ROCK N ROLL EXPERIENCE - The Melvins 10/20/06
10/20/06
The Ottobar
Baltimore, Maryland
Anyways, on October 20, 2006, the Melvins rolled through town with a unique 4 band bill & the thing that every band had in common was Dale..Dale played guitar with Big Business, & he played drums for the other 3 sets, so I can't help but wonder how Dale had the energy to play so much music in one evening..that's insane! Initially, Dale came out dressed in an Elvis costume with the Elvis wig, jumpsuit, etc., & he played drums to an all instrumental set that was very avante guarde & eclectic. I might add that it wasn't until the Melvins set that guitar was utilized for the most part..the first band had a little guitar, but it was mostly used as noise & feedback & sounds, & the following 2 bands were mostly just bass & drums...Big Business featured Dale playing a little guitar, but it wasn't until the Big Business set bled into King Buzzo coming out onstage, that the true guitar playing started, & atleast for me, the evening really got going!
The Ottobar is a very tiny club..it's almost like a basement, & the club was totally packed...the small floor space that is infront of the stage was a big mosh pit, & the crowd was really diverse..you had some young kids, some older guys who have been fans forever, you had some punks with hohawks, you had some hippie looking guys with dreadlocks, & for the most part, it was a crowd that was really ready to rock out with the Melvins! The Melvins played a good mix of old & new stuff & the material they played off "Senial Animal" came across really well. Buzz commented that some critics were calling "Senial Animal" Senial Album & he commented that anyone who said that could fuck off! I will admit that I really didn't know when the Melvins set had started, because there was no break inbetween Big Business & The Melvins...King Buzzo just came out & started playing amidst the distortion of the last Big Business song & that was the only time I'd ever seen a band do that...no breaks, no intro's, just very DIY/Punk rock & Buzzo took the stage & immediatley started jamming!
This was my first time seeing the Melvins & I left feeling really excited, because when you see alot of shows, you rarely see something different & strange, & every band kinda does the same crap..a Melvins show is an experience..it's totally different, it's part wacky, really exclectic, & uber cool. I apologize that my pics are not better, but I was taking pics with zoom from the back, so that's the best I could get, BUT, I think it really captures the essence of what the night was like..it's not polished & pretty..it's gritty, raw & real!