporting their album King For A Day... in 1995 was a wholly different experience for fans than ever before. The band looked like the cast of Trainspotting as Patton was acrobatically possessed, Roddy was glam and Dean Menta was the new kid on the block replacing Jim Martin.
The band's performance at Pinkpop illustrates this perfectly and for those who weren't lucky enough to be there it's on Youtube in HD. Highlights include - replacing Mike B with a drum machine for the first time in FNM history! Also, Patton tearing up at the end of a stunning performance of the song King For A Day.
More bodily fluids!
FNM skipped South America during their Angel Dust tour, cancelling five shows in August 1992 - possibly because of the divide with their Big, Sick and Ugly guitarist. They returned triumphantly in September 1995.
At Monsters of Rock in Chile 3/4 of the band shaved their heads for possibly their most aggressive performance of all time!
'...due to their characteristics may make one think that they are not capable of producing anything other than debauchery and violence, but if you listen carefully their capacity becomes evident.'
Adrian Harte again dedicated a full chapter in his FNM book to the Chile connection.
The spitting started straight away. By the third song, ‘Midlife Crisis’, Patton’s T-shirt was damp with saliva. Ten songs in—a cover of Portishead’s ‘Glory Box’—and the singer was showered in spittle, his face and shaved head dripping with saliva. Was this a more extreme version of the Viña del Mar opprobrium? It was merely tradition. Since the early 80s, performers at hard rock shows had been spat at, in a regional variation of the gobbing at 70s punk shows. It usually did not go down well. Axl Rose stormed offstage when spat on
in Santiago in 1992, and then Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bailey cut a song short after he was spat at in 1996. Patton embraced it. During ‘Midlife’, he opened his mouth wide and pointed inside, directing the spitters to their target. During ‘Glory Box’, he picked a spit globule from his temple and tasted it.
‘It was such a disgusting display of honour,’ Bottum notes, ‘but I remember all of us were really into the spit.’ Gould adds, ‘That was a high energy show we gave them. It was September 11, so it was the anniversary of the coup. People were really jacked up, and we fed off of that. People liked to spit. We were totally fine with that. He had no problem with that. He did what he had to do.’
Metallica joined Faith No More in 1989, Ozzy joined FNM in 1990, but Sparks joining FNM on-stage in 1997 was the first official collaboration was witnessed.
The Album of the Year tour was the beginning of Jon Hudson's live career with FNM. Faith No More's slick brat pack image would stick for the next fifteen years.
At their favourite UK venue the band continued their funeral parade of a tour by bringing out electro oddballs Sparks to perform This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us with them during the encore. Something they would repeat in December 2010.
'But that's not to say that there aren't still moments of sheer brilliance in a Faith No More set - and that, I guess, is why we still keep coming. Tonight, they slither onstage in their typically outlandish fashion with their cover of the theme from 'Midnight Cowboy', before launching into the usually unusual hit- and-miss cabaret. Mike Patton, as ever, is a totally captivating frontman, writhing and cavorting like the delinquent child of Iggy, crooning like the Frank Sinatra of metal. And it has to be said, when they get it right, Faith No More are unstoppable.' - Kerrang! 1997
Faith No More's last show before an eleven year hiatus.
Maybe this show should not appear in this list as it marked the end of FNM 1.0. However it stands as a landmark show in FNM's career. Only two weeks after this performance Faith No More announced that they were... no more.
'After 15 long and fruitful years, Faith No More have decided to put an end to speculation regarding their imminent break up... by breaking up.'
'Reunited and it feels so good...'
On June 10th 2009 Faith No More played their first show after eleven years apart at Brixton Academy.
So thrilling was this show that it deserves more than just a paragraph of text, read the full review HERE.
During their Second Coming tour Faith No More made a point of visiting parts of the world they had never been, parts of the world no band of their calibre had ever been.
Serbia has since become Bill Gould's second home. During his travels in Central Europe and The Balkans the bassist discovered new music to release via Koolarrow Records. He embraced the culture, food and drink. He introduced many to the alcoholic drink rakija by brewing and shipping his own brand called Yebiga.
In July 2010 FNM were somewhat hindered by a late stage arrival and technical issues, however Mike Patton's stage antics were off the chart! Often now listed in favourite Patton moments, the frontman commandeered film cameras, rode around on the shoulders of manager Tim Moss and quite spectacularly scaled a camera crane.
'After a lengthy wait, Faith No More followed with a set that showed – in full force – the extent of frontman Mike Patton’s insanity. It included a wedding singer style cover of Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited”, a couple of tributes to new World Cup champions Spain, a short rendition of Michael Jackson’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and a dangerous clamber up the camera pole (whilst singing) in between some of FNM’s greatest including “Ashes to Ashes.”' - Clash Magazine 2010
King For A Day in full with Trey Spruance!
On November 12th 2011 FNM returned to Santiago, Chile for a very special unprecedented show. The band played their fifth studio album King For A Day Fool For A Lifetime in its entirety. With the addition of the record's fifth composer Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance on guitar - this was first time he had played live with the band. During this show it was also the first time Star A.D. and Absolute Zero had been performed on the stage. Add a full choir to backup Patton on the chorus of Just A Man and you've quite possible one the greatest FNM shows ever!
'Get the motherfucker on the phone...'
On November 28th 2014 Faith No More performed a surprise show at Amoeba Records in San Francisco. FNM surprised us with a show to celebrate Record Store Day Black Friday and the release of Motherfucker on 7" vinyl, their first new music in 17 years.
Again, let us dedicate a full review of this outstanding show rather than a few words. Read HERE.
Intimate night with Lump!
For one night on the Sol Invictus tour Faith No More ditched the white stage dress, the flowers and the gimp for a close quarters undercover gig under the pseudonym Lump on Thursday September 3rd at The Troubadour, Los Angeles.
'Roddy Bottum, sporting a Tom of Finland tee alerted the crowd, “This is the first time we play without our stage “uniforms” in 21 years and it feels good.” Casual and relaxed. The band dressed like they were playing a living room gig. But they played like they were in a goddam arena.' - Grimy Goods 2016
Faith No More return to their roots with Chuck!
'It was a blast. I mean it was brutal. Yeah, I was worried about falling over or fucking up but I didn’t do either. So, it was really good.' - Chuck The Quietus 2016
Of all the shows on this list surely this rates as one of the highest for hardcore fans of Faith No More.
The last time FNM were live on-stage.
The last time we would see the late Chuck Mosley with his old band mates.
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