Three Fantomas Aussie Articles
Serj and Fantomas, The Tivoli, Brisbane @ Fasterlouder
“First up, as promised, Fantomas delivered the whole kit and caboodle, the full length, original version with no editing, director’s cut of their album The Director’s Cut. The boys come on stage donned in white cricketers get-up. I don’t know why. Front man, Mike Patton, complete with white glove mitts comes on stage and promptly leaps into a perfectly executed theme to The Godfather.
Patton moves with the music, acting as conductor to the band, changing the tempo, melody and even style of the song with just a twinkle of the eye or an expert swish of his arms. With drummer Dave Lombardo (of Slayer fame) missing from the band tonight, you can tell that Patton is more than ever keeping it together. And he does it well. He reveals his excitement when a pace change goes to plan, and skillfully hides a mishap by ad-libbing.
Besides this, Fantomas deliver an almost flawless set. The Serj Tankian fans are in awe, and everyone wants more. A crowd favourite is the haunting song, Rosemary’s Baby, adapted from the film’s theme song. Patton’s voice is truly amazing. In this song, he makes the simple words ‘la la la la’ sound deadly and then innocent and then creepy and then vacant. His screamo voice is also nothing to contend with. Using his whole body, he thrusts the words forward into his highly movable microphone, like he’s possessed and needs to get it out. It is a great sight to see such a musician in action.
The boys finish with the second song on the album, Der Golem, a tune from the 1920s German silent horror film. The crowd is astounded, and the die-hard fans are relieved that this song wasn’t glazed over. One guy, who obviously knows the album from back to front, says to his friend, “I was worried for a moment. I thought they’d forgotten this one, but no, they just pulled it out right at the end’. What a relief.”
