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laweekly.com has managed to get ahold of the new Mondo Cane release and have put together a nice little review. Check it out

One ungulate’s thoughts on the Faith No More Sydney Soundwave show:

This is pretty cobbled together in between me working. Just some thoughts, take them with a sack of salt!

Reunited – a long intro, the sounds are great. Roddy’s keys are clear, Puffy’s kick and Billy’s bass are in perfect unison, Jon’s guitar tones are spot on and classy. Patton’s all greasy schmaltz, and wonder of wonders, the harmonies between Roddy, Jon and Patton actually sound good in the forgiving environment of the festival.

Land of Sunshine – Huge. The juxtaposition against the opening track (and indeed the previous band, Jimmy Eat World) is jarring.

Be Aggressive – Nice and hardcore. Happy they played this one because it’s one of 2 songs my Patton hating wife likes.

Evidence – It’s a pity that Jon’s basically playing covers a lot of the time, because it’s his guitar work that saves songs like this one that have me yawning. Great tone.

Surprise you’re dead – I realize at this stage that I know exactly what song’s coming up by Puffy’s count-ins. This is a Puffy track for me, some interesting work and it’s a great job that if they’re going to pick one non-Epic track from the Real Things they’ve picked this one.

Poker face -> Chinese Arithmetic – Brilliant. The Poker Face intro really showcases Patton’s vocals funnily enough. Just about any song off of Introduce Yourself kicks butt when they revive them. They’re raw, and there’s something odd about the vocal lines that puts Patton
in an uncomfortable spot and forces him to perform.

Last Cup of Sorrow – A bit of a meh song really; but seemingly a crowd pleaser. Again, harmonies that sound awful in bootlegs and broadcasts are mushed up into the acceptable by the breeze. Where’s Caffeine? A Small Victory? Digging the Grave/ A dozen better songs than this one. OK I still loved it, but…you know.

Cuckoo for Caca – Manic stuff; violent and ugly and tight as a nun’s. Cool lighting when Billy gets the spotlight in his mini-solos.

Easy – Another one which serves only to highlight Jon’s classy and professional playing of other people’s music.

Ashes to Ashes – Yet another pop stadium crowd pleasure, but it comes across way better in person than recorded, live or album.

Midlife crisis -> popcorn – this is the song that really got me into FNM, but I think it always comes across a bit weak compared to the thick production on the album. The schtick of letting the crowd sing the chorus worked a charm. Popcorn as a middle bit was chuckle worthy.

Gentle art of making Enemies – Fabuloso. Huge. Etc. Perfect.

King for a Day – The bridge on this one is really a highlight of the set. The indulgent outro has always seemed like everyone but Patton is completely lost with no effects or anywhere to go, and that hasn’t changed.

Epic – I fully expected to hate this. They tore it apart and spat it out with as much heart as any other tune, if not more. Amazing.

Just a Man – Best surprise of the night, and it sounded better than they’ve ever played it. I think Jon  is severely underrated, and he shines on these more dynamic tracks.

Ole ole -> Chariots of Fire -> Stripsearch – Ole Ole seemed out of place here. But it seemed like few of the crowd knew where they were going with this, so the effect was all cool. Roddy’s samples were incredibly loud and piercing, which in a way was strangely cool.

We Care a Lot – I’m a bit confused by this one; it’s a good stomper of a song, but is any of the crowd really familiar with FNM from 1985? Again, so many better songs to be played.

I’m pretty critical in here; that’s because I’ve seen the band half a dozen times, listened to a dozen bootleg gigs and watched a bunch of gigs on video as well; etc. etc. I don’t want to leave the review on a bad note though, so overall the show was surprisingly strong; certainly a lot better in person than listening to recent boots/watching on youtube. The band seemed to enjoy themselves and honestly I had a smile on my face for the whole 80 minutes, and I’m pumped for this evening.

Thanks to Max Cow for allowing us to publish his thoughts here.

Image c/o faster louder

With the recent release of Trevor Dunn’s baby Madlove’s debut album, White with Foam, the intertubes have been out and about and saying nice things.

