The Melvins + Jon Spencer

The general consensus when this gig was announced was – fuck yeah! The Melvins, in Norwich? Count all of us in. With the added bonus of a newly solo Jon Spencer as support this very much felt like the place to be this midweek night, and sure enough a large crowd had gathered to worship at the altar of these two alternative American rock legends.

For decades now, Jon Spencer has made a name for himself playing a primal take on rock ‘n’ roll, fused with punk, soul and blues, but this run of dates is to promote his forthcoming solo album Spencer Sings The Hits. I saw the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion supporting the Beastie Boys back in the 90s, and they made little impression on me, but last night was a textbook example of how to grab a 45 minute support slot by the scruff of the neck and not let go until you’ve got the attention of everyone in the room. Oozing charisma and bad assery in equal measure, Jon posed and preened his way through a set of clanking, minimalist punk rock blues, ably assisted by his great band. Sam Coomes provided the garage rock organ and Bob Bert was on trash. That’s to say Bob used hammers to bash out the beat on a bin lid, a metal coil, whatever he had to hand, and it was great. Lots of head nodding, some early evening dancing and loud applause rang out as the band left the stage, having completely won everyone over.

Chatting to a few people before the gig it seemed that many of us were there on the strength of the name, rather than being lifelong fans of the band. Sure, there were plenty of people going for it front and centre, but there were also plenty of people there to see if the band could do their legacy justice. Sporting, not one, but two bassists the sound was huge from the off. For Buzz Osborne’s guitar to be able to cut through the fat bottom end it was going to have to be loud, and bone shakingly loud it was. Topped off with Dale Crover’s superbly controlled and powerful drumming, I was instantly pulled into the thick musical stew. The Melvins are seen as one of the forefathers of the sludge metal scene, they were grunge before that phrase was coined and have stuck resolutely to their musical guns for 35 years now, theirs is an almost perfect union of punk rock and metal. At times ultra-slow, although the pace was varied nicely throughout the set, there was much to admire on the stage – Dale’s drumming and Buzz’s guitar playing were exemplary, but it was the twin bass guitars that held my interest. Jeff Pinkus bossed stage left with his silver flying V bass, but for me the star of the show was Steven Shane McDonald. I know Steven mainly from his work with Off! but he was a preening, posturing presence in his red suit, fan set to full blowing his mane back in a hair metal style. He was hugely entertaining to watch and ensured that the show wasn’t going to be taken too seriously.