Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
June 11th 2014, The Echo, Los Angeles CA: On the strength of a prolific career spanning over three decades, Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne has gone solo, and acoustic, under the moniker King Buzzo. Buzz made his live performance debut at a Scion-sponsored show at the Satellite in February and did a short US run in March, along with an appearance at the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona in May, as a buildup to the release of the King Buzzo debut album ‘This Machine Kills Artists’, which was released on June 3rd by Ipecac Recordings. And now, he has embarked on an extensive US run to play these new tunes and an assortment of Melvins covers and other goodies. He visited the Echo last night on the second night of this tour, and held the audience captive with a truly fantastic performance.
Doors opened at 8 PM, and as time went by, the number of attendees at the Echo and the excitement level amongst them kept rising, and promptly at 10:30, Buzz made a low-key entrance onto the stage amidst huge cheers. He made a purposeful start to the set with a cover of Melvins’ ‘Boris’, an apt choice for the opening tune as it garnered the audience’s complete, undivided attention. As Buzz moved around and used the whole stage while playing his guitar, going from light strumming to loud, hard-hitting segments, everyone stood in silence and absorbed every ounce of it, so much so that a pin-drop could have been clearly heard. With ‘Boris’, Buzz set the tone perfectly for a brilliant set to follow.
Next up, he did a cover of Alice Cooper’s ‘Ballad Of Dwight Fry’. I witnessed him play it at the Satellite and now after having seen him do it on two occasions, I’d have to say his rendition of that song is fast becoming my favorite Alice Cooper cover by anyone, as Buzz captures the essence of the song and delivers it with unmatchable passion and expression. He then went on to present some material from the debut solo album and a couple more Melvins covers, including ‘We Are Doomed’ from the 2012 EP ‘The Bulls & The Bees’, which Buzz described as one of his favorite Melvins tunes of all time, and it showed in the way he performed it, probably the highlight of the entire set.
Of course, no Buzz show would be complete without a funny story or anecdote, and this time he told us a Mike Patton-related story which had the audience in absolute splits. He addressed the crowd a couple other times during the set but kept the talking to a sufficient and appropriate amount, which in itself must be a challenge for a man like him whose memory is filled to the brim with countless stories that his fans would be more than glad to hear.
The incredible attentiveness of the audience during the set was a true testament to the sheer power of Buzz’s performance. Never have I witnessed a solitary musician with a mere acoustic guitar enthrall an audience in this manner, and even in comparison to the gig at the Satellite, Buzz appears to have taken his show to a whole another level. His presentation of great new solo material and barebones renditions of Melvins covers, it has to be said, is right up there with the finest live performances I’ve had the fortune of experiencing this year so far, and it was the kind of show that would make anyone and everyone in the audience forget about their day-to-day miseries and put a genuine smile on the face. If you happen to reside in any of the 40 cities he’s taking the remainder of his tour to, do not miss the chance to be a part of the King Buzzo experience.
Check out a full gallery of King Buzzo photos from the show below, or view it here if you’re on a non-Flash device:
King Buzzo/Melvins links:
Melvins.com
facebook.com/MelvinsArmy
twitter.com/MelvinsDotCom
Remaining Tour Dates:
06/12 Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory
06/13 Fresno, CA – Strummer’s
06/14 Sacramento, CA – Assembly
06/15 San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
06/17 Eugene, OR – Wow Hall
06/18 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
06/20 Seattle, WA – Neumo’s
06/21 Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown
06/22 Spokane, WA – The Hop
06/23 Missoula, MT – The Palace
06/24 Billings, MT – The Railyard
06/26 Fargo, ND – The Aquarium
06/27 Minneapolis, MN – Grumpy’s
06/28 Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall
06/30 Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme
07/01 Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
07/02 Detroit, MI – Small’s
07/03 Cleveland, OH – The Grog Shop
07/05 Syracuse, NY – The Westcott Theater
07/06 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
07/07 Portland, ME – Portland City Music Hall
07/09 Dover, NH – Dover Brickhouse
07/10 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
07/11 Pawtucket, RI – The Met
07/12 Hamden, CT – The Ballroom at The Outerspace
07/13 New York, NY – Santos Party House
07/14 Brooklyn, NY – The Wick
07/15 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
07/17 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
07/18 Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
07/19 Charlotte, NC – Visulite Theater
07/20 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
07/22 Atlanta, GA – The Basement
07/23 Birmingham, AL – The Bottle Tree
07/25 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s
07/26 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
07/27 Austin, TX – Red 7
07/28 Sam Antonio, TX – Limelight
07/30 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress
07/31 Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriet’s
The Echo links:
TheEcho.com
facebook.com/EchoLA
twitter.com/TheEchoLA
instagram.com/TheEchoLA