The Aquarian

Bring on Mixed Review

Blog Critics

I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive so unfortunately I can’t comment yet……. What are everyone’s thoughts on the album?

www.myspace.com/whitewithfoam

NOTE: Nessie’s review was originally composed in French and was translated to English for Stubbadub. Thanks to Nessie for kindly taking the time to write and translate this review for Stubbadub.

If some people expected this Saturday, August 29th 2009 for nearly twelve years, others – and they were quite numerous – have waited this all their lives. Indeed, the return of FAITH NO MORE in the French capital has forced plenty people to make the trip to the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud to live this “golden moment”.

Scheduled for 22.15 CET, the many fans waiting patiently chanting from one end to another “Faith No More,” when some do not speak the group’s recent concerts in Edinburgh, Dublin and Reading for the lucky ones or commenting pungently on the non-event of the Paris’s festival: the split of Brits Oasis. Moreover, Roddy Bottum had earlier in the day gave his opinion on Twitter with a well deserved ” Booo Fucking Boo!”, But very quickly, impatience gave way to joy when the first notes of the now cult “REUNITED”. Great moment of emotion and applause have flared up when Mike Patton appeared before the “Grande Scène”.

The Californian quintet launches “Paris!” and “Ca va bien?” between songs and tell us they are delighted to return here after “twelve fucking years.” Always warm the first Jon Hudson’s riffs on FROM OUT OF NOWHERE show large moshpits throughout RES. The audience jumps and blowing on BE AGGRESSIVE. Therefore, the machine is started, meanwhile Mike Bordin persists on its drums for our greatest pleasure, especially when CAFFEINE cames out, Patton take some pleasure with the audience “I’m warning you …” and also the very classy EVIDENCE which will be partially sang in Italian. It’s beautiful, efficient and Paris seems already conquered.

The moshpits make their returns on a SURPRISE! YOU’RE DEAD! FNM literally unleashed with a possessed Patton and impeccably Hudson’s cascading riffs made the assistance is upside down. The bass lines of Bill Gould at the same time as the keyboards of Roddy Bottum on massive LAST CUP OF SORROW and once again, our Frisco friends had so much fun. The proof is in the “Merci Paris” issued immediately after and Mike Patton seems visibly satisfied.

At one moment, Roddy launches to 34,000 festival-goers “Je suis très jolie,” [which means « I am very pretty »] which provoked the hilarity of all the Main Stage. We’ll learn later that he had meant “Je suis très heureux” [trad, : « I am very happy »] but basically, everyone understood that he was happy to be in Paris. Joking apart, sounds just after CUCKOO FOR CACA. Patton is completely loose on this song while Puffy continues to abuse his drums. Then comes the cathodic moment of the evening with EASY, where everyone sings in choirs, raised their hands and savor this moment of communion with FNM.

The best is yet to come with MIDLIFE CRISIS (interrupted briefly by the audience sang the refrain at the request of Mike Patton and also by EastEnders theme, private joke of the Second Coming Tour) which has transcended all Paris, then with EPIC and I STARTED A JOKE, The group made Rock En Seine monumentally gone wild on GENTLE ART OF MAKING ENEMIES. And even if fans were singing [often very wrong and very loud, including me], headbangs goes on again on the last two songs KING FOR A DAY and ASHES TO ASHES. Heart was there and it was shown! Therefore, Mike Patton announced the latest track – namely JUST A MAN – despite the “prayers” of the audience and even asked us to hold a very long note. Let’s be honest, for those who were there, we were the big winners, but I’m not gonna contradict Mike Patton who has derided a “I’ve beat you !”. More laughters to Rock En Seine.

Then came time to encores, first with an impeccable MIDNIGHT COWBOY cover which sent Rock en Seine in orbit outta space before being carried away in a masterful trip CHARIOTS OF FIRE / STRIPSEARCH. Noting that the original composer, Vangelis, is acutally a Frenchman. Great ribute in particular through theatrics of FNM. Special mention to the intergalactic solo from Mr. Hudson. The end is near, but their finish from WE CARE A LOT was simply brilliant, everyone was delighted. Nearly one hour 40 minute concert, pretty valves Bottum and Patton on groups spent today (including Joy Division playing at the same time, when in reality it was the French Birdy Nam Nam).

Following what was one of the best concerts of the Parisian festival Rock en Seine, the gig given by FAITH NO MORE was literally covered with postive reviews, even rave ones. One word can summarize this event: MERCI.

