Industrial Strength Roll-Call

[Oscar]

I was just listening to Tres Cabrones and thinking "there are a lot of great songs here that I've never heard live. What's up?"

Same here, I've been yelling for years that American Cow is the greatest Melvins gem to never be mentioned again after the fact.

[))))((((]

Hell they did a two bass tour and not one song from Three Men and a Baby. The opportunity was right there

The live shows and the albums seem to exist in their own completely separate orbits.

[Oscar]

Hell they did a two bass tour and not one song from Three Men and a Baby. The opportunity was right there

The live shows and the albums seem to exist in their own completely separate orbits.

And that's great, I've always enjoyed the difference in atmospheres they create. But this is plain boring for fans of their music.

[))))((((]

And that's great, I've always enjoyed the difference in atmospheres they create. But this is plain boring for fans of their music.

Oh im not disagreeing with you. A band like this with a good few hundred songs to their name sticking to the same 15 or so perplexing.

[Nizamark]

speaking of setlists, ministry's is pretty killer

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/ministry/2022/kemba-live-columbus-oh-3389a059.html

[Bigval]

In that Buzz & Al joint interview Buzz did mention for this tour they will be playing a 40 min set and the same setlist every night of the tour. He said before every tour they work out the setlist in rehearsals with a fine tooth comb of what songs fit together and in the appropriate order.

[Oscar]

In that Buzz & Al joint interview Buzz did mention for this tour they will be playing a 40 min set and the same setlist every night of the tour. He said before every tour they work out the setlist in rehearsals with a fine tooth comb of what songs fit together and in the appropriate order.

And have been doing so for decades, that's not the point. This setlist has been rotating since roughly 2019, with a lot of it stretching back to 2016 when Steven joined. The fact that they approach it like performance art has always been interesting to me - hearing The Bit played 150 times a year however, is not.
Especially after a two year break during which things can be reassessed.

I also don't understand the notion of playing things "safe" because they're opening. It's a fucking Ministry tour first of all, nothing should be safe about that.
But in a lot of ways, "safe" has been the modus operandi for Melvins for a while now.

[Dumpster D]

 safer with earplugs for Ministry. 

[Bigval]

I also don't understand the notion of playing things "safe" because they're opening. It's a fucking Ministry tour first of all, nothing should be safe about that.
But in a lot of ways, "safe" has been the modus operandi for Melvins for a while now.

Oh I agree I was just relaying basically what Buzz said and yeah there shouldn't be a 'safe' aspect to things but again that is exactly what Buzz & Al want for their band's sets. Both said there is a fear playing live that something could go wrong at any moment so they especially Buzz like the set to stay exactly the same in the same order so they know where they are at all times in case something goes wrong.

Seems very un-rock and roll to me but that's how it is these days it's a business first art second and I'm sure you know a lot bands these days use backing tracks that are synced to the drummer who plays to a click track. That way every live show the band plays the band sounds exactly the same each time fans leave happy and because there are no bad shows by bands anymore it guarantees regular offers from promoters.

[Oscar]

Yeah I get what you're saying, the honed approach to a setlist isn't a bad thing in itself if you ask me.
On many tours, I caught them a couple times in a row and it was a different dynamic every night, despite the setlist never changing.

It's just that they seem to be refusing to mix the song selection up, despite their catalogue getting deeper and deeper and Steven being a very versatile bass player. Also doesn't help to listen to Buzz go on and on about how weird and different they operate, when the reality just feels stale and out of touch.

Not to yuck anyone's yum for this tour though, please enjoy if you're attending.

[CoryCory]

I'm fine with the setlist presented as I like all those songs. There's bands who've been far more repetitive with their setlists over the last decade.

[))))((((]

Also doesn't help to listen to Buzz go on and on about how weird and different they operate, when the reality just feels stale and out of touch.

Correct. Even more so when Buzz takes great pride in saying they are not a "hits" band. But then they go and play the same sort of hit songs. In the tool thread someone mentioned that Tool are a Dadrock band now. As much as it pains me to say, i kinda feel that applies to Melvins now too. Just a little bit out of touch and stuck in a rut.

Also.... Personally i am already looking forward to what happens AFTER this tour. Especially since Buzz said they have a lot of plans that they will announce post-tour. I'm guessing a new album (with the 2 Lord Of The Flies tracks) plus another epic, mammoth world tour.

[>>>JZS<<<]

Updated roll-call, add yourself as you see fit!

Starts Wednesday!

Mar. 02 - Columbus, OH @ Express Live!
Mar. 04 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Mar. 05 - Covington, KY @ Madison Theatre  CoryCory
Mar. 06 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage’s JZACS71
Mar. 08 - Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Mar. 09 - Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall
Mar. 11 - New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
Mar. 12 - Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater
Mar. 13 - Portland, ME @ State Theatre
Mar. 15 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues
Mar. 16 - Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo Riverworks Flutter Nuts
Mar. 18 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Mar. 19 - Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium FartLips
Mar. 20 - Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
Mar. 22 - Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle FartLips
Mar. 23 - Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Mar. 26 - Dallas, TX @ Amplified Life
Mar. 27 - Austin, TX @ Emo's
Mar. 28 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theater
Mar. 29 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Mar. 31 - Chicago, IL @ Riviera
Apr. 01 - Cleveland, OH @ The Agora kingdiamond
Apr. 02 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Apr. 03 - Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall
Apr. 05 - St Paul, MN @ Palace
Apr. 06 - Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
Apr. 07 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
Apr. 09 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
Apr. 10 - Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom
Apr. 12 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
Apr. 13 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
Apr. 14 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
Apr. 16 - San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield GiveMe45
Apr. 18 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo

[black stallion]

Yeah I get what you're saying, the honed approach to a setlist isn't a bad thing in itself if you ask me.
On many tours, I caught them a couple times in a row and it was a different dynamic every night, despite the setlist never changing.

It's just that they seem to be refusing to mix the song selection up, despite their catalogue getting deeper and deeper and Steven being a very versatile bass player. Also doesn't help to listen to Buzz go on and on about how weird and different they operate, when the reality just feels stale and out of touch.

Not to yuck anyone's yum for this tour though, please enjoy if you're attending.

couldn't agree more.

btw, I heard a snippet of the new song played live and I must say it sounds amazing and super heavy. Buzz uses a wah pedal, first time I see him doing that

[))))((((]

Buzz uses a wah pedal, first time I see him doing that

Perhaps there could be quite a bit of wah on this new album. There were quite a few little snippets of Buzz playing around with them in recording last year.