Recap Melvins at Double Door

Kurt Cobain cited them as the reason he started a band, the media hailed them as the godfathers of the grunge movement, and some unpopular ex-supervisor at a Thriftway in Montesano, Wash., was pissed they were using his name. Celebrating 25 years of sludgy rock, the original members of the Melvins reunited for a cross-country tour that featured both songs that made them big and those that should have. On Monday night, the band played to a sold-out crowd at the Double Door that was eager to see if the years of grinding rock, bad hair, and years on the road had taken their toll.

The original sludge-metal trio of Buzz “King Buzzo” Osborne (guitar/vocals), Matt Lukin (bass), and Mike Dillard (drums) took the stage wearing what appeared to be turtleneck ponchos despite the blistering heat. With no opening band, the show kicked off with King Buzzo, sporting his signature Sideshow Bob-like hair, reminding the audience to “keep in mind that I’m sober, and these are all songs I wrote and meant to play drunk.” Then he ripped through a handful of short tunes from the original group’s only album, Mangled Demos From 1983. A strict departure from the band’s later, heavier works, the 10 or so perky Mangled Demos songs (which came at the crowd like rapid fire, with barely a moment to catch one’s breath in between) were so different from the darker tunes that put the Melvins on the map. As such, the first third of the show sounded like a separate opening band, much to the ire of some fans.

The crowd's small but swelling angst was quelled shortly after Dillard and Lukin—who appeared to have aged in reverse—played a 10-minute drum solo together, which sounded exactly like a regular 10-minute drum solo but only louder. This paved the way for the band to play a few tunes off its other albums; highlights included an extended version of “Black Bock” from 1996's Stag, and a cover of the Paul McCartney & Wings song “Let Me Roll It." Then the Melvins gave the crowd what it showed up for.

Yes, the seminal 1993 album, Houdini, played in its entirety with only a few embellished intros and outros. Equal parts Nirvana, Black Sabbath, and Metallica, this portion of the set was a close copy of the original album minus, of course, the musical contributions from Cobain that were featured on songs "Spread Eagle Beagle" and "Sky Pup." Any missing notes were more than compensated for by the band’s extra-long intro riffs, the second drum solo (this time twice as long as the first), and a particularly menacing rendition of the grinding ballad “Hag Me.”

Twenty-five years of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll couldn't quell the Melvins' sound. The show wrapped up with the gritty, death-themed song “The Bit” off of Stag, followed by thank yous spoken over a light, snappy blues vamp. Walking offstage with no plans for an encore, the Melvins certainly haven't lost their sense of humor or their touch.