Earlier this year, the Melvins put out the awesome Nude With Boots. They went on tour. That tour stopped in Los Angeles. The shows got canceled.
The rescheduled dates were over the weekend.
If you have never seen the Melvins live, you can not possibly understand the sheer rock power they possess. Over the years I have seen them many times opening for Tool and Tomahawk, but this was the first time seeing them as the main attraction, and that was driven by the two excellent albums they've done with the members of Big Business who are part of their ever changing line-up. And that commanding stature was nearly too much for the intimate size of the Troubadour.
The night itself was a rotating slate of band members who shared performance duties between opening act (The Men Of) PORN, Big Business, and the Melvins, and the stage, set with mirrored drum kits and amp rigs, was rarely empty.
Before the show, H.R.M. Idle Eyes The See-Thru joined me down the street for a damn tasty meal of Indian food. Apparently, Dale, the PORN / Melvins drummer had the same idea, sitting two tables over - not surprising given the Melvins adoption of the city (I thought Buzz (guitar/vocals) would be at the afternoon Kings game since he was in town and I'd seen him several time last season, but no such luck). With naan and masala in our collective bellies, we sparked over to the Troubadour, which is one of my favorite venues due to it's club size but arena caliber bookings.
When PORN came on stage, it was heralded by sheets of guitar noise. Soon , it was broken by hearty drumbeats, which made way for a second guitarist (? - and I question because there were pedals and it was running through the rig, but the crowd blocked my sight so I never saw the instrument), and the surprise addition of Big Business / Melvins drummer Coady. There was no break from start to finish of their set, which was very experimental, mixing ferocious beats with droning riffs and tempo shift like the songs were being stretched longer or being compressed.
The second set by Big Business was a markedly faster, more aggressive set of songs, and while I was only aware of them as a duo, they had added the guitar of a cat named Toshi who had added those extra "guitar" tones to PORN. Singing and playing bass, Jared made his stage debut of the night lighting the fretboard up with some sick melodies. Overall , their music was pretty hard rockin', but with a punk-grade speed and fury. Not having heard them with guitarist, it added a nice element of minimalist melody when the two axe players were not locked into the main rhythms. It seemed like a shorter set then their predecessors since there were breaks between tunes and not one continuous slab of music, but it was impressive nonetheless as they powered through each song without slowing the pace.
When Buzz, Dale, Jared, and Coady hit the stage together in Melvins configuration, it pushed the comfortable room to it's limits. Melvins music is as thick as cement, and hits you like a cinder block. Standing in a room full of perhaps the ugliest people I've ever seen, I realized that the Melvins is a band that attracts a crowd that is as rough and frightening as it's music. It's got not hot chicks and no cool dudes (save me and H.R.M. Idle Eyes The See-Thru) - it is every head of hair grown out five months past a cut, every scruffy beard, every I-don't-even-try-to-have-a-look-and-it-shows, every doughy, awkward person that straddles the line between creep and dork. And every person was transfixed throughout the 19 song set which ranged from simmering dirges to full-out speed jams and dissonance.
One thing that is striking about the Melvins is that they do not leave one bit of energy behind when they play. There is no way to see them play without hitting every drum as hard as possible or punching chords from their guitars. Their equipment goes to 11. And seeing the current double drum configuration was a must given their no-holds-barred playing style. Visually, they are as strange and curious as their music. Buzz still sports high collared full length tunics and his wild, ever-whitening shock of frizzy hair. Dale could have stepped out of a truck rig and stopped in on his way to a basketball game. Jared has the appearance of a guy in a small northwestern town who woke up and needs to get a 12'er before the football game. And Coady looks tiny compared to his drumkit, like a teenage boy. But as bizarre as they come across, they absolutely fit together like an odd family portrait.
Given the Spinal Tap-like revolving nature of their bassists, it's hard to say how long the Melvins-Big Business merger will stay intact, but I don't know how they are going to improve on what they have going so here's to hoping it is a long lasting venture. Seeing such a huge sounding band in a club setting was pretty clutch, and seeing that sheer power get crammed into that tight a place was like successfully threading a camel though a needle's eye. Impressive. And awesome.
The rescheduled dates were over the weekend.
