May 18th - Festival de musique actuel

[ManWithNoName]

I get picked up as planed by tommyhc and his buddy chris around 1pm in Ottawa. Off to victoriaville we go. After 6 hours of driving and pot smoking we get to the venue. It's 7pm, show starts at 10pm. We go out for a bite to eat and come back. Light up a j in the car in the venue's parking lot as we get invited to a tailgate party by a bunch of newfies. Couple free beers later + some more joints it's 9:30pm. We line up outside the venue and get in 15 minutes or so before 10. We head for the pisser and then to the show room. I see an open spot against the railing right smack in the middle of the stage. I boot and stand right there. I'm standing about 1 meter away from the drum sets. I'm standing right in the middle. I can't believe it. I'm right in front, in the middle. Best. Spot. Ever.

Anticipation level through the roof. Some old fart comes out to introduce the melvins. The introduction seems to go on for ever. Finally he walks off the stage, lights dim and the noise starts. Random noises for a few minutes, the crowd gets impatient some drunk moron screamsn "GET YOUR FUCKING FACES OUT OF HERE" a not so drunk moron screams back "SHOW A LITTLE RESPECT!" More noise. The noise seems to go on for ever, like the introduction. I can see the drum set infront of me, it's still empty. Is it really happening? Am I really going to see the melvins? Are they ever going to come out? From the corner of my eye I see Dale and Coady enter the stage. They're walking like zombies, puppets. They slowly make their way to the drum sets. The crowd is screaming. They sit down. I can't fucking believe it. Coady and Dale are 1 meter away from me. They raise their arms, my heart stops. They start playing lovely butterflies. Ever time Coady and Dale hit their drums I feel a gust of air. So loud, so close. Jared and Buzz enter the stage. Jared enters like coady and dale, Buss walks "normally". All we can hear are the drums, so loud, so tight, so close. I can't fucking believe it. Jared tunes his bass. As he plays his first note I'm blown away, I enver realised how fucking loud he is.

My half assed attempt at a setlist:
Lovely Butterflies
The Mechanical Bride (wow)
Ballad of Dwight Fry (HOLY FUCK! SO FUCKING GOOD. SO FUCKING LOUD!)
Let It All Be (I will never listen to this song the same way again. After hearing it live it has taken an entirely new meaning)
Hank 3 song from Crybaby (x2)
Oven(x2) ( Jared sang the 2nd part of oven(after drum fill) like he was whining/crying it was great)
Suicide in Progress
Rat Faced Cranny
History of Bad Men
Blood Witch
Lizzie
Set Me Straight/ DCH
Joan of Arc (FUCKIN' Eh!)
Sky Pup

I might be forgeting a song here and there, it's not the exact order they were played in. I'm pretty sure they ended the set with Suicide in Progress which sounds great live. After Suicide in Progress COady and Dale played the lovely butterflies beat while jared made some noise with his bass. Buzz had left the stage by then. Nothing was said during the show, nothing needed to be said. It was by far the best show I've seen. Most of the show is now a blur to me( much like all the memories I have) but I have vivid images of all four members playing. I remember buzz overlooking the crowd with his usual indifferent look. I remember not being able to see Coady's head but seeing his arms flying all over his drum set and feeling the gust of air coming from him and dale who were both hitting those drums so fucking hard. I remember seeing Dale singing through one of his drum as his arms flew over his head and back down again. I remember Jared with his Puma shirt bobbing his head to the music.

No mumus, no pictures, no videos. Sorry.

All I can say is that you don't know the melvins until you've seen them live. Wow.

[5w33t 1ntu1t10n]

Great review, ManWith!   

[anaconda]

There's no going back now, eh buddy? Melvins forever!!!

[ManWithNoName]

I almost forgot.  No merch table! I had alot of money to spend on melvins swag. I really wanted a tshirt.

[mopafeena]

Brilliant review! Thanks.

[Pringles]

GREAT SHOW

It was really loud and heavy. They had some problem with the voice in the first half tough.
We could'nt hear Jarred sing.

Here the set list

Lovely butterfly
Mechanical bride
Second coming
Ballad of Dwight Fry
Blood Witch,
A History of Drunks
Rat-Faced Granny
The Hawk
You've Never Been Right
History of Bad Men
Let It All Be
Okee from Muskogee x2
Lizzy
Joan of Arc
Sky pup
Set me straight/DCH
Oven x2
A Suicide in Progress
Lovely Butterfly outro

[rimb]

Great review and looks like a bit more interesting setlist.

[Pringles]

Oh...

...and Buzzo have now all his hair grey...

...and Dale is fatter than ever.

I think we are near the end. Unless Buzz do like Mike Jagger.

[mopafeena]

I think we are near the end.

NEVER!!!!

[Leigh]

The show was amazing. So many good things to say about it. All the harmonies were spot on and sounded so good, especially in The Mechanical Bride and ESPECIALLY in A History Of Bad Men. During the latter song, Jared and Dale took the verses while Buzz kept out of it. Then the 3 of them locked into that soaring chorus. Awesome. Dale may be a bit of a pudge now but he is no slouch. He was hitting hella hard and kept it up for well over an hour. He and Coady were damn tight. The setlists given are pretty close to accurate. After Blood Witch, they played A History of Drunks, Rat-Faced Granny, The Hawk, You've Never Been Right and History of Bad Men all in row as they appear on the CD. I love that they did this cuz, to me, those songs all flow together so perfectly. Like one long "suite" of songs or something. The last and only other time I saw them was the 2x4 tour in 2000. Hope I get to see them again soon. We are closer to the end than we are to the start but I do not think the end is near.

[sebo]

I think we are near the end.

NEVER!!!!

NEVER!!!!

[glen]

great review manwith.  you captured the magic.

now you got me all fired up for the next melvins go-round.

[tommyhc]

Lovely Butterflies sounded like the New and Improved version from Electroretard... except buzz' guitar part was a bit different... but the drums and bass part and vocals sounded pretty much the same.

[___-----_____------_____]

This Melvin's review is written by the guy that covers the whole festival, interesting:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=25773#4

[Leigh]

Lovely Butterflies sounded like the New and Improved version from Electroretard... except buzz' guitar part was a bit different... but the drums and bass part and vocals sounded pretty much the same.

Actually Buzz didn't play a note of guitar during Lovely Butterfly. Other than that, it did sound like the Electroretard version.