Let me start by saying that last night’s show at the UC Theater in Berkeley was not meant for the faint of heart. It was a total aural assault that began with ‘avante-metalists’, Secret Chiefs 3, who blended all sorts of musical styles like Arabian, Indian and Persian to create a sort of instrumental death metal that’s (as you can tell) hard to describe. And the assault continued with the headliner of the night, Dead Cross, a new supergroup comprised of Mike Patton (Faith No More), Dave Lombardo (Slayer/Suicidal Tendencies), Mike Crain (Retox), and Justin Pearson (Locust/Head Wound City/Retox). These guys absolutely blew the roof off the newly renovated UC Theater!
Mike Patton (Photo: Kevin Keating)
Considering the band just released their first album (iTunes) earlier this month, their set was relatively short – only about 55 minutes – and which could have easily included covers from any of their prior bands – but that said, it was entirely worth the price of admission!
A bruised Mike Patton (Photo: Kevin Keating)
Recovering from a recent skateboarding accident, the bruised and bandaged Mike Patton seemed a little chattier than normal, and at times spoke directly to fans in the audience… At one point inviting one up to the stage, where he asked to see the guy’s dick. Taken aback, the fan seemed to oblige with Mike even giving it some time at the microphone. The fan then stood in his boxers with his pants around his ankles, while Patton simulated giving the guy a reach-around. By that point, the fan had had enough and quickly escaped to the side of the stage.
Mike Patton & Dave Lombardo of Dead Cross (Photo: Kevin Keating)
Later, Mike referred to the audience as Berkeley hippies and asked how we were going to respond to the planned Trump protests this weekend. Another fan in the audience threw a ‘Make America Mexico Again’ hat up on stage, which Mike proudly wore through the rest of the set.
Jello Biafra & Dave Lombardo (Photo: Kevin Keating)
The highlights of the night came in the encore… First, when Mike and Dave switched places for a quick song with Mike on the drums; and then for the final song of the night, the band was joined by Jello Biafra who came to sing “Nazi Trump Fuck Off” as you can see below.
As with most Ipecac albums, you won’t be hearing this on Live 105, so you’ll have to go out of your way to find the album on your own. Luckily, the main streaming services have the album and I’ve embedded it below. Check out the setlist below and their tour dates here to see if they’re coming to your city!