Miss Nessie From Paris

Setlist:

- Reunited
- From Out Of Nowhere
- Be Aggressive
- Caffeine
- Evidence (in Italian)
- Surprise! You’re Dead!
- Cuckoo For Caca
- Easy
- Midlife Crisis (with EastEnders theme)
- Epic
- I Started A Joke
- The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies
- King For A Day
- Ashes To Ashes
- Just A Man (with the audience)

Encore :
- Midnight Cowboy
- Chariots Of Fire / Stripsearch
- We Care A Lot

Thanks again to Nessie for this great review. You can find her over at her blog or follow her on twitter.

A nice review and awesome pics of the recent Melvins show at John Henry’s, Eugene by stubbadub good friend Post Mac.

Check it out and while you’re there have a peruse of his excellent site if you feel so inclined.

Gemma (cloudysky) from the stubb forums kindly posted a heady post-gig review of the Faith No More Brixton reunion show:

“Finally got back! My God, what can I say?! No question, the greatest gig I’ve ever been to, and probably the greatest gig I WILL ever go to! There can be no words that would do it justice, it was just incredible. Breathless and incoherent overview, then.

More by luck than judgement we ended up with fantastic spots on the barrier, right in the centre of the stage! We’d arrived super early, fearing traffic problems, so ended up queuing for four hours, with only a handful of people in front of us. Couldn’t believe our luck at getting such a great position. I’m paying the price now with bruises running from ankles to collarbone, but the view was more than worth it!

Selfish Cunt were on pretty quickly.. and then off again :S I thought they were OK, to be honest, (though the sound was absolutely dreadful), but they got an awful reception. The frontman was entertaining and the band seemed tight, but I think you could’ve stuck almost anybody up there and it wouldn’t have made a difference. They didn’t deserve all the boos, but really, there was only one band we wanted to see.

It felt like it took an absolute AGE for the tech guys to set up and the band to come on. I’m sure it wasn’t actually that long, but the tension was becoming unbearable by then (though, as someone near me quite sensibly pointed out – we’d waited eleven years, what’s another ten minutes?). Still, the anticipation and excitement of five thousand people is pretty infectious! It felt totally surreal; too good to be true. The roadies seemed to frown and tinker endlessly with every piece of equipment – I spent a good minute terrified that something would go wrong and the whole thing would be called off. It was pretty thrilling to see the table brought up front for Mike’s vocal stuff – lots of mic gadgetry and a great big megaphone! After the roadies finally finished there were rising chants of ‘you fat bastards’ and then the most thunderous, deafening roar when the band took to the stage. In pastel lounge suits! Big cheers for everybody – Puffy first, arms aloft, then Roddy and Billy to start ‘Reunited’, followed by Jon and then, to the loudest shouts and screams I have ever heard, Mike. Welcome back, guys.

Absolutely brilliant opening song! I knew they’d planned something special, but I never expected anything so funny, fitting and perfect. I’m sure everyone’s seen it by now, but this video -(below) – captures it so well. What you can’t see clearly in the video is the massive beaming grins all over the faces of the band by the time the chorus strikes up and the crowd really gets it. It was a beautiful moment, I swear. You can definitely hear the smile in Mike’s voice around the 2.45 mark. It was fantastic to see how pleased he was to be there, no matter how cool he played it when he sauntered across stage at the beginning. I was way too excited at the time, but I confess I’ve since shed a little tear watching it back. Incredible, emotional, and triumphant:
‘Reunited, and it feels so good/ Reunited ’cause we understood/ There’s one perfect fit/ And, sugar, this one is it/ We both are so excited ’cause we’re reunited..’
I know it’s beyond dumb to pin hopes on a cheeky cover, but it really makes me pray there might be more to this than the summer 2009 tour. My head says no, but my heart says yes, dammit!

