Saturday 16/05/09 The Melvins @ The Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA

Hard to believe that the Melvins have reached their silver anniversary, though the deep mark they've left in the world of metal could rival the Marianas trench, virtually birthing the genre of doom rock straight from their first record 'Gluey Porch Treatments' back in 1986.  To celebrate this milestone, they cooked up a plan to play their very earliest material, along with a workout of 'Houdini', likely their best known recording.  Though they are mainly known for their powerful take on metal, it's no surprise that they must have listened to hardcore growing up in the Pacific Northwest, and 2005's release of 'Mangled Demos from 1983' cemented this hunch. 

So how would the early material hold up against the monstrously prodigious discography they've built in the ensuing years?  Let's just say that it was fun; King Buzzo himself admitted that this was music to get drunk to, as he and Dale Crover (on bass, introduced as Matt Lukin, who was the original bass player before he left for Mudhoney) recreated their adolescent racket with original drummer Mike Dillard.  For a band to publicly present the nascent material from their youth was actually a pretty ballsy move (could you think of any other bands who would do this?  Seriously, leave your thoughts in the comments section) and though it couldn't match to the crushing material later on, it wasn't half-bad and Buzzo was moving around on stage more than I'd ever seen, slashing at his metallic Travis Bean guitar like the Green River killer.

The set moved on as Dillard left and Dale got to his normal spot behind the big kit; his rack tom is about the same size as most band's floor tom.  I'd only seen the band in their current configuration as the four piece, abetted by Coady and Jared of Big Business, but it was plainly obvious that they could easily go it alone as a two piece.  "Oven" in particular had that groove, that massive sound that can cause slipped discs or internal bleeding, that so many bands wish for but isn't just available by spinning the amp dials to eleven.  Buzzo and Dale have studied the dark magic and are true masters of the craft; additional early material from 'Ozma' and 'Bullhead' trotted out like draught horses and plowed over all in their path.  The Alice Cooper cover had company later on; additional covers of Kiss, Cream and Wings (!) were given their own headlock/neck wrench treatment.

Finally Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Electric Masada, etc) came out and made the Melvins a trio again, and the Houdini material (aside from 'Set Me Straight', which successfully bridged the gap and was played in both sets) nudged the set into stun mode.  Immediately pile driving his bass into the floor for the ultra-heavy "Hag Me" (the song which should net the band royalties on most Southern Lord record sales), it was clear that Trevor was the piece of the puzzle which had fallen off the table and hidden in the carpet, but when found suddenly completed the picture.  Taking sartorial cues from Buzzo (camouflage robe, fishnet stockings, boots, black nail polish), he proceeded to turn skulls into tuning forks, reverberating as one in the key of doom.  "Honey Bucket" got the crowd into a massive roil, and I had to clench my teeth, grab my camera gear, and brace the storm.  Their cover of Kiss' 'Going Blind' similarly had the air suddenly filled with tattooed arms, fists clenched in solidarity of the riff. Never doubt the power of rock, even if it's played by grey-haired guys in their middle ages. The power is on.

The show in photos: