10.10.07 40 Watt Athens, GA

[seas of luck]

The Melvins were tighter than last year and the acoustics were great this time!  I think the videos I posted speak for themselfs so I didn't write a review.  However for one of my friends it was his first Melvins show and he wrote a great, mostly true, review of the show that I'll post instead.  This was posted on a blog on his myspace.

PS If you are wondering my real name is Nick.

"Melvins show: Best show of my life or BESTEST show of my life?


I'm somewhat unsure of why I'm writing this. All the people that care about the Melvins went (except for Mobbs). For some reason most of the people I know just blindly hate this band. Which is no big deal, I guess. Musical taste differs from person to person after all. And even then, is it important that you listen to this band? Perhaps not, but you're missing out on something really good. It's doubtful I'll change any minds with this meager "blog" (what a stupid word). So, I'll just say this: despite everything you think you know, the Melvins are one of the most talented and amazing bands I've ever listened to. You're depriving yourself of a really good thing.
So yeah, I finally got to see the Melvins (not to mention Big Business) live! Was it amazing? It most certainly was. I haven't been to many shows so I have nothing to really compare it to, alas, so I'll just do what I always do: bullshit and out-right-lie. So here goes me adventure to see the Melvins!
Driving to Athens was even easier then I thought. The drive was enjoyable (since we were leaving Augusta *ba dum pppshhhhhh*) and there were no highway robbers or motorcycle gangs to contend with. Uneventful and pleasant (aside from listening to Rush and Manowar, which wasn't fun at all).
As I park in Athens, donning my Toby Keith cowboy hat and homemade Manowar shirt, I realize something: Athens reminds me a lot of Glasgow, Scotland. Not as big and not as nice, but it still reminds me of it. Since we left early there is plenty of time to look at CD stores and eat. Which is good since Athens' cd stores actually carry good music. The first store we visited had Skeleton Key, Secret Chiefs 3, Fantomas, and more! Seriously. And this wasn't even the store we were looking for. When browsing I had no idea where to look. Do I ever bother to look for Om at Best Buy. Magic 8-ball says: not likely. I don't understand why Augusta can't get just one Cd Shop like this. I know that Sunn O))) isn't a hot commodity, but do we honestly need 5 stores selling nothing but Gwen Stefani and Green Day albums? I actually did find a Sunn O))) album at FYE in the mall, but for every one Sunn O))) album, there was 50 Insane Clown Posse albums. Anyways I purchased Fantomas' "Delirium Cordia" and Secret Chiefs 3's "Book of Horizons". Both for fewer than 10 dollars. Amazing.
Since we had time, the gang decided to get a quick bite to eat. Luckily we find a nice little pizza shop where you can get a whole pizza and a pitcher of soda or beer for like $8. The pizza was really good... until the Ringwraiths appeared.
When their hideous shapes appeared, my training took over. Knowing that it wasn't possible for me to vanquish such foes, the best I could hope for was to discourage them and make them retreat for a while. Immediately I grabbed a bottle of liquor and stuffed a rag into it. They were almost upon me. I could hear their dreadful whispering voices now. Almost as their leader was about to seize me, I lit the bottle and hurled it at the ground, thus making a barrier (for all servants of the Abyss fear fire). How they shrieked! I uttered a Word of Power and saw them slowly retreat. I had won... for now, but they' be back.
What do you want me to say? I ate a fucking pizza. It wasn't that exciting.
Anyway, we search for Schoolkids records for about 30 minutes (we only asked about 6 people, all of whom gave us different directions). Finally we get there and it's worth it. Again, the cd selection is superb. I actually had to decide between a Sunn O))) album and an Earth one. It was unfair and mean. I opted for Sunn O))).
Even after all this we still have a bit of time before the doors open, so we decide to scuttle down to the 40 Watt and see what's going on.
It would be important now to list the 3 things I wanted to do in Athens while seeing the Melvins:
1)Meet and take a picture with someone from the band.
2) Buy an Eggnog shirt
3) Get a set list
We make the long trek to the 40 Watt when I decide to take off my shirt and just wear my Manowar one. Mistake. No one is really at the 40 Watt... except for King Buzzo, the guitarist and lead singer of the Melvins. God damn it. Here is what happened.
We walk to the 40 watt and see Jarrod, the bassist, sitting outside smoking and talking to some people. He's not as fat in person as I thought he'd be. Anyway he's talking, so I don't won't to interrupt him. So we're just standing there, looking at him when "King" Buzzo just walks out of the venue. It was fucking surreal (for those of you not in the know, the King sports a weird afro type hairdo that's pretty much instantly recognizable). We're all just looking at him, then at each other, wondering what we should do. On the one hand I want to run over to him and start telling him about Manowar, and on the other I don't want to piss him off. We sort of just stand there, stunned, when we see him get into his minivan to get something. That was pretty cool, I guess. Before we can question his mode of transportation, I see him get out and here is what happens:
The thing I remember the most was that it suddenly got windy. Right when King Buzzo pulled out the AR-15 it got windy. Knowing instantly what was up I rolled behind a car and pulled my Browning 1911 out. Buzzo was already firing at me. Not knowing what to do, I held my ground and waited for him to run out of ammunition and reload, knowing that would be my only chance. Suddenly the hailstorm of bullets stop and I spring up, both hands on my gun, ready to fire when I see the Glock 9mm he's holding at me. Instantly I shoot my body to the right and can actually feel the wind of the bullet go past my head. An unbelievable shot that probably what have killed me if not for the wind and quick thinking. I let out 5 shots, 3 of which hit his torso, and one that hits his neck. He goes down. Waiting to see if he's really down or just another ruse, I wait a moment. Seeing as how he isn't moving at all I slowly approach the body when I first notice something isn't right. I can't think of it, being preoccupied with not getting my head blown off and all, and decide it's just the adrenaline. I'm 10 paces from the body when it occurs to me: there is no blood. It's possible he's wearing Kevlar but even that wouldn't protect his neck. Something is wrong when it happens.
Buzzo is up, grenade in hand. The pin is gone and I have just enough time to shoot it out of his hand when it explodes, deafening me and knocking me back. Buzzo is on fire when the ghastly truth is revealed: he's an android. The Buzzo android makes his way to me when a rocket hits him full in the chest, blowing him up. I look over, about to shoot the new comer, when I see the real King Buzzo. He walks up to me and says that in the future robots have taken over and that I need to come help him and Dale fight them or some shit. I totally agree and in 18 years the Melvins and me will fly into the Deathstar and blow it up or something. I can't remember it all that well, but it was pretty awesome. I also get to play as their new bassist, but they kicked me out soon after. It was still pretty awesome anyway. Later I go back in time and, like, here I am.
When Buzzo got back out of his van and approached us, I knew I had to do something. Quickly I walked up to him and said something like "You must get this a lot, but would you mind getting a picture with us?" Expecting him to scowl and spit on us or something, I took a step back. In actuality he was extremely nice and said "Sure, no problem". We chit chatted for a while and it was all very surreal. He also has a gold tooth. Awesome.
Fast Forward a couple of hours and we're in line with some drunk guys, waiting to be let in so we can wait some more. I typically hate talking to drunk people, but this situation had a twist: they were Melvins fans. I was actually having a conversation with someone I don't know about which Melvins' album is the best (strangely enough we both agreed that Bullhead and Hostile Ambient Takeover were two of their finest efforts). One guy even claimed to have seen Thrones live in Athens, which may or may not be true. The point of this is simply I'm talking about Thrones and the Melvins with people. It was refreshing and enjoyable. We wait a while longer, discussing who hates Augusta more when Dale Crover walks out to buy a sausage dog. He was MOBBED by all these drunk people so we decide to leave him alone. I felt sort of sorry for him; He looked sad.
Soon the doors open and we enter. I immediately make my way to the merchandise booth to see what shirts they have. I've shied away from wearing band shirts for the past couple of years, but a Melvins shirt is something I want badly, and an Eggnog Melvins shirt is something I would sale my soul for. Well luckily they were only 15 bucks so I got to keep my soul (maybe I'll buy a nice pair of assless chaps with it). My shirt is black and has skulls and machine guns on it because it's really punk. Whoops! I actually meant it has two pink bunnies pushing a big Easter egg on it! It's awesome and more punk then your punk shirt. So far I've accomplished two of my original goals, but will I complete the third and arguably most important? Get a set list? Keep reading...
We arrived early for one very important reason: We wanted to be close to the band. Makes sense right?! Plus we wanted to record and make a bootleg. We claim our spot right in front of King Buzzo and hold tight. We banter with the drunk guys some more. One of them asks me, "Would you suck Buzzo's dick for a autographed Les Paul guitar?" I respond with, "I'd suck his dick for a t-shirt!" which, for some reason, impresses him and he shakes my hand for the 6th time. Another guy says how he's going to jump on stage when they go on and I encourage this, hoping he'll get kicked out. Anyway we hold our ground until it starts. And by "it" I mean "A Purge of Dissidents", some animated movie that Buzzo helped write the music for. It's largely forgettable, but to be fair I wanted to see Big Business and the Melvins, not watch a fucking cartoon. It's over soon enough and then it really starts.
The way the Melvins are organized now is this: There is King Buzzo- Guitar and most of the vocals, Jarrod- Bass and vocals, Dale- Drums and vocals, and finally Coady- Drums and vocals. Jarrod and Coady are both members of Big Business also (which is for the most part a two piece). Also, the Melvins have two drummers because they're that fucking awesome. Anyway Big Business comes out and it's nothing short of amazing. Coady, the drummer, was like a firecracker injected with cocaine. He was beating the pure living shit out of his drums. Jarrod played bass and sung, which was also quite a feat. They also had some cute little Asian playing guitar and keyboard. They played for maybe 30-40 minutes? It's hard to keep track of time, but we did get to have a gander at their ser list and saw "new jam" as their last song! Pretty cool! Just when they are approaching the end of their set, none other then Dale comes out, guitar in hand, to help rock. What follows is true and not exaggerated.
When Dale plugs his guitar in and starts playing, it is the loudest thing I've ever heard. Not just loud, it was fucking painful. It felt like someone was ripping my head apart. You couldn't hear drums he was so loud. Shrill and piercing does not even begin to approach it. No one knows why he was so god damned loud (maybe just as a joke?). Soon enough Big Business closes their set (the new song sounded really good too, or at least the parts we could hear) and then we wait, for the last time. This is IT. The Melvins are about to go on.
To my right out stepped King Buzzo, clad in skull moo moo, and guitar in hand. Praying to God that he wasn't going to play as loud as Dale, he starts to check his equipment. Then Coady and Dale come out, dale in a lovely pair of short shorts and Coady looking pretty normal compared to everyone else. It was then that we say a caped figure approaching the stage. Jarrod, the bassist, had made a cape out of a bed sheet and was holding it up to his face to hide his face. How can you not love this band? Anyway they get their shit together and begin.
I won't go into as much detail about this as I probably should for one reason: it's all on video and all of it has been uploaded to youtube. If you are interested in how the songs sounded (and I know you aren't) I'll supply links at the end of this "blog". Before we get into the conclusion of this riveting little "blog", I'll go ahead and post the set list:

