måndag 9 Jul 2012, 16:47

Sun 8 Jul – Faith No More, Guano Padano

This was such a great night. Once we had found our place in the crowd and the lights dimmed, the three piece that is Guano Padano filled the Hammersmith Apollo with their Morricone-inspired jazzy surfy music. A very unusual act, very enjoyable to witness live. Mike Patton emerged to deafening applause to perform for Prairie Fire, a track off their second and latest album.

After Guano Padano played to a largely bemused crowd, the stage was filled with flowers. Large flowers, small flowers, bouquets, vases, pots… Hundreds of flowers filled the virgin white stage. After half an hour of preparation, the boys from Faith No More walked out to rapturous applause. We knew we were in for a good time. They were all dressed in white, with Mike Patton wearing a panama hat and wielding a cane, a red scarf hanging jauntily from his right trouser pocket. Mike Bordin’s long, thick braids hung down his back and Billy Gould’s face beamed with smiles. Roddy Bottum played the opening notes from Woodpecker From Mars and our hearts soared with excitement.

As the set progressed the venue became thick with heat and sweat. The guards handed out cups of water to grateful grasping hands, and attendees gulped down the rare pockets of fresh air that inexplicably wafted past. A mosh pit opened up somewhere in the middle of the throng, which added drama to the proceedings. Multiple attendees were escorted out of the horde by the guards - with people smoking and pushing to the front - reaffirming our lack of faith in human nature.

Mike Patton saw fit to Rickroll us near the end of the set, an unexpected and highly amusing moment, and the portly figure of Danny DeVito was spotted briefly at the sound desk.

An excellent show.