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Conventional reunited bands give fans what’s expected. The often heavy but always mischievous Bay Area quintet Faith No More launched their first local show in 12 years at the Warfield Theatre last night with an accurate rendering of Peaches & Herb’s “Reunited,” the ultimate disco-era, slow-dance anthem. Their suits were so prom-ready that each left lapel was pinned with a boutonniere. While singer Mike Patton crooned and waved with aplomb, his fellow members rode the smooth soul groove as if their hot tub payments depended on it.

Despite their mainstream popularity in 1990 with the rap-rock anthem “Epic,” Faith No More’s American success is most accurately measured by the number of bands they inspired — Limp Bizkit, Korn, Linkin Park, Incubus and many others. While MTV turned a cold shoulder to FNM’s experimental 1992 album Angel Dust, the group became bigger than ever in most every other territory, and is still regarded as a major overseas attraction. Since last August, the band that began in 1981 and split in 1998 has toured and played major festivals in Europe, Israel, Mexico, South America, New Zealand, and Australia.

All this activity has clearly sharpened the band’s reflexes: Deep into the set, the group abruptly pulled the plug on “Midlife Crisis” right before the final chorus. The audience sang it without accompaniment, and without missing a beat, the band launched into several introductory bars of Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” and then segued back into “Midlife” ’s chorus. Mike Bordin’s experience as Ozzy Osbourne’s rhythmic disciplinarian was evident: No matter how many musical curve balls the others threw, this master drummer kept the beat rock-steady: “Evidence” glided like a jazzy Steely Dan jam; thrashing metal workouts like “Surprise! You’re Dead” and “Cukoo for Caca” set mosh pits in motion, while covers of the Commodores’ “Easy,” the Burt Bacharach/Hal David standard “This Guy’s in Love With You,” and the Chariots of Fire soundtrack theme song all sounded as slick as they should.

American opportunities to see the reformed group remain rare: After its three sold-out dates at San Francisco’s Warfield, the only shows so far confirmed are Coachella and a pair of July appearances in Brooklyn. When Patton and keyboardist Roddy Bottum expressed their enthusiasm for opening acts Pop-o-Pies and Trannyshack’s metal/goth/industrial drag spectacle, the audience responded lukewarmly, and a show of hands revealed that many of the fans gathered that night were from out of town. “We’re trying to do a hometown show for a crowd of fucking tourists,” Patton spat out with a theatrical disgust that began when “Epic” was met with polite applause.

He rallied the crowd through “Just a Man” with hip-hop hand-waving exercises, and conducted the band with crotch-grabbing jerks and backhanded finger flickering that suggested one of Bugs Bunny’s classic routines. Faith No More’s members may now all be middle-aged, but they still keep their tunes loony.

Set List:
“Reunited”
“From Out of Nowhere”
“Land of Sunshine”
“Caffeine”
“Evidence”
“The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”
“Chinese Arithmatic”
“Last Cup of Sorrow”
“Cuckoo for Caca”
“Easy”
“Ashes to Ashes”
“Midlife Crisis”
“Surprise! You’re Dead”
“King for a Day”
“Epic”
“Just a Man”

“Chariots of Fire”
“Stripsearch”
“Digging the Grave”

“This Guy’s in Love with You”
“We Care a Lot”

“Introduce Yourself”

Related Stories:

• Faith No More Roar Back to Life at London Reunion Show
• Faith No More Announce First East Coast Reunion Show

Photo: Walter/Getty
During their late-’70s and early ’80s heyday, Devo managed to be both extreme and mainstream: The Akron, Ohio quintet’s 1978 debut LP Q: Are We Not Men? We Are Devo remains one of the most lyrically and musically radical records to ever crack the Top 100, while their 1980 release Freedom of Choice helped pioneer and popularize both synth pop and dance rock with the breakthrough hit “Whip It.” But as trailblazing as these New Wave sociologists were in the studio, they were more severe onstage. So it’s no small feat that 30 years later they’re now presenting both albums in full during a seven-city tour, not only with their live intensity intact but their theatrical savvy as well.

While performing Friday and Saturday at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom, Devo’s original members resembled senior chemistry professors with strange double lives. Singer Mark Mothersbaugh, guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, and guitarist Bob Casale are now in their late 50s; bassist Gerald Casale is 61, yet all four had the stamina of their considerably younger drummer, Josh Freese of A Perfect Circle, and managed to replicate their original choreography. After a pair of vintage videos, the musicians took the stage Friday night in their iconic yellow plastic suits for Are We Not Men’s opening track, “Uncontrollable Urge,” pivoting rigidly to the beat and peaking the song with the same robotic bunny hop they did in 1978. Their maturity made their movements even more surreal, and the demographically diverse crowd went nuts.