It's shoved
Hold Your Hand
Civilized Worm
Suicide In Progress
Billy Fish
Lizzie
Your Blessened
Let God Be Your
Hogleg
With Teeth
Blood Witch
Rat Faced
Hawk
You've Never Been Right
History of Bad Men
Mech. Bride
Dwight Fry
*some weird song that no one could identify*

It was truly a great set. Not only did they play two new songs, but also played Lizzie and Hogleg. I personally was looking forward to Hogleg (looking forward to punching someone in the face during it, that is). They also played a Beatles song that was pretty OK. Here's a couple of memorable moments:
Lizzie is about to come on. People in the crowd know. They're singing along, waiting for it to get heavy so they can start fighting each other. Nick and Me are trapped at the front and can't move around that much. We both swore not to lose our places. Then it gets heavy and the audience goes nuts. People are slamming into the back of me and trying to get up and steal our place. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch, buddy. Even though I can't really turn around to push these idiots off of me, I can grab the stage and thrust (lol, thrust) my body back to knock them away. This is not only effective, but also a lot of fun. I start to notice people are keeping clear of me and Nick. Our places weren't going to anyone else, that's for sure.
Next up was Hogleg, which I wanted to fight people to. They start playing it. The floor is wet with beer (and maybe some teeth and blood). People are once again pushing me against the stage. This time I'm ready. I push back, using the stage and knock everyone back. One guy starts to try and wedge his way between Nick and me so I have to let him know that isn't cool by pushing just him back, sending beer all over both of us. Then someone kicks me in the leg. This doesn't hurt or really irritate me, but I decide to kick back and I hit somebody in the thigh. I know I normally go on about moshing and stuff, but I wanted to enjoy this and not waste my time fighting. Finally some guy grabs my shoulder. I'm half expecting him to slug me or something when he looks at me, drunk, and says "I fucking love the Melvins!!" As hard as it is to believe, I met another Melvins fan at a Melvins show. Astounding. There was also a guy who would just shout "OH MY GOD" over and over. It's on the videos, unfortunately.
There was also something else worth mentioning. Something that was kind of freaky. During the show I noticed that Dale would look at me through his drum set. I know it sounds crazy, but he was. It was a really "focused" look. It scared the shit out of me and after the show Nick said he noticed the same thing. It was creepy.
The rest of the show was unreal and nothing short of a religious experience. It was a lot of fun and it was so worth the trip. Duel drumming isn't just a gimmick, it's the wave of the future. It was worth the trip to just see Coady and Dale go at it.
But wait! The set list! Did I get one? Read on just a while longer, will you?
After Dwight Fry (a great closer by the way) and their last song that was kind of just fucking around, I see Buzzo's set list. I'm contemplating just grabbing it (there is a security guard right next to us and I don't want him to think I'm stealing something so I hesitate). Then this happens:

