365 Days of Mike Patton: ‘Epic,’ part 2 (of 3)

I don’t remember the first time I heard “Epic.” But I do recall watching Mike Patton and Faith No More on the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. Mostly, I remember—and I relayed this the next day to my middle school buddy Phipps—that drummer Mike Bordin absolutely hammers the drums during the live show. And I remember Patton flopping around like a fish, just like in the music video, during the piano outro. It’s a fun performance.

Three months later, FNM played the song on Saturday Night Live, and I liked Patton’s vocal performance and his antics (he nearly got stuck in a fan on the set) even more. The power in this live performance is just … fantastic. It’ll knock you off your feet.

Sadly, these were some of the biggest mainstream moments for FNM and Patton (though there were also performances on The Tonight Show, Conan’s NBC show, and Arsenio Hall in the coming months and years). And to listen to the live versions, it’s hard not to still be impressed with the volume and the skill at which the band performed.

Yesterday, I wrote the studio track sounds a little dated to me. The SNL version above, though, sounds anything but.

Part 1 of “Epic” is here.

To follow along on the 365 days of Patton, click here for a list of each day’s post.