• Mike Patton gives a very good interview to new British online publication The Stool Pigeon. No Faith No More news but still entertaining. More on The Stool Pigeon.
• Via Patton Archivo, the whole of Mike Patton – “Luciano Berio: Laborintus II on Vimeo.
  
• Don’t wave flags at Faith No More concerts.
  
  
• Preview of Mondo Cane in Moscow: “In Moscow, the orchestra Globalis is to play with Patton, while the “Trololo Man” Eduard Khil is to appear on stage as a special guest.” Firsa in comments suggests this might have something to do with this.
  
  (via Patton’s Facebook)
• Lusty and Faith No More backstage in Finland including this pic of the band checking out this here blog.
  
• More expert comment and great photos on Mondo Cane in Wroclaw and Milan from Kika’s blog.

Mike Patton played the fourth of his Mondo Cane shows at the Blue Balls festival in picturesque Lucerne last night. Torrential rain and incessant roadworks turned a two-and-a-half-hour car journey to Lucerne into a three-and-half-hour trip so I missed the first few songs. So when I walked in mid-song to my well-appointed seats, I was blown away by the sheer bigness of the sound and the loudness and clarity of Patton’s voice. The decor, size and acoustics of the very modern concert hall were perfect and Patton’s band, led by Daniele Luppi, backing singers Slash Singers and the 21st Century Orchestra were in top form.

My videos below:

After seeing Patton with Faith No More so many times over the past year, it was slightly surreal to see the devilish dervish somewhat contained in this setting  – which did not stop one metalhead headbanging throughout – but his articulate, powerful crooning was also accompanied by trademark screams and some equally typical vocal noises.

He was also in very good form, at one stage thanking the audience for “coming out on a horrible night when you should be at home. I would have stayed at home.” He also poked fun at the name of the festival, at one stage declaring: “This song is dedicated to al the guys out there who have Blue Balls, like me. Don’t blame me? I didn’t name the festival, you did.”

Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain a setlist and my knowledge of the full Mondo Cane repertoire is such that I couldn’t guess at one either, suffice to say that it seemed the same as the one posted for Wroclaw.

Thanks to Mike and Elvira for sorting out tickets.

• First video of Mike Patton and Mondo Cane in Florence [the Italian city not the English singer] last night.
• Somewhat surreal video from the Milan local government of the pre-gig meeting between Mike and the Mayor of Milan Letizia Moratti [the name may be familair to football fans; as well as being a successful if somewhat right wing politician in her own right, she is the sister-in-law of Massimo Moratti, owner of European champions FC Internazionale Milano].
• (Hat tip alienvisionary on Twitter and Renaud in comments)
• And Mike meets another dignitary after the show, Lusty.
• More Lusty, from her Consequence of Sound interview with Kid Koala, some Lovage news: “The Lovage music is done for the most part but we’re just waiting for Mike and Jennifer to get together and write again.”
• And finally some Faith No More – remember them? – from back in the day. Poland in 1993 to be exact. (Thanks to porcelaine74 on ye olde Twitter for the info).
• (Great intro and I’d kill for one of those robes)
• Another full Faith No More concert on Vimeo: Faith No More at Rock in Rio II in 1991.

A few videos have surfaced of Mike’s Mondo Cane’s second tour date.


Check out all the details including setlist at the Italian Musica Metal site.

Here are some videos finally of last night’s tour opener. Looking forward to seeing this show in Luzern at the Blue Balls festival (!) next Thursday.

And right on cue, here is Lusty’s review from Consequence of Sound. And, courtesy of Lusty, the set list:
Setlist:
Il Cielo in una Stanza
Che Notte
Ore d’amore
20 Km al Giorno
Quello Che Conta
Urlo Negro
Legata ad un Granello di Sabbia
Deep Down
Pine, Fucile ed Occhiali
Scalinatella
L’uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare
Ma L’amore no
Canzone
Ti Offro da Bere
Dio Come ti Amo
Storia d’amore
Lontano, Lontano
O Venezia
Yeeeeeeh !
Senza Fine
ENCORE
Sigaretta
Sole Malato

• Relive Warfield! No, not that one or even that one or even the one with Chuck. The whole show from 19 August 1992 is now up on Vimeo (thanks to The Holy Filament).
  
