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| Mr. Bungle performing at Brooklyn Steel, February 10, 2020 |
To say I was happy I had the opportunity to go to the sold out Mr. Bungle show at Brooklyn Steel on Monday night would be an understatement. I was shut out the day tickets went on sale back in August, and proceeded to stress out about this show through two seasons and four national holidays until I miraculously found someone selling a ticket for face value on Twitter the week before the show. I REALLY WANTED TO BE THERE. Thankfully the concert gods allowed this to happen.
Opening the show were Spotlights and Full Of Hell. I didn't know anything about Full of Hell prior to that evening, but knew enough about Spotlights from Ipecac social media promos that I wanted to shoot for their night of this Mr. Bungle two-night stand. Both bands are very different from each other; Spotlights playing dreamy Sludge while Full Of Hell specializes in chaotic Thrash/Grindcore. Both put on impressive sets.
The crowd calmly chatted as Easy Listening music blared over the loudspeakers, which seemed an odd choice before listening to some seriously Heavy Metal from the headliner. But then again, Mr. Bungle never followed any rules before. Why start now. But soon enough, it was time for storm that is Mike Patton, Trey Spruance (guitar), Trevor Dunn (bass), Scott Ian (guitar) and Dave Lombardo (drums) to hit the stage.
I wasn't sure what to expect, except the unexpected, and this band delivered. From starting the set with a cover of Mr. Rogers' "Won't You Be My Neighbor" as a segue into "Anarchy Up Your Anus", to calling up NYC Punk legend Harley Flanagan up on stage to play "Malfunction" by Flanagan's Cro-Mags, to a cover of Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze" (with alternative pervy lyrics of course), there was no predicting what Patton & Company were going to do next. All that was known was they were playing Mr. Bungle's "The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny." From what I understand, this was a demo that only hardcore fans knew about and cared enough to track down, at least in the days before someone could upload it in full to the internet. After that requirement was met, the rest of the set was up in the air.
Based on my spot in the crowd, safely stationed off to the side, most people didn't know the demo material enough to sing along. But nonetheless the mostly 40something-year-old crowd—who would have been in their early teens at the time of Mr. Bungle's debut—enjoyed themselves, moshing and headbanging. The rest of the audience was made up by younger fans and people like me, just there to experience the roller coaster ride of a Mr. Bungle show.
I'd just seen Lombardo play with the Misfits in October, and I've seen Scott Ian play a few times over the years. But I hadn't seen Patton live since 1992's Angel Dust tour, other than catching up what I've missed on YouTube in recent times. So to see him in person again took a minute to process. He definitely evoked that starstruck "Wow, there he is right in front of me" feeling, much like when I saw Faith No More's Roddy Bottum play with his side projects and bassist Billy Gould play with MC50 last Summer.
The great thing is Patton's vocals and stage presence are still on point. There were no "Oh well, he doesn't sound like he did, so this is kind of sad" moments like I've gone through with more than one band over the years. Not even close. There is still a creative fire burning in these men that keeps them relevant and interesting enough to keep up with all of their various ongoing and one-off musical ventures. There's not a lot of people you can say that about. A lot of musicians don't bother to see what else they're capable of after 30+ years. To see legends still fueled by their passion is very inspiring, and I hope they keep the music coming.
Check out my photos from Mr. Bungle here.