If you have never seen the Melvins live, you can not possibly understand the sheer rock power they possess. Over the years I have seen them many times opening for Tool and Tomahawk, but this was the first time seeing them as the main attraction, and that was driven by the two excellent albums they've done with the members of Big Business who are part of their ever changing line-up. And that commanding stature was nearly too much for the intimate size of the Troubadour.
The night itself was a rotating slate of band members who shared performance duties between opening act (The Men Of) PORN, Big Business, and the Melvins, and the stage, set with mirrored drum kits and amp rigs, was rarely empty.
Before the show, H.R.M. Idle Eyes The See-Thru joined me down the street for a damn tasty meal of Indian food. Apparently, Dale, the PORN / Melvins drummer had the same idea, sitting two tables over - not surprising given the Melvins adoption of the city (I thought Buzz (guitar/vocals) would be at the afternoon Kings game since he was in town and I'd seen him several time last season, but no such luck). With naan and masala in our collective bellies, we sparked over to the Troubadour, which is one of my favorite venues due to it's club size but arena caliber bookings.
When PORN came on stage, it was heralded by sheets of guitar noise. Soon , it was broken by hearty drumbeats, which made way for a second guitarist (? - and I question because there were pedals and it was running through the rig, but the crowd blocked my sight so I never saw the instrument), and the surprise addition of Big Business / Melvins drummer Coady. There was no break from start to finish of their set, which was very experimental, mixing ferocious beats with droning riffs and tempo shift like the songs were being stretched longer or being compressed.
The second set by Big Business was a markedly faster, more aggressive set of songs, and while I was only aware of them as a duo, they had added the guitar of a cat named Toshi who had added those extra "guitar" tones to PORN. Singing and playing bass, Jared made his stage debut of the night lighting the fretboard up with some sick melodies. Overall , their music was pretty hard rockin', but with a punk-grade speed and fury. Not having heard them with guitarist, it added a nice element of minimalist melody when the two axe players were not locked into the main rhythms. It seemed like a shorter set then their predecessors since there were breaks between tunes and not one continuous slab of music, but it was impressive nonetheless as they powered through each song without slowing the pace.
When Buzz, Dale, Jared, and Coady hit the stage together in Melvins configuration, it pushed the comfortable room to it's limits. Melvins music is as thick as cement, and hits you like a cinder block. Standing in a room full of perhaps the ugliest people I've ever seen, I realized that the Melvins is a band that attracts a crowd that is as rough and frightening as it's music. It's got not hot chicks and no cool dudes (save me and H.R.M. Idle Eyes The See-Thru) - it is every head of hair grown out five months past a cut, every scruffy beard, every I-don't-even-try-to-have-a-look-and-it-shows, every doughy, awkward person that straddles the line between creep and dork. And every person was transfixed throughout the 19 song set which ranged from simmering dirges to full-out speed jams and dissonance.
One thing that is striking about the Melvins is that they do not leave one bit of energy behind when they play. There is no way to see them play without hitting every drum as hard as possible or punching chords from their guitars. Their equipment goes to 11. And seeing the current double drum configuration was a must given their no-holds-barred playing style. Visually, they are as strange and curious as their music. Buzz still sports high collared full length tunics and his wild, ever-whitening shock of frizzy hair. Dale could have stepped out of a truck rig and stopped in on his way to a basketball game. Jared has the appearance of a guy in a small northwestern town who woke up and needs to get a 12'er before the football game. And Coady looks tiny compared to his drumkit, like a teenage boy. But as bizarre as they come across, they absolutely fit together like an odd family portrait.
Given the Spinal Tap-like revolving nature of their bassists, it's hard to say how long the Melvins-Big Business merger will stay intact, but I don't know how they are going to improve on what they have going so here's to hoping it is a long lasting venture. Seeing such a huge sounding band in a club setting was pretty clutch, and seeing that sheer power get crammed into that tight a place was like successfully threading a camel though a needle's eye. Impressive. And awesome.
A History of Bad Men/Star Spangled Banner*
Okie From Muskogee
*from the evening prior show, since there have not been many posts from ours
2 comments:
that was a fukken cool show! that's awesome that somebody filmed Muskogee from our show. now how about that hoop dancer from porn...
Would like very much. Must find, or else I am FAIL. Get. GET GET GET!
Post a Comment