Local sensation Mr. Bungle debuted their new material before a full house at

Slim's this past Tuesday, following up with a second sold-out show on

Wednesday. Released July 13th, their new album, CALIFORNIA (WB), demonstrates the

pop-sensibilities polished by a decade plus of performing near-parody

metal/acid-jazz/noise cut with dead-on covers of such artists as Chet Baker,

Loverboy and Burt Bacharach. Bungle's infamous live show draws a crowd of

such diversity that it's difficult to gauge the intensity of the show prior to

any given performance; each show somehow manages to be fresh and exciting.

The reaction of the audience often defines the mood of the event, and the

shows in SF were an excellent testament to this. Bungle has the potential to

draw the same big, dumb, mosh-happy metal fans that Slayer or Metallica would,

and those fans will not be discouraged by an elegant rendition of Begin the

Beguine (as was made obvious Tuesday night). But, the intimacy between the band

and the audience is lost, and the performance occasionally becomes muddy and

predictable. Fortunately these shows are few and far between, and in general,

Mr. Bungle put on one of the best live shows in town, playing so seldomly that

it is quite the occasion.

Opening with an instrumental by Henry Mancini Tuesday night, the band then

introduced Ars Moriendi, a masterpiece from CALIFORNIA with a decidedly dark,

Middle-Eastern feel. In all, Bungle played six songs from their new album

this night, including the fairly well-executed Sweet Charity, a Broadway-esque

ditty possibly influenced by the production of the same name, and the Beach

Boys-inspired Air-Conditioned Nightmare. Also included was Retrovertigo, the

new "single"-- a weak, post-grunge alternative ballad that could have

propelled them into fame a few years back, but with radio now coveting

feel-good acts like Sugar Ray and various Spice Girl knock-offs, it's not

likely to bring them any mainstream success today. Rounding out their first

show in three years were songs from earlier albums previously excluded from

the set-list: Merry Go Bye-Bye, Raping Your Mind, and a remixed version of My

Ass Is On Fire, a big crowd-pleaser. Travolta, a favorite from their first

Warner Bros. release, sent the crowd into a frenzy that lasted the remainder

of the night, leaving me with broken toenails and bruised ribs. All in all,

it was not Bungle's most memorable performance, but they would improve.

Tuesday night saw the band at their best -- taking control of the crowd with

the help a brilliantly arranged set-list and much-improved sound (Slim's is

usually a winner in this department). Again choosing mostly from their latest

release, the band perfected None of them Knew They were Robots, an epic swing

number. Pink Cigarette, a song described by the band as "Neil Diamond" was

performed for the first time, as well as Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy,

which strikes me as a marriage of Human League and Kraftwerk (a good thing!).

Songs covered included only those that they had done on previous tours -- The

Thrill is Gone by Chet Baker, The Stroke by Billy Squire, and a song known

only as "Mukerjee", a beautiful Hindi chant-type thing that sees Mike Patton

visiting octaves that he seldomly makes use of, unfortunately. Patton is

without a doubt the most under-rated pop singer of the decade, alternately

causing Araya and Pavarotti to quake in their boots; if you see Bungle for no

reason other than to witness his myriad vocal talents, you'll not leave

disappointed.

Do be sure to see Mr. Bungle when they play in your area. Currently touring

the states, the band will return to California mid-August.

by Marianne Schmidt