During the extended “baby baby baby baby” segment of their herky-jerky “Satisfaction,” Mark’s face turned bright pink as he spat every last endearment. While Gerald growled “Mongoloid,” Mark shook pompoms at the side of the stage, then pulled his still-thick hair skyward before tackling his famously noisy synth solo. After knocking out each album cut in rapid succession, Devo returned for a frenzied encore of “Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA” and “Gates of Steel.” The set was barely an hour long, but every note and movement was ridiculously tight.

Saturday night’s performance of Freedom of Choice was markedly less manic. An officious man in military garb strode on stage before each song with a sign designating the album track number. The guitarists played keyboards during many songs, and every member wore the Freedom era’s iconic red plastic “Energy Dome” hats; one abrupt movement and they’d fly off like Frisbees. This relative reserve on the band’s part conveyed ambivalence for its commercial peak. “How many people know track three?” Gerald asked with mock enthusiasm to introduce “Whip It.” The title track rocked much harder, and the audience returned the favor. For “Don’t You Know,” Mark glanced downward, seemingly reading lyrics off the floor.

Any detachment disappeared during an encore of Devo’s grinding early single “Be Stiff” and satiric Reagan-era anthem “Beautiful World.” During this last track, Mark wore his baby-faced Booji Boy mask and sang the entire song in that character’s Mickey Mouse-like squeak. “This was the first song we wrote after moving to California . . . It was really creepy,” he explained during an instrumental break. This tale turned fantastical as Booji/Mark recalled how Michael Jackson beckoned him into a limo at the corner of Hollywood and Vine for a night of Neverland fun and games. “If Michael could push his way out of his grave past all that dirt, I know he’d say it’s a beautiful world,” he declared before pulling handfuls of bouncing tiny balls out of his fanny pack. It’s oddly reassuring that Devo’s whimsy remains devious.

November 6th Set List:

“Uncontrollable Urge”
“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
“Praying Hands”
“Space Junk”
“Mongoloid”
“Jocko Homo”
“Too Much Paranoias”
“Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy)”
“Come Back Jonee”
“Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’)”
“Shrivel Up”

Encore:
“Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA”
“Gates of Steel”

November 7th Set List:

“Girl U Want”
“It’s Not Right”
“Whip It”
“Snowball”
“Ton o’ Luv”
“Freedom of Choice”
“Gates of Steel”
“Cold War”
“Don’t You Know”
“That’s Pep”
“Mr. B’s Ballroom”
“Planet Earth”

Encore
“Be Stiff”
“Beautiful World”

Related Stories:

• Devo Ink 360 Deal With Warner Bros., Prep Reissues and Tour

Photo: Dowling/Getty

“You’re everything I’ve dreamt of for 20 years,” said Australian dance-pop princess Kylie Minogue to the lucky crowd that witnessed the Oakland opening-night performance on her first-ever North American tour. As a platform for a singer who only briefly tasted mainstream U.S. fame with her 1988 cover version of “The Loco-Motion” and her 2001 breakthrough “Can’t Get You out of My Head,” the show provided everything her patient cult would want — except a satisfying sound mix. Minogue doesn’t possess vocal power, but like Diana Ross, her precise yet joyous phrasing sets her apart from lesser, more self-conscious upstarts. Yet throughout a set that mixed tracks from her last three albums, import singles and unreleased material, her band and blankets of reverb often overwhelmed Minogue’s pop-perfect sighs. Several songs early in the evening were rendered almost unrecognizable.

Introduced with an entrance during “Light Years” atop a descending metallic skull, Minogue’s spectacle never relented once. Her silver space vixen costume recalled vintage Labelle and Barbarella outfits with a headpiece featuring a solar system of planets dangling around her extraordinary face. She spread her arms, and the crowd cheered as if visited by a long-awaited visitor from a distant planet. Eight helmeted dancers followed her in tight formation for “Speakerphone” as video screens flashed projections that varied throughout the evening from surreal films featuring the photogenic star to the billboard-friendly artwork of her numerous singles.

When necessary, Minogue can toss her tiny frame around with the agility of a professional dancer. Yet more remarkable was her poise: She made no unnecessary or ungainly movements, and at times seemed to be traveling at a speed slightly slower than gravity would ordinarily allow. At 41, she is infinitely more sexy than she was in her 20s. Her grace is improbable, yet all the more compelling for its mystery.

As befitting her overseas superstar status, Minogue’s show was high on flash and costume changes. She strutted during “In Your Eyes” in a plush and fluffy coral-colored coat that came off for a lengthy medley that began with “Shocked” as video screens spoofed the U.K. style magazine i-D; her all-Kylie version renamed the publication k-M. “I know it’s taken me a little long to get here, so I thought I’d give you guys a first,” she explained before launching into a strutting new tune, “Better Than Today.” Three female dancers laid on the floor to hold microphone stands belonging to Minogue and her backing singers. These two women boasted the evening’s most striking fashion innovation — neon pink wigs worn as shoulder pads.

For the sequence that began with “Like a Drug,” Minogue reappeared as a jaunty sailor — if sailors actually wore cutaway evening gowns. Chanting from the crowd boosted the vocal melody of “Can’t Get You out of My Head” while Minogue held a California license plate that read, “♥s KYLIE.” Musicians playing sax, trumpet and trombone joined her four-piece band to transform “2 Hearts” into sassy big-band swing. During “Red Blooded Woman,” she straddled a gymnast’s pommel horse, then crawled over it and arched her back over the pommels in a simple but astoundingly sensuous display.

As made overt during a medley of Minogue’s “Burning Up” and Madonna’s “Vogue,” much of Minogue’s show picked up where Madge left off at her Blonde Ambition peak, a task attempted but not quite fulfilled by countless well-funded sirens. The difference is that Minogue radiates a bliss that can’t be bought. Even in the midst of painstaking choreography, her sense of ecstasy is utterly of the moment. When a throng of exceptionally organized fans sent a wave of Mylar pillows unexpectedly bouncing toward the stage during “Wow,” she registered astonishment but without missing a beat grabbed a pillow and twirled around the stage as if she’d just been handed a tremendous present. It takes a special kind of star to accommodate and make the most of an unplanned special effect, and Minogue is effortlessly, exactly that.

Set List:

“Light Years”
“Speakerphone”
“Come into My World”
“In Your Eyes”

“Shocked”/”What Do I Have to Do?”/”Step Back in Time”/”Spinning Around”

“Better Than Today”
“Like A Drug”/ “Boombox”/ “Can’t Get You out of My Head”
“Slow”
“2 Hearts”

“Red Blooded Woman”
“Heart Beat Rock”
“Wow”

“White Diamond”
“Confide In Me”
“I Believe In You”

“Burning Up”/ “Vogue”
“The Loco-Motion”
“Kids”
“In My Arms”

Encore:
“Better The Devil You Know”
“The One”
“Love At First Sight”

Photo: Shearer/WireImage

Minutes before the official opening of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s staged rendition of American Idiot, the members of Green Day were their usual affable selves. “I had no concerns,” Billie Joe Armstrong said to sum up his feelings about adapting the band’s rock opera disc for the stage. “I was interested and flattered to meet [director] Michael Mayer. We were floored by Spring Awakening [the 2006 Tony-winning rock musical Mayer helmed], and so there were no worries. I think this is a broader version of the album. We started with Johnny, St. Jimmy, and Whatsername, and Mayer added Will, Tunny and Heather. Your heart goes out to them.”

Meet the cast of the American Idiot musical.

Even so, Mike Dirnt confessed that he won’t be reading upcoming reviews of the show. “You can’t or else they effect how you feel about your own work,” he explained. “I learned the hard way.”

“You won’t need those,” Tré Cool advised a patron reaching for the last three earplugs in a bucket dangling from an usher.

Tré’s right. Berkley Rep’s intimate 595-seat Roda Theatre modification of American Idiot is a quieter but no less intense variation on Green Day’s arena-rocking blockbuster: The vocals from the 19-member cast are more prominent, and the lyrics more easily understood. Yet the music coming from the clearly visible five-member band that’s sometimes joined by three string players is arguably more raw than the album’s radio-friendly production: It’s got the looseness of a neighborhood garage band, and the cast strike that happy medium between raw rock & roll expression and over-enunciated Broadway slickness. The complex vocal harmonies that come together during the show’s heightened moments reflect socially isolated individuals united by war-afflicted malaise.

Go backstage with Green Day: exclusive tour photos.