• Lusty’s Faith No More and general Ilosaarirock Festival is up at Consequence of Sound. Extract: “Taking the show at face value, there wasn’t anything particularly different about it when compared to other shows on their reunion tour. No new songs were played, Patton was as utterly insane as ever, Bill Gould, Roddy Bottum, Jon Hudson and Mike Bordin held down the fort with their usual determination and strength. But there was a buzz of sadness and infamy in the air, which came to light as soon as Gould announced that Finland was a fitting place “for our last show.” “Forever,” Patton added dramatically.”
• Onet.pl has a review of last night’s Mondo Cane tour opener in Wroclaw headlined Romantic Mike Patton. The review notes that for the “intimate” show, Patton was joined by seven musicians, a three-person choir and 12 members of the Wroclaw Film Harmony Orchestra.
• Onet also have a gallery from the concert.
  

The band say thanks on stage

Pic of the set list courtesy of Lauralydia (Ben was played, Reunited and Kashmir (!) were not)

Roddy Bottum has just updated his blog with his thoughts on the final show of the Second Coming tour in Finland. As always, an illuminating read: “thanks to all of you out there who’ve supported us and shown interest.  it was beyond our wildest that we’d get the sort of encouragement and praise and reactions that you’ve all given.  it clearly has made this trip worthwhile.” The feeling is entirely mutual.

Thanks for all the great comments about the site on earlier posts. Don’t worry; whatever happens to the band, we’ll be continuing with the blog.

• Back to the future, or the past to be exact, with the final part in the wonderful KiK Axe exhumed interviews series.
  
  
  
• Lusty gives the lowdown on the last show of the Second Coming Tour.
• Gurtenfestival review brands Patton the “Lucifer of Rock”.
• Effusive review of FNM at Forestglade from leading Austrian radio station FM4. Sample quotes: “Faith No More is a dirty beast…a hot love, which calls itself a whore, and that’s why it is so attractive”. And: “Faith No More covers Jackson, how cool, how incredibly callous and loving at the same time is that?” And: “Then the maniac [Patton] climbed on the amplifier stack and jumped headlong into the drums of Mike “Puffy” Bordin, the coolest drummer in the world, simply because no one can resist a left-hander as a drummer. A gigantic finale of a band that lost itself in the past but thank God once again found each other.”
• Superbly misjudged review of Faith No More at Dour from the New Current blog. Sample quote: “Their show seemed nothing more than former heavy weights rockers wanting to reclaim their youth – think Pamela Anderson trying to run down a Californian Beach now – in their day the guys no doubt had some power. Now all they came across like was a bunch of your dads drinking buddies getting up in the pub, to them they sound good, but reality is another beast all together – this certainly was Faith No More.”
• Patton Mondo Cane Israel preview.
• And a Moscow preview from the Russian news agency Interfax. More Moscow.
• And a Portugal preview.
• And Poland. Lots of media for Mondo Cane.
• Here’s all the Mondo Cane dates from Ipecac.

Faith No More played their scheduled show last night in Finland. At this stage the band’s future is uncertain but we can still all savour what the reformed band has given us over the past 13 months or so on the Second Coming Tour.
So thanks to Bill, Jon, Mike B, Mike P and Roddy for a wonderful adventure.

Here’s another view from side of stage (via Lusty)

“Like the echoes of your childhood laughter, ever after
Like the first time love urged you to take it’s guidance, in silence
Like your heartbeat when you realize you’re dying, but you’re trying
Like the way you cry for a happy ending, ending…”