Faith No More are coming back to Australia this year, but Mike Patton’s got another significant reunion to attend to first. Mr. Bungle played their first show in 20 years at LA’s Fonda Theatre overnight.
The reunited Bungle lineup features Patton and original members Trevor Dunn (guitar) and Trey Spruance (bass). Their songs sure ain’t easy, so Patton called in reinforcement from Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.
Listen: Mr. Bungle – Sweet Charity
No one’s ever really known how to classify Mr. Bungle, who formed in Eureka, California in the mid-1980s – years before Patton became famous fronting Faith No More. Many have tried, however, calling them experimental thrash metal, avant-garde metal, lounge-jazz metal fusion, or just plain bananas.
Their comeback show – the first of a seven date US tour – consisted of 17-songs in 85-minutes. And because it’s 2020, someone decided to film it on their phone and throw the whole thing up on YouTube.
Watch: Mr. Bungle live in LA
Rocking a pretty wild hairdo for a 52 year old, Patton began the show by singing the educational theme tune ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor’. The band then played the majority of their 1986 Demo The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny. Modern rock folklore claims this demo is what prompted Faith No More to ask Patton to join in 1989.
Bungle also threw in a couple of unreleased songs from the Raging Wrath era, and had a lot of fun with covers. Songs by Corrosion of Conformity, Cro-Mags, Siege, Seals & Crofts and Circle Jerks all got a run.
Patton is no friend to the current US President. In 2017 he took the stage with his band Dead Cross wearing “Nazi Trumps Fuck Off T-shirts” and “Make America Mexico Again” hats. Accordingly, Mr. Bungle ended the show with a cover of The Exploited’s “Fuck the USA”.
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Watch: The Exploited – Fuck the USA
