Review and Photos by Jerry Alperin
Melvins, an iconic name in music, on their tour in support of their new album Pinkus Abortion Technician, brought them to a packed house at The Urban Lounge in Salt Lake City on Monday August 13th.
They have mostly performed as a three piece, as well as a four featuring two drummers in recent years. But this time, vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover. were joined by Butthole Surfers/Honky bassist Jeff Pinkus and Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald. After getting a chance to be there for the sound check, I knew this was going to be a great night.
As the band took the stage, they were met with loud cheers by a crowd ready for the music only the Melvins could bring. After a brief second to get plugged in Melvins were all business as they went right into “Sesame Street Meat,” “At a Crawl,” and “The Kicking Machine” the evening was off to an exciting start. As you would expect there is a noticeable heaviness with the two bass setup which seemed to pull you deeper into the music.
The grinding guitar licks of Buzz, pounding bass grooves of Jeff and Steven, and Dale’s insane drums, the bands energy, was matched only by that of the crowd, as they powered through an 18 song setlist (see below). Which included songs like “Anaconda” from their album “Bullhead”, “Honey Bucket”, from their classic Houdini, and “Don’t Forget to Breathe” from Pinkus Abortion Technician. The night also included a fantastic cover of Bowie’s “Savior Machine”.
“Stop Moving to Florida,” a combination of the James’ Gangs “Stop” and the Butthole Surfers “Moving to Florida,” brought a different twist into the nights show and highlighted their ability to please a diverse crowd of fans of all age groups.
The night closed out with “Eye Flys” and the anticipation of their return next year.
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