In 2021, the band that helped pioneer the grunge and sludge metal scene, (The) Melvins released their 24th studio album, Working with God. Just shy of four years since the release of their 23rd studio album, Pinkus Abortion Technician the new album reunited three of the founding band members from the 1983 ensemble: Buzz Osborne, Mike Dillard and Dale Crover .
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| Buzz Osborne of The Melvins @ Pappy & Harriet's 6/16/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
In 1982 near Joshua Tree National Park in Pioneertown, The Cantina owner's daughter, Harriet and her husband Claude "Pappy" Allen bought and renamed the now not so hidden gem of a music venue, the desert honky-tonk known as Pappy & Harriet's (Pioneer Palace).
40 years later, on June 16th, 2022 (The) Melvins played at Pappy & Harriet's.
With lockdowns and mask mandates lifted, (The) Melvins hit the ground running with Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover and Steven Shane McDonald on tour for the better part of this year. Their show last month was near the start of what they're calling the Electric Roach Tour, their second of three separate tour stretches this year.
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| The Melvins @ Pappy & Harriet's 6/16/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Pappy and Harriet's has an indoor stage and an outdoor stage and from as far as I can tell, it's not clear what stage a concert will be on until you get there. My first time there was to see another legendary "punk" act, Bikini Kill this past April. That show was outside but this time the show was inside. And it was packed! And no one was wearing a mask.
Men outnumbered women there by a landslide and the age demographic had me feeling like one of the youngest ladies in the room. The crowd was sticky and dripping sweat as grown men threw back their heads back as they belted out lyrics to the songs being played. Teetering to keep balance, the crowd swayed on the brink of breaking out into a mosh pit throughout the entire set.
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| Buzz Osborne of The Melvins @ Pappy & Harriet's 6/16/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
It was hard to fathom how front man Buzz Osborne and bassist Steven Shane McDonald both wore long, long sleeved cloaks: Osbornes embroidered with gold and eyeballs while McDonalds looked to be a plain off-white linen under the wash of amber lighting. They both remained cool as they mechanically dish out song after song under wildly long locks: Osborne's curly and boisterous while McDonald's hung long and wafty (honestly, Osborne's hair stole the show).
As soon as the last song of the night ended around midnight the crowd disbursed, some to get a drink at one of the many bars there, some to move to where there was more room to move, others to get a breath of fresh air and head home.
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| Pappy & Harriet's 6/16/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Though minimalistic in every aspect except the music itself, it was quite a show to see. It was (The) Melvins at Pappy & Harriet's! The setting of amber lighting and acoustics that didn't overachieve fit the grumbly grunge sound that is (The) Melvins, or (The) Melvins fit it.
Their last show of this stretch of their tour finds (The) Melvins at Cornerstone Berkeley on July 20th. The next and final stretch of their 2022 tour deemed, The Five Legged Tour amply named after their 36 song acoustic double album of the same name, also released last year, starts on September 5th and runs through October.
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| Buzz Osborne of The Melvins @ Pappy & Harriet's 6/16/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
