By Andrew Bansal
February 26th 2014, The Satellite, Los Angeles CA: This month’s edition of the Scion Rock Show took place last night at its now usual venue at the Satellite in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles, and this time the folks at Scion had something special in-store for us, in the form of Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne’s live solo acoustic debut. Performing under the moniker ‘King Buzzo’ which borrows from a Melvins EP of the same name, Osborne will release a yet untitled solo acoustic album via Ipecac Records in June and will kick off a three-week US tour on March 2nd, but this particular show was the first ever time he took these songs onto a stage for an audience. Also playing this show were Los Angeles-based heavy rock duo Tweak Bird, and judging my the number of people outside the venue before the show, the anticipation surrounding this show was great, even on a rainy Los Angeles evening.
Doors were opened earlier than usual at around 8:30, perhaps owing to the hovering rain, and within a short amount of time the place was completely packed. This was by far the best turnout a Scion Rock Show has had at the Satellite, which contributed tremendously to the success of this event. As usual, the LSDJs played some sweet, loud music while the crowd waited for the show to start, and there were free Scion shirts, socks, CDs and LPs up for grabs.
The show started at 10 PM with Tweak Bird taking the stage for a 45-minute set. A two-piece band consisting of brothers Ashton and Caleb Bird on drums and guitar respectively with both sharing vocal duties, the band truly made a strong impression on this audience with their delightfully heavy riff worship. The music combined touches of psychedelic desert rock with Sabbath-y classic doom/blues rock, and Ashton’s drumming seemed to possess a distinguishable John Bonham-type feel to it. Caleb’s meaty guitar tone more than made up for the absence of a bassist and he laid down some solid riffs which when combined with the crushing drum fills were extremely easy for the rock lovers in the audience to relate to. The likes of Black Cobra, It’s Casual and Indian Handcrafts have shown in recent times that two-piece bands are taking musical creativity to new levels, and Tweak Bird can be firmly placed in the list of such groups that are executing the idea with success. Credit must be given once again to Scion A/V for picking out a great opening act which most people weren’t familiar with but went home as converted fans of.
Visit Tweak Bird on the web:
TweakBird.com
facebook.com/TweakBird
twitter.com/TweakBird
With a very barebones stage setup consisting of merely an acoustic guitar, King Buzzo was ready to start his set within 10 minutes of Tweak Bird ending theirs. He made a quick announcement telling everyone that it was his first ever acoustic solo show and that they shouldn’t blame him if he screws up because they didn’t pay to attend the show, he began in the best manner anyone could have ever imagined, with a wonderful rendition of Alice Cooper’s ‘Ballad Of Dwight Fry’. He did great justice to the dark expressions in that tune, both on vocals and guitar, and got this crowd on his side straightaway. He went on to perform an assortment of Melvins tunes and some material from the upcoming acoustic record for a set that lasted almost an hour, and the audience loved every minute of it.
The Melvins songs were well-chosen and sounded great in the acoustic setting, even though by his own admission it was hard for Buzzo to play them in this manner. Aside from the music, the performance was interspersed with humorous monologues and stories which had the audience in splits, like his dig at Guitar Center and the story of how he ‘blew it’ by blowing off Dave Grohl over a Dodgers game. A show of this kind truly brings out Buzzo’s individual musicianship and personality in its most uninhibited form. The purity of the expression in the guitar parts and vocals ensures that the show would appeal to all fans of rock, regardless of whether or not they’re Melvins fans. If you happen to be in any of the cities Buzzo is visited on this upcoming three-week tour, Metal Assault strongly recommends you to attend the show.
Visit The Melvins/King Buzzo on the web:
Melvins.com
facebook.com/MelvinsArmy
twitter.com/MelvinsDotCom
Overall, this was perhaps the most entertaining Scion Rock Show the Satellite has seen thus far, and the atmosphere inside the venue was fantastic throughout. The show presented something unique and different from the norm, and despite the fact that attendees were hit by heavy rain upon exiting the venue after the completion of the show, no one would be regretting their decision to attend this event. Scion have set the bar high with this one, and Metal Assault looks forward to discovering what they come up with for future editions of the Scion Rock Show.
Visit Scion A/V on the web:
ScionAV.com
facebook.com/ScionAVmetal
twitter.com/ScionAV
instagram.com/ScionAV
Visit The Satellite on the web:
theSatelliteLA.com
facebook.com/theSatelliteLA
twitter.com/theSatelliteLA
instagram.com/theSatelliteLA
King Buzzo tour dates:
3/02 – Minneapolis, MN – Grumpy’s
3/04 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews
3/06 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
3/08 – Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
3/10 – Norman, OK – Opolis
3/11 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada
3/13 – Austin, TX – Record Label Rummage Sale
3/16 – Little Rock, AR – Stickyz Rock’n’Roll Chicken Shack
3/17 – Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone
3/20 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
3/21 – Indianapolis, IN – Radio Radio
3/22 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
3/23 – Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon