Gig review: Faith No More in Christchurch

A newly reformed Faith No More provided an epic experience for faithful Christchurch fans. Reviewer Vicki Anderson was there.

Faith No More
Where: Westpac Arena
When:  Tuesday, February 16

Epic! It was the second coming of Faith No More and devoted fans numbering around 4000 screamed "We care a lot!" after waiting for more than a decade to revisit history.

Kicking off proceedings were sexy rock beasts the Eagles of Death Metal - the project of Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes.

Baby Duck wasn't there but Queens of the Stone Age's Joey Castillo was. Hughes was as smooth as always, baby - flashing T-shirt and all, it was a thrill to hear Wannabe In LA live.

The bass started thudding through my heart, the volume was turned up to super loud and fans' response was equally deafening as the quintet that is Faith No More walked on stage looking as eccentric as ever in peach and pink suits with yellow corsages.

Jackets were unbuttoned and discarded and the captivating Mike Patton, with slicked back hair and trademark megaphone, then led the group through a thoughtful setlist that faultlessly mixed greatest hits with the band's best and little known numbers.

Faith No More's chemistry together was magnetic. Mike "Puffy" Bordin's grey dreads were the only sign that time had passed.

The years just melted away as Patton's fabulously eccentric approach, and astonishing vocal abilities, treated the crowd to a high energy show with substance.

A laughing Patton bantered with the crowd, chastising those seated upstairs with "Are we in the public library? Are we reading Tolstoy?" and grabbed a cellphone from the crowd and sang into it.

Even in a two-hour set this group couldn't hope to play everything that fans came to hear - they just have so much to offer - but highlights were We Care A Lot, Easy Like Sunday Morning, Be Aggressive ("Christchurch you win"), Ashes To Ashes, Just A Man and personal favourites Ricochet and Epic.

As a show it was a completely satisfying experience full of monolithic music, tongue-in-cheek moments and an overall sense of cheerfulness and professionalism.

Patton asked if we wanted "more" and the answer was unanimous.

Two encores later the night ended on a slightly quiet note.

Fans were well and truly rewarded for keeping the faith.

Nothing's better than the real thing.

* What did you think of Faith No More? Post your comments below.

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