The great Bonnaroo music festival is this weekend, meaning that hipsters, stoners and lucky bastards who could afford the tickets will be headed to Tennessee for a weekend of aural (and possibly sexual?) bliss.
But someone (or thing) is also headed toward the festival. It’s a musical beast that, in years past, has battled music fans and taken a giant goddamn shit on the great genre that is metal. I speak, of course, of Metallica.
(BTW: did you hear their latest dick move? They invited bloggers to a listening party of their new album, and then demanded told them to remove the reviews of said album off their blogs. First thought: they have a new album?)
Some are worried that Metallica’s inclusion in the festival will ruin it (others say the festival, despite Metallica’s involvement, is already on the way out in terms of being “cool”).
I came across an article today that listed the five reasons why Metallica would doom Bonnaroo. And while it’s funny, the list does make some good points (It’s also rumored that the band is behind the high gas prices too).
So is Bonnaroo on the outs? And is it Metallica’s fault?
I think Bonnaroo has peaked. it’s about that time that someone comes along to gut it or burn it alive. As for Metallica, I don’t know what’s going on with that band. I lost interest after the Napster war and haven’t looked back since. Oh and when Jason Newsted left, there was no hope of me going back.
Anyway, the band loves 52 Shows. Perhaps we can get them to throw together a thrash cello theme song for us. For now we’ll make do with the Euro-shout-out.
The Melvins are all about making noise. Their songs flow like thrash jam sessions. Their lyrics are total nonsense. And they’re taking the stage these days with two full drum kits flanked on either side of a giant gong cymbal. On Monday they brought the noise to Philly.
The show opened up without a band on the stage. Instead there was just a projector screen. A series of linked animated movies played on the screen in the darkened room while booming music blasted from the house sound system. Each clip, prefaced with a vaguely political title screen, featured an odd looking mouse.
The mouse would do goofy things like stab itself with a knife repeatedly sprouting streams of blood into the air while hands appeared from the ground with funnels to transform the blood into droplets of magical water. It was as weird as it sounds. After four or so of these shorts people in the crowd were groaning. After eight, people were howling for Buzzo to come out. Ok, maybe that was just me.
After the films finished, the guys from Big Business took the stage alone. The music sounded crisp, but the vocals sounded like someone clearing their throat. They broke most of the cardinal rules of an opening act. They stretched out some songs into an all out jam. They brought out a guest bassist. And they played for over an hour.
But my primary complaint about Big Business is that they sound a lot like a Melvins cover band. The singer talked up the crowd between songs with something about the Philadelphia Phillies and Van Halen. The crowd chanted “USA - USA - USA - USA”. The weirdness of the night was increasing.
The BB guys left the stage for a while and then returned with Buzz Osbourne. A roadie set up a fan directly behind the Buzz to blow through his poofy hair. Buzz is weird but he’s skilled at melding crashing noise with groove. They stayed away from all out jam sessions though, sticking to a mix of songs from their older albums and the latest Big Business/Melvins release.
The dueling drummers were interesting at times when they riffed off each other and changed tempo on a dime. But at other times they played completely in-sync. An impressive feat, but it felt like a bit of a waste.
I went for the noise. And Buzzo brought it, even if there was some weirdness to wade through to get to it.
The Melvins are a hot or cold band. There have been times that I’ve seen them rock a set for over two hours with non-stop intensity and I still left wanting for more. And then there have been other times when an hour of their monotonous jamming was about as entertaining as an unexpected root canal. There is no in between.
But once you’ve seen them tear it up on a good night, you know that checking out a live Melvins show is always worth the risk.
The Melvins are hitting the road in September for a fall tour. They’re sharing the bill with Big Business, a heavy rock duo that (not so coincidentally) happen to be members of the Melvins. The BB guys officially joined the Melvins and played on the last album, A Senile Animal. But they also continue to record and tour on their own as Big Business.
When they tour together, they play their set with two full drum kits and drummers on stage. It’s tough to imagine the Melvins rocking harder (or weirder) — but two sets of drums gets the job done.
All music and videos posted on this site are here in support of the artists. If you find anything that should not be posted, please let us know and we'll remove it immediately.
