Sonisphere Festival - France with Machine Head, Marilyn Manson, Meshuggah, and Faith No More !!!!! 07.07.12 Galaxie Amneville We got to the venue around 16:30, as we were in no rush, we smoked a few more in the parking lot before heading in… The venue was not bad at all, the second stage being an outdoor stage, and the main stage inside the Galaxie.
The first gig we attended was Machine Head on the main stage, which was a solid rock show, I had not listened to them for a while, and they were not bad, although as far as the sound goes, it could have been better, a bit less volume might have helped on the over-steered front…
I heard Combichrist on the second stage from afar, and what I heard did not pull me any closer.. We headed back into the main hall just before Marylin Manson took the stage… And although I like a few of Manson’s album the show at Sonisphere was miserable at best! The sound was shitty as hell, vocals were often not discernible at all, and Manson looked as though he was bored at best, the rest of the band did not seem to be having much of a good time either.. In my humble opinion Manson is done, maybe has been done for a few years, unless with a future album and tour he can get back to such intense performances as on the Antichrist Superstar tour in the 90’s.. The most extreme and shocking act performed was Manson stabbing a self-portrait…. At least we used to the time to get higher, smoking spliff after spliff.
We watched Meshuggah from a bit further back, not wanting to miss a second of the FNM gig. But Meshuggah was the first sign of hope for the day, delivering their metal in a most powerful fashion, with a crisp and clear sound!
Back into the main hall for Faith no More! The stage set up was all white, even the roadies were dressed all white; stage decorations were lots of flowers, perfectly fitting with this year’s tour poster the “Death Notice”. They opened the concert with Woodpeckers from Mars, to which I had to light a joint right away, and what an opening it was, at this point everyone was on stage except Patton. From Woodpeckers they went into covering Tom Jones’ Delilah ! As the rest of the band, Patton was dressed all white, whit the addition of a hat, the now seeming obligatory cane, and what looked like a red satchel.. On to Land of Sunshine and Caffeine at which point I was totally losing my mind, rocking out my soul.. A little chill out with Evidence, all in a perfectly crisp and clear sound, unlike most of the previous acts, Faith no more actually also has a sound tech that is a professional! When it came to digging the grave, I could not hold back anymore, I looked at my friends, and motioned forward towards the mosh pit, as around us people were not really losing their minds, I moved forward and F. joined in the fun as well! What a freaking boiler room the mosh pit was – almost as hot as FNM back in the summer of 97. After Last cup of Sorrow, I was about ready to collapse, wet from head to toe, as was the band. They did a zen meditiation on stage, but of course it was a Faith No More meditation, and as such was an absolute mind blow! The fact that I was smoking more weed sure helped as well. Roddy Buttom told the crowd they came out of San Francisco, and that that shit (the Zen meditation) really works! To which Mike responded if it did not, this would sure do the trick, and they performed Spirit! This blew my mind, as I had never seen them perform this one! Then came Epic, which as always was epic! Midlife crises followed, and as during the last years, it was an altered version, broken up by a C’est la Vie cover, back into Midlife Crisis! A really great performance! CUCKOO FOR CACA, another mind-blowing song, where Patton’s voice is used in full, or is there even a limit to this guy’s vocal performances? To me unquestionably one of the greatest vocalists ever! They ended Cuckoo with a noisy jam that lead right into Ashes to Ashes! Sadly then Patton announced the last track and asked the crowd to enjoy the shit out of it! And the band delivered another stellar rendition of Just a Man!
They came back for an encore, which they started with Ugly in the Morning, where the crowd lost its mind and the moshpit grew exponentially really fast! Finally a show where they did not all have a stick up their ass! Next was Easy, followed by Why do you bother / Niggas in Paris, what a fitting end for a show in France!
At some point, not sure when Patton asked what other bands the crowd had enjoyed, saying that Meshuggah is a good band right there.. And not understanding much else of what the crowd said, gave us a short: oh fuck you and into the next track. Patton humour.
Overall the performances of the day were not all that, but Faith No More sure pulled the boat around! Those guys kick ass! And they do so more intensely and powerfully than most current so called heavy bands! Despite their slightly more advanced age these 5 guys rock their souls out, and a lot of other bands sure could take that as great example of what it is to be a rock band! STELLAR PERFORMANCE! Should this be the last time I saw Faith No More it sure was a worthy one! but I sure hope they’ll keep touring! And anyone who has not seen them should do so NOW! Also a massive thumps up to Faith no more’s sound tech! That guy was the only one with a handle on the venue, at least for the indoor stage all day! Crisp and clear, not too loud, but powerful!
Set list: -WOODPECKER FROM MARS -DELILAH -LAND OF SUNSHINE -CAFFEINE -EVIDENCE -DIGGING THE GRAVE -LAST CUP OF SORROW *zen meditation snippet* -SPIRIT -EPIC -MIDLIFE CRISIS / MINI MINI C’EST LA VIE (Jacques Dutronc) -CUCKOO FOR CACA -*noise jam* -ASHES TO ASHES -JUST A MAN Encore -UGLY IN THE MORNING -EASY -WHY DO YOU BOTHER / NIGGAS IN PARIS