I reach for the set list and I'm grabbed by someone. I can feel that this isn't just another drunk; this is something else. He sends me flying across the room with a toss of his hand. I pull out my 1911, ready to drop this guy when he changes. Fur started to sprout from his skin and his very body began to change into the likeness of a wolf. It suddenly occurred to me: I'm about to fight a fucking werewolf.
I was still mesmerized by the transformation when he pounced at me. I duck and roll, narrowly escaping his 7 inch claws. I unload 3 bullets into his head, only to have him shrug them off the way any person my shrug off mosquitoes. This was bad. I see him about to make another charge when none other then Joe Preston breaks through a wall riding a motorcycle. He throws a cat at the deranged Lycanthrope and then casts a fire spell at it which instantly kills it. Joe Preston is a really good wizard. Later I joined Sunn O))) and even got a robe. It was sweet....
...actually this is what happened: I see the security guy pick the set list up and look at it, as if unsure of what to do with it. I reach my hand out and he just gives it to me. So I completed my 3rd task. Go me!
In conclusion it was one of the best times I've ever had and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Thanks for reading!

P.S. I JUST got that ringing out of my head! Yay!


Links!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LyaoO_eYB0
The videos actually start with Big Business playing their last song and just continues on from there. The quality and sound is excellent. It's just a tad dark but totally forgivable."

[Idlehanz]

jesus christ that was a long read.......but good.  and humerous.

Ya know, I've been following these guys for 16 goddamn years now, and haven't had a pic taken with any of em.  I need to get on the ball......

[FartLips]

jesus christ that was a long read.......but good.  and humerous.

Ya know, I've been following these guys for 16 goddamn years now, and haven't had a pic taken with any of em.  I need to get on the ball......

damn. you do!

[bUTTHOLEmAN]

Where's the picture of the guy flipping off Coady?  And then Coady flipping off that guy?  Cracks me up.

[Jaron]

Yeah, I was there, too. We ran into our own little Buzzo encounter. Short story even shorter, I welcomed him back to Athens, and he asked for a knife but, I didn't have one. Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

[norecess]

Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

How many times have you seen Harvey Milk live?

[seas of luck]

Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

How many times have you seen Harvey Milk live?

I saw them open for the Melvins last year.  It was awesome but the acoustics were bad and I couldn't hear the singer at all.

Here's a clip of I've Got a Love from last year that I never got around to uploading.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xemoqe

[FartLips]

Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

How many times have you seen Harvey Milk live?

I saw them open for the Melvins last year.  It was awesome but the acoustics were bad and I couldn't hear the singer at all.

Here's a clip of I've Got a Love from last year that I never got around to uploading.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xemoqe

sweet! karma!

[Dead Cowboy]

Where's the picture of the guy flipping off Coady?  And then Coady flipping off that guy?  Cracks me up.

[Jaron]

Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

How many times have you seen Harvey Milk live?

Just once. They're "living legends" in Athens though, according to Henry the club promoter for the 40 Watt Club. I believe he is anyway, he was promoting them that year and this past year in 07 he was promoting Boris. Not to crystal on that though.

[norecess]

Glad you liked Athens, it's a wonderful place. I'm proud to say I live there most of my days. Cheers.

How many times have you seen Harvey Milk live?

Just once. They're "living legends" in Athens though, according to Henry the club promoter for the 40 Watt Club. I believe he is anyway, he was promoting them that year and this past year in 07 he was promoting Boris. Not to crystal on that though.

Yeah he is, and he was also the man behind the dvd that was released last year. He was also responsible for flying David Yow in for... this show I believe.

[Jaron]

Yeah, he was because I talked to him during the Boris show and she asked me if I enjoyed that David Yow was there because he worked real hard to get him there. Seemed like he was really proud that he'd done that. Later during the show he walked up to me and asked how I was enjoying it and I said they were doing a great job (Boris). We talked about authentic Asian cuisine in the area because people on the Boris team were wanting something authentic. He wanted to send them to the Grit but, it was raining which we really needed and still need actually.