Faith No More teased American audiences with a glut of overseas appearances in 2009, first starting in Europe and spilling over to South America and Australia into the next year. Aside from a handful of US shows in 2010, it was all seemed like one massive cock tease. Which would suit Mike Patton’s style just fine, as he’s known for inverting expectations and doing whatever the fuck he wants to. The wait was worth it – tickets were gone in the amount of time it takes to deflate a football, and hordes of fans jammed every nook and corner of the creaky Orpheum in anticipation of reliving past glories. The stage set up was decidedly reminiscent of a wake, with white draping every surface and the stage ringed by flower arrangements.

But this isn’t some sort of cash grabbing/backward-glancing victory lap, and perhaps the band delayed a significant tour in their home country so that it would coincide with next week’s release of Sol Invictus, their first record in over eighteen years. “Motherfucker” was the perfect opener, a song that kisses but still sneaks in a nasty bite. The band, sporting the same line up as on Album Of The Year, got “Epic” out of the way relatively quickly (will anyone ever think of an out of water goldfish and not recall the iconic video?) and spent the rest of the night digging into all the corners of their records, as well as two 70s pop nuggets (“Easy,” and “I Started A Joke,” from the pre-disco era of The Bee Gees). “We got one more,” Patton said just before “Superhero” closed the set. Met with a chorus of boos, he replied “Boo my ass. Enjoy it motherfuckers!” And that was the easiest command to follow all night.

Hailing from Mexico, Le Butcherettes came out of the gate like a spazzy art project with amplification, reflective guitars and red garb tying it together visually.  Aurally, they couldn’t hold my interest, despite the antics of leader Teri Gender Bender which included a mad dash out of the venue and into the lobby at the close of their set. Maybe I didn’t sniff enough glue in art class?

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