After being rescheduled numerous times due to the pandemic it was finally time to actually see this concert! The delay actually ended up being favorable as neither Melvins or Corrosion of Conformity were originally scheduled to be the openers. Bob and I arrived with just enough time to grab a brew and make our way in front of the sound guy before Corrosion of Conformity come out on stage. My first thought was that House of Blues is always smaller than I remember and my second thought was surprise that COC was opening but in reality Melvins have a much larger discography.
COC handled their business as usual. If a member of one of the other bands on the tour with you (Paul D’Amour) is caught watching from the wings for most of your set then you must be doing something right. As I watched COC I realized that we actually saw COC with Ministry back at Danzig’s “Blackest of the Black” festival about five years before this. I particularly enjoyed “Shake Like You” from their set and wanted to love “Clean My Wounds” but they went into excessive noodling mode for their closer.
SETLIST: Bottom Feeder (El que come abajo), Paranoid Opioid, Shake Like You, Diablo Blvd., Senor Limpio, Vote With A Bullet, Wiseblood, Albatross, Who’s Got the Fire, Clean My Wounds
Melvins are always a treat and this showing was no exception. Buzz has full on adopted the “pissed off Wizard” look and this plays nicely with the brand of music they embrace. “Queen” was ferocious and my favorite on their setlist but it was also cool to see Roy Mayorga come out and do simultaneous drumming with Dale Crover for “Hooch” and “Honey Bucket.” It was hard not to notice the difference in sound quality between COC and Melvins and that got me thinking about how at most concerts the actual sound quality is progressively better with each band on the bill.
SETLIST: The Kicking Machine, It’s Shoved, Anaconda, Queen, Charlie, Billy Fish, Civilized Worm, Never Say You’re Sorry, Evil New War God, Hooch, Honey Bucket, The Bit
Ministry was the original draw for this show and by the end of the night it would be crystal clear why they were the headliner. The tour was originally supposed to be celebrating the 30th birthday of The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste but they also cranked out a new album in Moral Hygiene during the pandemic. Ministry had a chain link fence placed at the very front of the stage, which created a very strange dynamic between the band and the crowd. Were they in a cage or were we? What can I say? I have seen Ministry many times and they always find ways to surprise me. On this night they were LOUD AS FUCK and went deep into the catalog. The Setlist was five oldies to the face followed by two Pailhead songs then another five to the face before three from Moral Hygiene for the encore. The crowd went ape shit the entire show and during “The Missing” I actually went missing to Bob when I got swept up in the “toilet bowl” effect of the mosh pit. The next thing I know I was only four rows from the stage, where I would stay for the rest of concert. It was so much more calm up there versus back by the mixer where I originally was.
SETLIST: Breathe, The Missing, Deity, Stigmata, Supernaut, Don’t Stand In Line, Man Should Surrender, Burning Inside, N.W.O., Just One Fix, Thieves, So What, Alert Level, Good Trouble, Search and Destroy
