30 September 2019, The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN

[CoryCory]

Two years in a row the Melvins come to Louisville and two years in a row I couldn't see them in my own hometown. Last year they played on a Sunday super early and I was stuck on nights by way of working open to close the entire Spring. This time they played one of those Danny Wimmer festivals in Louder Than Life, performing about 40 minutes while Ice Cube played the main stage around the same time.

But at least it's a trip to the Vogue and this time it was legitimately the smoothest trip yet. I honestly broke a tradition this year in grabbing a couple beers when I rarely ever drink at Melvins shows. Leading up to the tour Swedish trash rock band ShitKid were supposed to open but couldn't get in the country because suddenly a lot of bands were having trouble getting VISAs to tour the United States. It's amazing how this issue feels kinda buried among all the recent events. That said it honestly worked out for the better as nothing about ShitKid appealed to me even if the trashy, lo-fi aesthetic was intentional or tongue-in-cheek.

Seriously I looked this band up and got a big "WTF" vibe. I understand that the Melvins tends to get a wide range of openers but I'd imagine this would have made 2017 Spotlights look like Le Butcherettes. That said Toshi Kasai's experimental noise set was pretty awesome. With a visual display of this green swirling effect that hummed and swayed as all sorts of weird sound were coming. Then that green effect would explode into a wall of jagged weirdness as we got a wild mesh of ambient, noise and much more. A couple up-front jolted at the sudden sound shifts. A solid 25 minute opener that links well enough to the band all things considered.

Redd Kross would follow and this was long overdue as I'd been wanting to see them for some time. Sparking into the title track from their latest album "Beyond The Door", watching the McDonald brothers tear into catchy rocker after catchy rocker made for an excellent career-spanning musical party to take us through the evening. Among Melvins openers they were definitely in the upper tier.

Setlist: Beyond The Door, When Do I Get To Sing "My Way" (The Sparks), Lady in The Front Row, Switchblade Sister, Peach Kelli Pop, Uglier, What's A Boy To Do?, Stay Away From Downtown, The Party Underground, Fighting, Annie's Gone, It Won't Be Long (The Beatles), Neurotica, Jimmy's Fantasy, Linda Blair, Annette's Got The Hits

Dale and Steven would return to the stage a half-hour later alongside Buzz to bring out the heavy, powering in with opener "Sesame Street Meat". Seamlessly the band lined into "The Kicking Machine", "Anaconda", "Queen", It's Shoved" and "Oven". Up to this point it was a familiar affair but all of which bangers I'd always enjoy hearing in a Melvins setlist. A side point but the venue was fairly packed for another Melvins Monday, which gave it up 100%.

The next few songs were all songs I'd never heard them do live, beginning with old-school grunge cover "With Yo" Heart Not Your Hands". I almost wish they would have done Leech as well but this murky rocker was a dig further into the past as the tonal shift would dive back forward with the excellent "Billy Fish", a cover of "Charlie" and the excellent "Civilized Worm". The rest of the set flowed well enough, "Hooch" and "Honey Bucket" getting the crowd into a frenzy as best as I recall. The set played out similar enough to recent years, closing with one song I've rarely heard of them in "With Teeth". The rest of Redd Kross would return to do one more Redd Kross song and close out proper with KISS.

Of all the Melvins sets I've seen it's was one of the better ones and Indianapolis' crowds tend to attract a more dedicated fanbase throughout, not to mention a more pleasant one to talk to as compared to some of the hipster assholes I'd meet in Louisville. Mostly a familiar set with some long-awaited gems to witness but nonetheless one always worth seeing.

Setlist: Sesame Street Meat, The Kicking Machine, Anaconda, Queen, It's Shoved, Oven, With Yo' Heart Not Yo' Hands (Malfunkshun), Billy Fish, Charlie (Redd Kross), Civilized Worm, Hooch, Honey Bucket, A Growing Disgust, Your Blessened, The Bit, With Teeth, Standing In Front of Poseur (Redd Kross), Deuce (KISS)