Melvins - 6/26/15

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The Melvins Return to The Salt City

Article by Tom Carpenter - Photos by Chris Besaw

I first saw the Melvins back in the day, on tour with GWAR. I saw them again with White Zombie. They came to Syracuse in 2013, but I was in California and was not able to go. They were playing with two drummers then, and from what I heard from my drummer, and others, was that it was a sight to behold.
In 2014, King Buzzo toured in support of his acoustic album “This Machine Kills Artists” and made a stop in Syracuse, where I interviewed him.
The current line-up of The Melvins is a three-piece consisting of Buzz Osborn on guitar, Dale Crover on drums, and bassist J.D. Pinkus, who also played with the Butthole Surfers. I was excited to hear they were returning to Syracuse to play the Westcott Theater.
It had been a few months since I had been to The Westcott and they have made a bunch of changes. The place looks really great and has a better flow.
I went out onto the new back smoking patio and bumped into Dale Crover and JD Pinkus. We smoked and chatted for a while. They are such nice guys! They headed in to get ready and as I was having another smoke, the opening band began to play. I snuffed out my cigarette and got to work...
Opening the show was Le Butcherettes, a three piece band from Guadalajara, Mexico, made up of Terri Gender Bender, who is the vocalist and plays guitar and keyboards, Jamie Aaron Aux on bass and backing vocals, and drummer, Chris Common. The band is touring supporting their new album “Cry Is For The Flies” on Ipecac Records.
Le Butcherettes came onto the stage all dressed in red, with Teri Gender Bendar also wrapped in red tulle fabric. The music was mostly solid guitar-driven rock songs, and they had a few that were more keyboard heavy.

Teri's vocals were at times breathy and soft, and at other times she could really belt out the more driving songs. Her movements were odd and quirky, and at times seemed as if she was trying to be weird, stomping around the stage. Between songs, she spoke only in SpanishDrummer Chris Common was really impressive, and bassist Jamie Aaron Aux provided the groove. I liked Le Butcherettes a lot. I grabbed a copy of their album and Teri & Chris signed it, but Jamie was nowhere to be found. She was off celebrating. I talked with Teri for about 10 minutes. She was so very friendly.

After a brief break, where I slipped out for a smoke, The Melvins took the stage, with Buzz dressed in a black mu-mu adorned with safety green/yellow teardrops, topped with his trademark shock of hair that could have been the inspiration for The Simpsons' Sideshow Bob. They opened with the song “Hag Me,” a sludgy, Stoner/Doom type song from their record Houdini. The crowd of about 300 was really into it. And don't think for a moment that the crowd was filled a bunch of middle-aged guys reliving their glory days. The crowd was mostly younger guys. The Melvins keep gaining new fans year after year!
The Melvins launched into some newer material before doing a Butthole Surfers cover. They also did the song “Youth of America,” which they jammed on for a while, followed by the song “The Bit” off the Stag record. This show was a bit more driving than the last time the Melvins played here, but I like a more buzz saw type set, personally. The Melvins closed out the night with the songs “Night Goat” off Houdini, followed by “Fascists Eat Donuts,” where they were joined by Teri Gender Bender from Le Butcherettes. It was a great performance.
The security people began to shoo people from the floor, so we headed up to the merchandise table, where I bought a limited edition, numbered Melvins tour poster that was hand-signed by Buzz, Dale, and Pinkus. I specifically picked number 69/100. I had to... LOL
And with that, I met up with Chris Besaw, and we headed out. When we were outside, we bumped into Buzz, who was loading some gear. Chris took a photo of me and my drummer, Illin' with Buzz. After, we thanked Buzz for yet another great show, and headed home.

L-R: I.M. Illin' of Born Again Savages, King Buzzo of the Melvins, and Tom