Melvins at Duo Music Exchange, November 19th 2019

Quoting an artists’s influence in another artist’s work is nothing new, but naming yourself after that influence is the ultimate sign of admiration and respect. Radiohead, for example, did it, when they took their name from an obscure b-side off of a single out of one of Talking Heads’ lesser known albums. This episode, that marked the beginning of the history of that band, ended up being prophetic. In retrospective it was definitely a “passing of the torch” moment. The same could be said about the Japanese band Boris. Their name is taken from the opening 8-minute song of Bullhead, the third, and quite possibly best album of the quintessential sludge metal band, Melvins.

I mentioned sludge metal, but the Melvins are much more than that. Not only is their discography eclectic, contrasting complex experimental efforts, like say Colossus of Destiny, with more “accessible” and straight rocking material, like in Hostile Ambient Takeover, the album that followed the aforementioned Colossus… They embrace a diverse array of sounds, usually within the albums themselves. Take their most popular one, Houdini. That album includes some of their live staples, Hooch, Night Goat, Honey Bucket. It also includes a Kiss’ cover and a couple of collaborations with Kurt Cobain. But closes with one of their more challenging tunes: Spread Eagle Beagle. A 10-minute ditty of percussion instruments beaten at a steady slow pace, one of many examples of a band not willing to compromise their vision. 

That vision is what I love the most about the Melvins. They mastered one genre and opened themselves to explore many others. They always throw curveballs laced in humor. Being a straight cover of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, an album recorded exclusively with an upright bass, or a full-on collaboration with a dark ambient artist. This need of shaking things off, of not confirming to a predictable set of expectations, is what makes Melvins one of the most vital and unique bands in rock.

I was lucky enough to see them in the early 2000s, when they started wearing cloaks on stage and I last saw them with the double drums attack from some years ago, when they invited the band Big Business to join their lineup. It was actually a seven year gap since my last Melvins show, so I went on and bought tickets on the day they were released. They were supposed to perform back in May, but they ended up postponing the whole Japan tour due to a medical emergency involving Dale Crover’s back. There was a change of venue as well, from Club Quattro to Duo Music Exchange, my least favorite music venue in Tokyo (can you believe these jokers tried to sell me warm beer at the bar). I got to admit, this series of circumstances didn’t put me in the best mood going into this show, nonetheless I was excited to see them for the sixth time, putting them at the top in the list of artists I’ve seen the most live.

There was no opening band. About an hour after the doors opened they walked onto the stage unceremoniously, with the house lights still on and the electric Miles era music, that served as a background for the wait still playing over the sound system. I was expecting Jeff Pinkus from the Butthole Surfers to tag along on second bass, but we got the basic trio of Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and the most recent addition Steven McDonald. I was in front of Steven for the whole show, the man definitely embodies the theatrical aspects of the band, it was a blast seeing him perform.

What followed was business as usual for the Melvins in the shape of riffs of the utmost quality. Just in the first few numbers we got The Kicking Machine, It’s Shoved, Queen, Anaconda and the opener Sesame Street Meat. After a few more obscure covers in the middle of setlist, they pulled out Civilized Worm, my favorite song from (A) Senile Animal and the first time I got to see it performed live. It didn’t disappoint. In spite of some vocal limitations inherent to the live setting, that melody line still hit hard. Definitely the best moment of the show. 

They then played the three Houdini songs mentioned above and as expected they were greeted warmly by the audience. Maybe warmly is an understatement. There was finally a small moshpit as they were played, some crowd surfers as well. Another one of my favorites was also performed: The Bit, along with the  Alice Cooper’s cover Halo of Flies, which closed the show at the 80 minute mark. There were no encores.

The business reference from above also pointed out the fact that, in my opinion, the show felt like another day in the office for the Melvins. There’s no denying that they’re consummate professionals and that it was an amazing show. I just miss the more risk-taking aspects of shows in the past. I remember seeing them standing looking directly to the audience for about five minutes in silent. Delivering stream of consciousness inspired banter. It was quite a confrontational approach that linked with their experimental spirit. This more rocking, back to basics style is fun, but I wish they bring back the transgression to the stage soon.
  
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