Faith No More, Mr. Bungle Cancel Concerts as Mike Patton Tends to His Mental Health
Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, two bands fronted by Mike Patton, have canceled all of their planned September and October concerts.
“Sorry to report that due to mental health reasons, I cannot continue with the currently scheduled Faith No More and Mr. Bungle dates,” Patton said in a statement. “I have issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic that are challenging me right now. I don’t feel I can give what I should at this point, and I am not going to give anything less than 100%. I am sorry to our fans and hope to make it up to you soon. The bands support me in this decision, and we look forward to working through this in a healthy way.”
The four other members of Faith No More — Billy Gould, Roddy Bottum, Jon Hudson, and Mike Bordin — issued a joint statement saying they felt “shattered” by the decision. “It has been a real challenge to return to this music after a five-year absence, but we have been working hard for a few months now, and these last few rehearsals left no doubt that we were back to top form, which makes this statement very difficult to write,” they said. “Coming on almost two years of pandemic and lack of work, it has been heartbreaking to give our crew the news. We consider our crew like family. And then, equally importantly, we are aware of what this means to our fans, who have been patiently supporting us — hoping, as we have, for a break in this frustrating situation. Many folks have taken isolation quite hard and patiently waited as shows have been postponed time and time again. This will be tough for them.
“And yet in spite of all this, we have a family member who needs help,” they continued. “We believe that forging ahead with these dates would have had a profoundly destructive effect on Mike, whose value to us as a brother means more to us than his job as singer. He can count on our 100% support to do what he needs to do to get things right. Just as we also ask for your support right now. Thank you for continuing to believe in us.”
The impacted dates include appearances by both bands at this weekend’s Riot Fest; the event recently saw headliner Nine Inch Nails drop off the bill over concerns related to the spread of Covid-19. Organizers replaced Nine Inch Nails’ sets with an appearance by Slipknot. Rise Against have joined the lineup where Faith No More were to play, and Anthrax, whose Scott Ian plays in Mr. Bungle, will now fill in for the Bungle appearance.
