Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
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Now back to the story....
Legendary grunge pioneers Melvins hit the Waiting Room Monday night (9/19) and gave Omaha a blast of rock we won't soon forget! Joining the show was the bass heavy WE Are The Asteroid.
Melvins are on the Five Legged tour in support of their new LP Bad Moon Rising, a follow-up to the all acoustic EP Five Legged Dog. Now the name makes sense! During their Omaha set Melvins played the first two tracks from Bad Moon Rising "Mr. Dog Is Totally Right" and "Never Say You're Sorry". In addition to the two new tracks, Melvins hit us with 14 other brain smashing tunes cranked up to 11!
Before Melvins took the stage WE Are The Asteroid did a 45 minute set to help get the crowd in the groove. Much like Melvins, WE Are The Asteroid is a no-frills three piece of bass, guitar, and drums. They walked into the venue with one job, play some rock and roll. I'd say they got the job done with their Iron Maiden-like guitar wizardry, Motorhead speed, and Led Zeppelin-style drumming that had the walls shaking. By the time We Are The Asteroid was done the room was filling in and people in the front were sweating from all the rocking out!
For a Monday night there was actually a pretty decent showing of fans, mostly folks in their 30s and 40s, but a few college kids as well. Side note, did y'all know a lot of Benson restaurants close on Mondays? I was primed for some pre-Melvins puffy tacos, but Omaha Taco Co. was closed! Oh well, my friend John and I hit up Star Deli right around the corner and the roast beef au jus was really good. Alright, back to the show...
After a short setup Melvins came on stage and tore the house down! King Buzzo looked like a space alien with his puffy white hair and Wizard of Oz cloak. As I stood only a few inches away he wailed on a clear guitar sending waves of crunchiness through the crowd. Just a few feet over Steven McDonald bounced around the stage in an all white suit, looking like a young possessed Colonel Sanders. Meanwhile, Dale Crover pounded the drums with force and precision sending the crowd into a frenzy. With over 20 albums it's easy to see why these guys sound so good together. I've never been a huge fan of the grunge or sludge rock genre, but with Melvins their musicianship is absolutely top notch.
After taking some photos near the stage I moved to the back and tried to stay clear of the mosh pit. I noticed a guy with a towel on his head acting a little strange. Sure enough only a song or two later and he was getting pushed out of the crowd and fighting with everyone around him. Shout out to Dave Campbell and his crew for "politely asking the gentleman to step outside" and not ruin the rest of the show. Throughout the rest of the set the mosh pit continued but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Towards the end Melvins played what my friend John referred to as "their most popular song", "A History Of Bad Men". I'll have to defer to John since this was his sixth Melvins show and he's a long-time fan, but "Honey Bucket" has the most Spotify plays, just saying. I did see lots of phones coming out to record during "A History Of Bad Men" so I suppose he's right. The mosh pit also exploded with dudes squeezing past trying to get in on the action.
With only so much as a "Heyyyy Omaha" the band didn't really address the crowd much but that's ok. They came here to rock! And rock they did. I left with a new appreciation for Melvins and look forward to seeing them again. Maybe it will be on a Tuesday next time so I can get that pre-show puffy taco!
Huge thanks to Melvins PR for photo access and to Dave Campbell and The Waiting Room for keeping things running smoothly, always a pleasure. You can check out Melvins latest release Bad Moon Rising on their website and their tour continues through the end of October.
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