Faith No More's European and UK tour in support of Sol Invictus was five years ago.
FNM began their Sol Invictus tour in Japan, Australia and the USA before returning to Europe in May 2015. The eighteenth show was Thursday June 25th in Werchter, Belgium at Rock Werchter.
Fortunately, Faith No More is a combination band, and there was enough material from the classic Angel Dust on the program to convince. Sometimes provocative, sometimes funny, but always sharp and to the point. "Thank you for being so patient with us," Patton winked when the spark didn't immediately flash. And also: "We are having a great time here. I wish Dave Grohl would break his leg every day. Just kidding!" After which 'All My Life' was promptly used by, yes, the Foo Fighters.
Faith No More is the kind of act with which a whole generation of teenagers has exorcised his demons. The teenagers from then are now adults, but in Werchter you saw them getting younger again. This made the contrast with the real young people - who had no use for it and moved to Oscar & The Wolf in dense droves - even greater.
Do you remember that old advertisement with Jan Thys? In it, the former TV icon attempted to get defenseless housewives to trade their usual detergent for a barrel of Dash, because nothing washed whiter than that. It seemed as if Mike Patton and his friends had also crouched, as they all stepped onto the stage in virgin suits. There they displayed the better beech work, occasionally larded with - witness the furious 'Epic' - a generous portion of rap. "Midlife crisis," you say? You bet, but one they could be proud of.
Frivolous flower arrangements were onstage, one fluorescent light followed another, all under the heading of irony. The combination between smooth classic rock and bone-hard grunge and razor-sharp metal riffs nevertheless remains special even today. Add to that a classic keyboard, a crowning singer and a cover of Lionel Ritchie, and you have a band that couldn't be missed.
Nice that Faith No More has released a new record with Sol Invictus for the first time in seventeen years, by the way. Always a risk, and they have already taken that hurdle beautifully. It remains to be concluded that the hippest name on the poster of Graspop in Werchter mainly occurred for converted thirty-somethings and forties. That says a lot about the difference between the two festivals, but also about the group itself: admired by one age category, while the rest were watching somewhat absent. That too is rock 'n' roll.
Motherfucker
From Out Of Nowhere
Caffeine
Evidence
Epic
Black Friday
Everything's Ruined
Midlife Crisis
interlude Foo Fighters, "All My Life"
+ The Trashmen, "Surfin' Bird"
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Easy (Commodores)
Separation Anxiety
Last Cup Of Sorrow
Matador
Ashes to Ashes
Superhero
We Care a Lot
Cone of Shame