After Reunited, straight into The Real Thing.. just completely transcendental to hear that live, with every line bellowed back at the stage. The crowd went mental for From Out of Nowhere – the crush at the front was completely solid, about 20 people deep from now on. Ouch. Land of Sunshine was insane – Mike was leaping around, howling and crouching, mic stuck down his throat for the echoing laughter.
Perfect opener from Mike – calling us all fuckheads and incest babies. Awesome. I’m sure everybody knows the superb setlist by now, and I can’t remember everything, but.. Caffeine, Evidence, Chinese Arithmetic, all completely brilliant. (At some point around here I scored half a discarded drumstick! It split mid-song, so Puffy flung it into the crowd – it landed and broke in two pieces in front of the security guard in front of me and he gave me the grip end. Thank you Puffy, thank you security dude! The stick has the same ‘Faith No More 2009′ logo as the drumkit, along with a signature and a little cartoon Puffy drumming, with hair flying everywhere! I’ve barely put it down since Wednesday!)

Thrilled to hear Surprise You’re Dead, then a gorgeous sing-along Easy. Everything sounded amazingly tight and together. Last Cup of Sorrow, then into Midlife Crisis after Mike made a joke about it now being autobiographical He also responded to chants of ‘you fat bastards’ earlier by ruefully rubbing his belly and saying it was true now. Visceral, energetic performance of Midlife Crisis, then the band abruptly stopped playing to let the crowd sing a chorus.. magical.. then Mike said we had the wrong song, and whistled Popcorn for a while instead. Cuckoo for Caca after being told that the drummer’s feeling lazy and only wants to play ballads. Gentle Art of Making Enemies, and then RV! Absolutely perfect, with Mike baiting a couple of good-humoured security chaps (pointing and laughing at one when he got to the ‘..stupider..’ part, and then creeping up on another to steal his earbud, then forcing it into the guy’s mouth a little later).

King for a Day sounded absolutely incredible. I was pretty sure I’d died and gone to heaven by now, after hearing two of my favourite songs back to back, but then.. Malpractice. Completely stunned, wildest-dreams territory. Wow. After that, straight into Jizzlobber, and Be Aggressive, which half the crowd, around me at least, had been bellowing for all night. Absolutely amazing – the band was perfect, and Mike flung himself all over the place, wild-eyed and shrieking, with his ass in the air over the monitors, then curled in a ball, legs behind his head (still singing!), finally ending up flat on his back, spread-eagled, halfway off the stage. Then Epic, sounding just as incredible. The whole place went ballistic. Mark Bowen to finish. Thank-yous, fists pressed against hearts, and waves as they left the stage to the hugest applause.
Back on for the encore – Chariots of Fire! Which Mike beatboxed for, and Roddy apparently didn’t believe was a movie theme. Then seaguing into Stripsearch, which I hadn’t even dared to hope to dream would be played. Absolutely stunning. Then Just a Man to finish up – perfect.
Off again, then back for a second encore! I Started A Joke, and finally Pristina.

Ugh, nothing I could say would really do justice to what an amazing night it was. I thought it was a fantastic list of songs – so many unexpected choices along with old favourites. Such a treat to hear Malpractice and Stripsearch. As a whole, the band was fantastic – so tight and together for guys warming up after an eleven year break. The atmosphere and camaraderie was palpable, and it was great to see them obviously enjoying themselves as they played. Mike Patton was on stunning form. He is such an absurdly good singer – every note pitch-perfect, no matter what style, nor where he’s flinging himself on stage. His energy seemed completely undimmed. Every text I’ve received from friends since has been along the lines of ‘is Patton as good live as they say?’, and the answer is a resounding ‘yes – even better’.

I am beaten and bruised, totally skint, and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. Greatest night ever. Thank you so much, Mike P, Roddy, Billy, Jon and Mike B. Stay reunited! x”

As it appears in the latest Drum (10th Feb issue):

“Fantomas nearly upstaged the main act with their renditions of ’70′s and ’80′s classic and cult movie theme songs, whilst dressed in white cricket uniforms, zinc smeared on cheeks. With a tight energy that took years of touring to hone, the band were amazingly precise on every note, especially drummer Dale Crover, whilst still giving frontman Mike Patton a chance to add his falsetto flairs and convulsing body movements to songs Der Golem and Cape Fear. They continued to play through through The Director’s Cut in random order, leaving the audience satisfied to the point where the main act could have been forgotten entirely.”

The rest is about Serj Tankian and his “band”. I’m not going to bother transcribing that as their show was less than average.

drummedia.com.au