words by Black Bubblegum, photos by Ryan Muir

The Melvins, in retro formation, played Webster Hall on Friday (5/15) as part of their 25th Anniversary celebration. As advertised, the band played the complete and slightly reconfigured Houdini, as well as portions from their 2005 collection of early demos, Mangled Demos.

Mangled Demos material leans more toward their hardcore roots, and I was always more of a fan of their heavier Sabbath-y material. That said, it was interesting to see Dale Crover on bass (he was introduced as ex-bassist, and ex-Mudhoney member, Matt Lukin) for a few songs. The trio for this opening portion of the night also consisted of Buzz, and original drummer Mike Dillard. Then Dillard left the stage and The Melvins became just Dale and Buzzo, sans bass (Dale moved back to drums) - all of the low end punch was gone out of the instrumentation.

Luckily, the Melvins-as-hardcore-duo was short-lived, and Trevor Dunn arrived later in the set clad in a camo druidian robe to set Webster Hall a-rumblin'. With Melvins the trio now on stage, Houdini was disassembled and played out of order with the band closing the show with a drum solo (with Trevor Dunn and Mike Dillard providing additional percussion) and a short Trevor Dunn bass solo. No encores (natch). As an experiment, I tried to listen to as little of Houdini as humanly possible before Friday, attempting to try and get a fresh perspective on a record that I had admittedly played to death years ago. Houdini classics such as "Honey Bucket", "Hooch", "Going Blind" were fantastic, and for a moment, they helped erase the fond memories of latter day Melvins with Coady and Jared (of Big Business). Smiles.

Packing in a smidge over two hours worth of material, Melvins finished just in time for Webster Hall curfew, and luckily I had Grey Wolves, Thrones, and Bastard Noise at No Fun Fest (at Music Hall of Williamsburg) to keep my energy and spirits high. More on that later.

More Melvins pics, a couple of videos, and the full setlist, below...

Continue reading "the Melvins (25th anniversary) @ Webster Hall - pics, setlist"

by Black Bubblegum

And behold, King Buzzo of The Melvins shouted down upon the five boroughs.... there will be rock. The ashen-haired lord decreed a visit by Big Business and a surprise (to me anyway) opening set by Porn at the Bowery Ballroom (August 14, 2008). And it was good. Real good.

Well, except until moshers possibly cost everyone an encore. Buzzo was clearly irritated but expressed it calmly and with his trademark humor:

"I'm not Wavy Gravy. It isn't all about peace and love"

"Captain" Jared (also of Big Business) looked a little more peeved and menacing. Even while wearing a white suit and an utterly ridiculous sailor cap.

"Are you gonna' apologize to that girl you just kicked in the head?"

The discussion went on for another minute or so and in alot of ways reminded me of the "ice cream eating motherfucker" incident captured on the Fugazi Instrument DVD.

Until that moment (and after that) the Melvins were, as the Brits might say, "smashing". Tighter than a Kim Kardashian skirt, the band covered most of (A) Senile Animal and Nude with Boots, even paying tribute to The Who by covering "My Generation" in a way that only they could. The Dale Crover/Coady Willis two drum attack, while in alot of ways unnecessary, sounded fantastic in that room, but dwarfed the guitars. Buzzo and Jared's voices mesh together seemlessly and judging by the current poppy-Melvins phase the band is going through, Jared is a great addition on bass.

After "the incident", the band closed with Bullhead fave "Boris" (yes, the one that the band takes their name from) closing with Buzzo solo on guitar. I have seen my share of shows (of varying genres) at Bowery, and rarely have I seen a show peppered with as many whistles and "woo!"s as on Thursday night... Great, but I also could have used a little bit of Houdini or Stoner Witch era jams.

The same lineup played Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brookln one day earlier. Buzzo also appeared on Fox News yesterday. Video from that is below...

Continue reading "Melvins played 2 NYC shows and....Fox News (video)"