The Melvins, Big Business & Porn - London Carling Academy Islington - 2/5/07
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
Opening the evening's entertainment is Porn, one of Dale Crover's Man's Ruin side projects. It's typical Man's Ruin music, except with none of the pretence and less of the over the top feedback. Straight-up no-nonsense fun-sludge, this was a really enjoyable set to start the evening off with, the sort of gig you don't feel bad talking over but one that can occasionally still silence you with a treat of huge, indulgent and lengthy chords the likes of Sunn O))) would be more than proud of.
Second up is Big Business, now The Melvins' rhythm section, and this for me is the first time I've seen them play as anything other than members of The Melvins. I'm really very excited about it ever since reviewing their most recent album 'Here Come The Waterworks', which I was agonisingly close to awarding five stars to. I'm interested to see whether they can live up to an album which sounds as if it was recorded live in the first place...
A few songs in to this set it becomes apparent that Dale Crover will be playing in every band on this stage tonight, as here he mans the guitar, filling in for what is David Scott Stone's part on the studio equivalent. As well as being probably the best drummer in the world (well, possibly) Dale is of course a very capable guitarist, as he regularly proves in his other major side project Altamont.
Highlights of the set include the intensely emotional 'Grounds For Divorce', a personal favourite, but they don't really seem to manage to replicate the intensity present on the recording which it has to be said is true of a great deal of this set. But c'mon, give them a break - they've been on tour for months now, and it's not as if this is anything other than an incredibly enjoyable experience. The one time they truly pull it out of the bag is for the opener of the new album 'The Day is Dawning', giving it a rendition in which they at least show their ability to really get behind their songs. There's potential to do something really quite special here.
Elsewhere, there seem to be hints of new tracks being played tonight, though of course it may just be material that they released on the seven inches The Melvins have got into the habit of releasing about twice a year, but interestingly enough the band played 'Bloated Pope' second in the set, showing that they still have a real love for their 2004 release 'Pigs of the Roman Empire'. Buzz reportedly still listens to that album, which is not something he does all that much with Melvins records, but judging by the delivery of this song alone, they're still really big fans of it.
A couple of tracks in, Buzz teases us again by playing a weird song that sounds a bit like a part from 'Bloated Pope'. This subtle referencing of older songs is something that also features on quite a lot of the last album '(A) Senile Animal)'. It seems as if Buzz is trying to subtly tie up a few themes and create some ongoing kind of semi-narrative to the continuing adventure that is The Melvins' output. Once again the parallels with classic prog bands of the seventies rear their heads again...
On re-reading my piece on their performance at All Tomorrow's Party last December, I think it's a shame that I don't feel as excited about this set as I did about that one all those moons ago. Hopefully for the people seeing this new line up for the first time it was just as exciting for them as it was for me five months back, but unfortunately (and if you are a newcomer, I apologise), it's just not quite as good this time - well, in fairness it's pretty much the same, but there are less oddities to it.
One treat however that I don't remember being in their Christmas set is a fantastic performance of 'The Mechanical Bride', along with 'Ballad of Dwight Fry', an Alice Cooper cover they first rolled out on another Melvins favourite 'Lysol'. It still made for one of the best shows you can head out and see of a night, and we implore you not to die having never seen this band, particularly with this line up.
Buzz apparently wants to have a new album (which would be their twenty fourth) out by October. When did your favourite band last release an album?
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