Amongst flowers and a gimp, Faith No More make a triumphant return to The Warfield

Photos by Greg RaMar // Written by Scotland Miller //

Faith No More with La Plebe, Frightwig //
The Warfield – San Francisco
April 19th-20th, 2015 //

There are only so many times in a person’s life that they get to witness greatness return after a long absence. Five years removed from their last performance in SF, 18 years since their last album release and more than 20 years since their last extensive North American tour, the members of Faith No More delivered two sold-out shows at The Warfield this past Sunday and Monday. The history of the SF band can be traced back to the City during the early 80’s, and they proved that they still know what it means to do what they do best and play their unique style of music.

Sunday’s show started off with a feverish set from local Latino “punkiachi” outfit La Plebe, performing their politically charged mix of skater/surf/ska-punk-meets-mariachi-goodness. It was a great warm-up set that was highlighted by a cover of The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton”, which had a few skanking ska heads bobbing around and stomping their feet as the floor filled. For the most part, the venue was still half empty before the flowers came out.

Faith No More dressed The Warfield’s stage in fresh flowers.

It can be hard to know what to expect from a crew like Faith No More and their eccentric, yet prolific members. The entire stage was dressed in white, from the curtains to the amplifiers to the mic stands. Lining the entire length of the stage and any flat surface that would support them were thousands of dollars worth of beautiful, fresh flowers. The abundance of purples and pinks, reds and yellows created a very comfortable and soothing, yet incredibly eerie feeling as to what was about to happen next. Once the setup was complete and the lights dropped, the crowd was let in to the stark contrast that is the weird world of Faith No More. Out walked a man dressed fully in black leather from fingertip to toe, wearing a bondage mask that exposed only his mouth, and from the collar around his neck hung a leash. Out walked The Gimp.

Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton

Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Mike Bordin (drums), Billy Gould (bass) and Jon Hudson (guitar) all took the stage in white linen clothing as The Gimp took his place on his knees next to Bottum. The song “Motherfucker” from their upcoming album Sol Invictus began the set. Lead singer Mike Patton took the stage with his golden microphone and stood tall before a worshiping crowd of loyal, loving fans. With his face filled with pride, he gazed out into a packed hometown crowd with a floor full of ravaged moshers and a balcony teaming with eager faces, all ready and willing to take whatever he was about to give them.

Faith No More delivered two nights of spot-on alt-metal featuring a towering setlist of hits like “Land of Sunshine”, “Midlife Crisis”, “We Care a Lot” and “From Out of Nowhere”. Of course, there was the groundbreaking megahit “Epic”, too. But with every headbanging song of FNM’s comes an equally soft and crooning ballad, which they also supplied with their for-the-ladies cover of the Commodores’ “Easy” on both nights as well as a lovely Burt Bacharach cover of “This Guy’s in Love With You” to close out their second night in SF.

April 19th setlist:
Motherfucker
Land of Sunshine
Caffeine
Evidence
Epic
Sunny Side Up
Get Out
Midlife Crisis (Lowdown (Boz Scaggs) tease)
Last Cup of Sorrow
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Easy (Commodores cover)
Cuckoo for Caca
King for a Day
Ashes to Ashes
Superhero

Encore:
Matador
We Care a Lot
Pristina

Encore 2:
From the Dead

April 20th setlist:
Motherfucker
From Out of Nowhere
Caffeine
Evidence
Epic
Sunny Side Up
Surprise! You’re Dead!
Midlife Crisis (Lowdown (Boz Scaggs) tease)
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Easy (Commodores cover)
Spirit
King for a Day
Ashes to Ashes
Superhero

Encore:
Sol Invictus
Digging the Grave
This Guy’s in Love With You (Burt Bacharach cover)