Girl at the Rock Shows

My road aggression was real as I drove through downtown on Wednesday night. That’s right. Road aggression, not road rage, because that sounds too mean. I love seeing downtown Minneapolis busy, but I was also so desperate to park and get to a show after having a few nights off that all of the traffic of suburbanites trying to figure out where to park and how one-way streets work had me on edge. I breathed a sigh of relief as I pulled into my usual parking ramp, but it wasn’t until I entered the iconic First Avenue mainroom that I really felt back to normal. I know it was only a few nights off, but even just one night without a show for me feels weird, so to have a few back-to-back, well, I just needed a show, and there was a perfect one lined up for me on Wednesday night.

My writing about seeing Melvins live is nothing new. I’ve actually covered them many times, but every time they come back to the Twin Cities, I can’t resist going to see them, even though their artsy rock sound isn’t my normal cup of tea. Why do I keep coming back? There are a million reasons spanning from the crowd that comes with this band to the heart that radiates from any stage that this Washington-based band graces, and all of those things and more were in the spotlight on Wednesday night.

I have seen Melvins in various forms, but was super excited when the screen concealing the stage pulled up into the ceiling, revealing two complete drum sets. This told me I was going to get Melvins as a four-piece, and honestly, that’s my favorite way to experience this band. Not only did you have the two legacy members, Buzz Osborne (guitar/vocals) and Dale Crover (drums/backing vocals), but you also had Steven Shane McDonald (bass/backing vocals) and Coady Willis (drums/backing vocals). Steven Shane McDonald may as well be a full-fledged member of Melvins at this point, as he has been with the band since 2015, but it’s the whole two drummer thing that had me kind of surprised, but more thrilled than anything. Out of all of the times I have seen this band, they really hit when they come with two drummers. There’s just something so beautifully spectacular and powerful about the way that Dale and Coady can play in complete unison, even though some of the patterns of this band are a bit more obscure than standard. I watched in awe as they drummed away, but also found myself completely captivated by both Buzz and Steven at the same time.

Melvins is a musicians’ band. They don’t play by the standard rules. The notes and patterns that they play feel almost avant-garde at times, but the sound is always digestible and somewhat easy to understand. It’s the kind of music that makes you think, but not too hard, and it’s the perfect setting to get completely lost in. To say that I was completely captivated throughout their set (which lasted over ten songs) would be an understatement. I was lost in the tones and the powerful soundscape that this band was creating right in front of my eyes, but I was also lost in the love that I felt throughout the room. There was the love the four musicians showed for their craft under the spotlights. There was the love the audience clearly had for the band, felt in the roar of applause that followed every song. Then there was the love that this band clearly had for the audience. This band loves Minneapolis (it helps that, not only do we have an amazing music scene here, we are home to Amphetamine Reptile Records, which is a label that specializes in all things weird, like Melvins), and is one of those bands that feels like a local band even though they are from a completely different part of the country. You could feel that love with the attention to detail and the passion that they brought to every single note that passed through the speakers.

I know that Melvins weren’t the headliners of Wednesday night’s show, and we still had another super iconic band to go before the night was over, but, for many in the audience, this is what they wanted to hear and see. Melvins killed it, and there was a steady stream of people leaving as soon as they wrapped up their set, but I was not one of those people. Although I had definitely gotten what I needed in terms of the feeling of a live show, I wanted to see what this supergroup headlining the show was all about.

Tomahawk is the epitome of a supergroup. This band features Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle), Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard), John Stanier (Helmet), and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle). Okay, I’ll admit, those aren’t the most mainstream names of all time, if you know, you know, and, if you know, you know how special it is to see all of these amazing figures on the same stage doing the one thing that they all have in common- creating super cool and fresh music. I didn’t know what to expect from this group. I knew the projects the four members of this group hailed from, but I didn’t understand how they would all fit together or what kind of sound they could create when they put their forces together. I wasn’t worried, just intrigued, and the intrigue lasted throughout the night.

There were moments in the set that had a very industrial influence, whereas others had a more noise-inspired feel. Some of the patterns coming from drummer John Stanier felt standard, whereas others left me trying to figure out what time signature they were playing in and how in the heck he was keeping this non-beat steady like it was just any other beat. I loved how the vocals could range from dark, smoky club to larger-than-life arena sound within the blink of an eye, and I absolutely adored how nothing about this band seemed to stay the same for long. Every song was a new journey and, within those journeys, there were various paths you could take to get to the end. Did you want to follow the intricate guitar work or follow the words? Was it the beat of the drums keeping you going or the rhythm and thump of the bass? No matter what, Tomahawk took you on a journey with their set on Wednesday night, and it was a journey that, if I had had my way, would have never ended.

Wednesday night was super busy in downtown Minneapolis. Not only did you have this completely sold-out show with Tomahawk and Melvins, but you also had Wicked, the musical, happening just a few blocks away, and a completely sold-out Noah Kahan show happening at Target Field (where the Minnesota Twins play). Before the show, my boyfriend and I sat at The Depot (a First Avenue-owned restaurant and bar right next to the venue) for some dinner and drinks. It was a busy night, so service was a bit slower than usual, and we decided to make a game out of it. We were going to count every pair of cowboy boots that passed by us. Apparently, cowboy boots were the footwear of choice for the sold-out Noah Kahan show. 116. That’s how many we counted. This has nothing to do with the show I was at, and I have no regrets about picking Tomahawk and Melvins over Noah Kahan, but I hope all of those cowboy-boot-wearing folks that walked by us had just as amazing a night as I did.

Line Up:

Melvins

Tomahawk

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 52

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Sausage Fest Meter – 8.2 out of 10

Celebrity Sightings – None

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Melvins – 4

Tomahawk – 0

Show on Deck – Ditch Pigeon / Chairman Chair and the Chairmen / Dead Larry / True Green

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