18.07.01
T.J’s
Newport
Wales
It’s a year since the HoBo last witnessed the fantastic Fantômas, back in Nottingham’s Rock City, one sweaty night in July. That rated as one of the best shows we have ever seen, so the weight of expectation hung heavy tonight as HoBos Ross, John and Gareth make the drive from Twycross to Wales in the HoBo Yaris. The venue itself is something of a legend amongst venues, playing host as it has to many a decent band I’m told, and although the mock cave interior (I think it’s a mock cave, maybe it’s real) is a questionable both for style and clear viewing purposes, it does make stage diving nigh on impossible, which has to be a good thing.
As we wait for the band to appear, thoughts run through our heads, would they have lost the edge, would they disappoint? No worries. Five minutes in to the show it’s clear we’re in for another special evening in the company of Mike Patton & Co.
The set is made up of songs from the eponymous debut album, the just released Directors Cut film soundtracks album and other covers. The new material is great, more commercial perhaps but in no way any less brilliant. Mike is on top form with showman skills honed to a fine art. Great facial expressions usual witty banter and of course vocals to die for.
The songs are executed almost perfectly, the band are looking good and their sense of humor is still very much intact. How they make such eclectic heavy music sound so accessible and so much more interesting than the run of the mill Nu Metal is a credit to Messrs Patton, Osborne, Dunn and Lombardo.
The crowd are less hostile this time, only a handful of people seem to be less than thrilled, and the set isn’t dogged with Troglodytes calling out for Bungle songs as in Nottingham last year. Watching Fantômas tonight you get the feeling you are witnessing the most relevant unique and dare I say Chic, band in the world today, something truly special.
People talk about Radiohead as being experimental and off the wall. Forget it. Compared to this they are light years behind.
There are those who mourn the passing of Faith No More, those who, while they appreciate the fact that they are seeing the FNM singer live on a small stage, would rather be seeing the Magnificent Bastards in action. I’m not one of them. Fantômas are so right for now, so exciting fresh and stylish it really doesn’t get any better than this. Which leaves us with only one problem. Once you’ve witnessed perfection, where do you go from there? HoBo_John
If you don't own a Fantômas album and have even the vaguest interest in music then go buy The Director's Cut. In fact even if you don't listen to music and have stumbled across this review by mistake go an buy the album anyway as the inlay smells like sweeties. Now if you want to know what the gig sounded like imagine the music off the album played with enough volume to shift even the most constipated colon.
Fantômas were superb they unleashed wave after wave of sonic fury, each one enough to make the members of Radiohead hang their heads in shame. There is really very little I can say, the band were near perfect, the music was spot on, and Mike was his usual diamond front man, with enough banter and strange facial gurnings to keep even the most miserable person amused. The only people I saw who were not impressed were Slayer fans, who expected Dave Lombardo to be in some sort of Slayer cover band. Had they had the good sense to stick around for more than 5 minutes I'm sure they would have been converted by the inherent genius of Fantômas.
It was a 400 mile trip to see Fantômas, and it was worth every butt numbing mile. Although I have to admit that I am at something of a loss to explain why they chose TJ's as the venue. Before the gig started I was quite into the place, it is like a pub. But once the gig started I rapidly became infuriated with the cheesy face cave roof that blocked the view of the stage (a probably did the acoustics no favors) and the generally tiny size of the area that you could actually see the band from. Mind you the number of quality bands that have played there it must have something going for it. HoBo_Bully
Click To Read The Rock City Gig Review (27/07/2000)
Click To Read The Mike Patton Interview