The story itself is skeletal. Like the album, the musical focuses on Johnny, who abandons backwater suburbia for the proverbial big city represented here as Jingletown, USA. There he meets his African-American punk-rock girlfriend Whatsername, who, like Johnny, soon becomes a junkie thanks to St. Jimmy, a combination dark angel/drug pusher. Their plight is mirrored by Tunny, who enlists in the army, and Heather, who becomes pregnant with the child of apathetic Will. All six characters soon become slaves to their situations as 34 TVs hung on the impressionistic and impressively tall set flash interchangeable news, entertainment, and advertising clips with the hypnotic assault of dance-floor strobes.

A few poetic soliloquies introduce characters and signal shifts in mood, but American Idiot offers no actual dialogue. The production adheres to the album, here fleshed out by B side “Too Much Too Soon,” compilation cut “Favorite Son,” and four tracks from the band’s current 21st Century Breakdown, including recent singles “Know Your Enemy” and “21 Guns.” During the show’s previously unreleased hit-worthy ballad “When It’s Time,” written by a 19-year-old Armstrong for his future wife Adrienne, Tony-winning actor John Gallagher, Jr. sits on a bed and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar while his heroin-blasted girlfriend lies listlessly beside him, trapped in limbo between dreams and death.
Photo: Shearer/WireImage

Rather than complex plotting, Mayers offers spectacle and symbols closer in spirit to the abstraction of both traditional opera and rock & roll than to the glitz of typical Broadway musicals: A bed rolls away and glowing yellow lines suggest a 7-11 parking lot as the chorus wails “Jesus of Suburbia” while thrashing about in military precision. “Dreaming, I was only dreaming,” a quartet of wounded soldiers somberly croon 21st Century Breakdown’s “Before the Lobotomy” while lying in hospital beds as a veiled woman in Muslim garb floats above the stage, removing her blue robes to reveal a pink stomach-bearing ensemble reminiscent of I Dream of Jeannie. That’s as lavish as this street-conscious, mass-media-minded presentation gets.

After a standing ovation from a crowd that included the band, their friends and family, 21st Century Breakdown producer Butch Vig, and Amadeus actor Tom Hulce (one of American Idiot’s producers), the cast and audience celebrated in a sprawling party that spread out through the building, onto the patio, and into Berkeley Rep’s neighboring Thrust Theatre. A circus-like atmosphere prevailed, courtesy of new wave dance classics, Rock Band karaoke, vodka snow cones, vintage pinball, and a stylist offering free haircuts to the brave. Toward the end of the evening, she relinquished her clippers to Billie Joe Armstrong, who improvised an impressive Mohawk on a willing victim. Amidst these festivities, Armstrong’s sister and mother, Anna and Ollie Armstrong, provided emotional back story to the triumphant event.

• Green Day’s “American Idiot” Musical:
Meet the Show’s Rocker Cast
• The Birth of Green Day’s “American Idiot” Musical
• Billie Joe Armstrong On the Fire and Freedom Behind “21st Century Breakdown”

Photo: Hogan/Getty

When Rock Daily was chatting with Noel Gallagher recently regarding Oasis‘ new tour, the guitarist shared his holiday wishes:

“I’d like an iPhone, a laptop, a new haircut and a Christmas card that didn’t say fucking Noel on the front. That would be fucking nice. Just one year. I always get this shit, right. And people go, ‘Did you get my card?’ And you go, ‘I dunno, which one was that?’ ‘Oh, you must’ve seen it. It had Noel written on the front.’ ‘Really, and how many of those do you think I get?’ That’s right. All of them. They all end up at my fuckin’ house. ‘Oh, there’s a card with my name on it, brilliant. That’s from my parents. I’ll thank them again for that.’ Fuckin’ pair of idiots.”

What, you were expecting holiday fuzzies from the guy who told us, “I am fucking brilliant every night I go out there. I could give a fuck about anybody else in the band.” One of those other dudes in his band, brother Liam, explained the band’s “love us or hate us” ethos in a recent chat with RS:

“Why would you want everyone to like you? That was the beauty of things growing up; not everyone was into the same music as you and that’s what stood you apart from everyone. You go into school and you go, ‘I’m different from you, man.’ ‘Why?’ ‘ ‘Cause I like the fucking Stone Roses. Who do you fucking like? You like Madonna.’ If everyone’s all into the same thing that’s when you lose your identity.”

Related Stories:

• Noel Gallagher: “You Have to See Us in League With the Rolling Stone

• Oasis and Ryan Adams Kick Off Tour in Oakland: Full Report

• Liam Gallagher on Discovering the Beatles and the Death of the Rock Star