Fantomas @ The Palace, 13/09/2005

Seeing Fantomas live is something you think is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Listening to the band’s albums, where songs range from 30 second bursts of excitement through to 74 minute ambient sound scapes, it seems almost impossible that such things could be reproduced in a live setting. Or that such a project could have a long life. So having been blown away by a half hour set on their 2003 tour, there was no way I was going to miss a second chance to see them, this time playing for almost an hour and a half.

A Fantomas gig is a spectacle to behold, and so incredibly difficult to describe. Largely this comes down to the music Fantomas play. With albums exploring themes like comic books, movie scores, medical books and most recently cartoons, it’s no surprise that things can seem disjointed. And it’s a testament to the abilities of each band member that they are able to follow what’s going on and play with each other through so many unexpected stops, jumps and explosions.

Fantomas is truly a band that is held together by the skills and experience of each of its members. Featuring Buzz Osborne (AKA King Buzzo) of The Melvins on guitar, Dave Lombardo of Slayer on drums and Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle and Trevor Dunn’s Trio Convulsant on bass, all of whom seem stretched to the extent of their abilities, yet strangely comfortable in such an environment. Of course this madness is all under the leadership of one Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr Bungle, Tomahawk, 50 billion other things), who takes over vocal and electronic sound duties. As the composer of the music, he also takes on the role of conductor in the live setting, his physical movements providing visual cues for many of the entry and exit points.

Aside from the bobbing of Osborne’s legendary afro and Lombardo’s unrelenting drumming, Patton is the visual focus of the show too, as he jumps around from one microphone to another, and playing with the vast variety of equipment, instruments and toys in front of him. Distorted speak and spells, warped samples of nursery rhymes and a Tickle Me Elmo are amongst the sounds that emanate over the top of the music, mostly during tracks from latest release Suspended Animation. These tracks prove the highlights of the night, being the craziest stuff since Book 1, but also slightly more refined than the compositions found on that debut. Meanwhile Patton also uses his mouth to deliver a wordless performance which is amazingly still heavy on vocalisation. The faces he pulls would be entirely comical if it wasn’t for the sounds that emerge while he does them.

Opening act DJ Jaye Katz is worth mentioning only for two reasons, first because his “I know you hate me because I’m the support act, so I’m going to play up to it” routine was more boring than annoying, and second for his collaboration with the band when they returned for the encore. Bass noise poured from the speakers for over 10 minutes, so deep that when Lombardo began pounding his kick drum, it merely became muddled up in the noise.

The band finished the night with their version of Der Golem which raised a loud cheer and finally gave the crowd a chance to groove to a steady beat for longer than 15 second blasts, which left everyone on a happy note, exhausted and amazed by all we had just seen.

(Originally published on FasterLouder)

Fantomas - Suspend Animation

Perhaps I’m biased because I have preciously declared cartoons to be the only form of television worth watching, or perhaps it’s because April is my birth month, but Suspended Animation seems to me to be the best Fantomas album yet. For their new album, Mike Patton (of Mr. Bungle, Faith No More and Tomahawk on vocals and electronics), Buzz Osbourne (of The Melvins on guitar), Trevor Dunn (of Mr. Bungle on bass) and Dave Lombardo (of Slayer on drums) deliver a celebration of both cartoons and the month of April.

Subtitled “30 Miniature Holidays in 43 minutes”, it’s safe to assume that stylistically Suspended Animation has more in common with the Fantomas debut Book 1, than either of the albums in between. But the sound has not simply returned to those days. This album feels like a more accomplished work than Book 1. Musical motifs are stronger defined and allowed a chance to grow (albeit briefly), and some of the riffs found on the 3^rd (Festival of the Sweeping of the Tombs) and the 13^th (Blame Somebody Else Day) sound like the beginnings of what could have been Mr Bungle songs.

Patton has also allowed his voice to come a bit more to the fore than on Book 1. Although he still does not sing a word on it, the vocal noises found throughout have a far more lyrical feel to them than the random noises previously relied on. This is particularly effective on the 10^th (Soul Sunday/Feast of the Rivers and Seas). That’s not to say there are no words used on the album. But noone who saw Fantomas on their last visit and noticed the childrens toys strewn amongst Pattons table of equipment and vocal processors would be surprised that they come largely from cartoon samples, or what sounds like a speak-and-spell that’s been taken to its limits. One of the highlight days, April 6^th (Sorry Charlie Day/Plan Your Epitaph Day) features this robotic voice counting in another memorable riff.

When dealing with children’s matters in heavy music, it’s all too easy to take the sinister road. This is a method even Fantomas themselves used to great effect on The Director’s Cut. But one of the strengths of Suspended Animation is that it is truly a celebration of the joy cartoons can bring. The 12^th (Cosmonauts Day/Walk on Your Wild Side Day) is filled with the sound of children laughing, while the 16^th (Rekindle Your Romantic Self Day) features a schoolyard chant. Nursery rhymes seem to pop up all over the place, with snippets of Pop! Goes the Weasel and Rock-a-Bye Baby (which couldn’t be more aptly named for inclusion on this album) popping their heads in.

Fantomas also take advantage of cartoon (sur)reality, taking us on what sounds like a weird space adventure for the 22^nd (Girl Scout Leader Day), and into the jungles for the 24^th (National Karaoke Week/Children’s Day – a.k.a. my birthday).

The packaging is also more elaborate and involved than any previous release too. The CD comes in the back of a 30 page calendar for the month, with each song/day illustrated by renowned pop-artist Yoshitomo Nara. It’s always difficult to talk about a Fantomas CD in terms of individual tracks, since in reality they all add up to one long movement. But in this case the visual elements are just as important as the aural.

There is a bit of a downbeat tone to the last day, April 30^th (National Honesty Day) and the closing sound of the album is Bugs Bunny’s famous question, “Well what did you expect in an Opera? A happy ending?” But I would say that yes, Fantomas have delivered a happy and joyous celebration throughout.