Melvins/Big Business Live
Aug. 7th Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY. &
Aug. 10th Pearl Street, Northampton, MA.
I’ve been to a lot of fucking metal shows and honestly few were as enjoyable as these. Onstage, the Melvins and their cohorts Big Business present you with an overpoweringly pure presentation of musicianship in the classic form of brutal percussion, heavy riffs, and really big hair. They have no need of flashy showmanship that seems to take center stage with so many recent musicians, who tend to put more money into their stage set-up than effort into their performance, or spend all their hot air spewing arrogantly at the crowd in between songs rather than you know..channeling that emotion/wind-baggedness into their vocals; if you know what I mean (I’m looking at you, Bert McKracken). While I was very impressed with the Buffalo show, the friendliness of the crowds (particularly the Canadian metal-heads who saw fit to apologize each time they bumped into me whilst moshing) as much as the show onstage – I was utterly blown away at the Northampton, Massachusetts show overall. I came into it with some apathy, having almost opted to go home and catch some baseball instead. The venue was one I’d attended before…tiny, dismal, and swelteringly hot even in mid-December. Upon entering I was immensely annoyed within the first ten minutes by the surprisingly less considerate Massachusetts crowds who seem to have less of an ability to drink without becoming complete douchebags.
They were captivated from the moment Big Business took the stage, however, the band distracting me momentarily from my contemplations of the crowd as they belted through their set, warming us up with their interestingly melodic heavy rock. When it was time for the Melvins to take the stage, Jared (who serves as bassist/vocalist for both bands) changed from his charming ‘Fart Loudly’ tshirt into a suave fantasy ship-captain’s garb – an interesting and somewhat amusing change from the toga he’d worn at the Buffalo show. Gotta love a man with taste. The set was just as brutal as it had been at the Buffalo show, though I daresay the Massachusetts crowd was much more pumped up about it, and far less apologetic about being so. At some point both the excitement and the douchebaggery of the audience proved itself when Buzz stopped singing the national anthem as Dale Crover leapt up from his drumkit, both men unimpressed by (and seemingly prepared to kick the ass of) the guy in the crowd whom twice had run the stage, passing between Buzz and Dale during the Star-Spangled Banner. Dale expressed
his disgust, followed by Buzz who made a real ass of the guy (much deserved) for interrupting the show, proceeded to talk in a friendly manner with the audience for a good bit, then after it all finished by saying “I think this calls for the Star-Spangled Banner”, as the band re-started the song that they’d nearly finished before being rudely interrupted. Both shows as far as band performance goes were utterly amazing and well-worth the Melvins/Big Business’ modest ticket prices.
I was shocked to find them at only $15/each for the Northampton show, particularly considering the Melvins’ extensively long career…these guys have worked with everyone, been everywhere and done just about everything, and still you and a friend can see them for under $35. Amazing.
-Kim Worpek