MR BUNGLE + MELVINS
Written by: Tom Wilson
Sunday 10th March 2024
Fortitude Music Hall - Brisbane, QLD
This is the place to be tonight. One of the most anticipated gigs of the year is finally here, and the floor is packed as MELVINS take to the stage to A-HA’s ‘Take On Me’. Buzz Osborne is dressed like a cult leader about to meet the aliens – only fitting for a man with hair that iconic – but he’s actually not the most eye-catching thing onstage tonight, as bassist Steven Shane McDonald emerges wearing a dazzling red suit that matches his suit and bass.
They plunge into ‘Sesame Street Meat’, and there isn’t a soul in the building that can resist the sheer weight of their groove. The word “uncompromising” gets bandied about so much that it’s lost a lot of its meaning, but there is simply no phrase more fitting. They have outlasted every trend and every musical trapping people have tried to tie them to, pushing forward through the decades guided by nothing but their own creativity. McDonald is incorrigible onstage tonight, smile beaming as he throws shapes, while Buzz lets his riffs do the talking, and we all watch in awe of the drumming powerhouse behind the kit.
‘A History of Bad Men’ segues into a ferocious, warp-speed rendition of ‘Honey Bucket’, and the first pit of the night breaks out, before ‘Revolve’ whips the crowd into hysterics. BUNGLE and FANTÔMAS bassist Trevor Dunn emerges, and the two bassists play off each other for a version of ‘Night Goat’ where the low end is so thick, it almost distorts space time – both men literally crossing swords, grinding the strings of their instruments together. Words cannot do justice to just how awesome this is, but I’m trying.
Pictured: MR. BUNGLE
After a quick changeover, it’s time for the main event, and MR. BUNGLE emerge, Mike Patton wearing a canary yellow Scientology shirt because of course he fucking is. They open with a cover of the theme song to ‘Mr. Rogers Neighbourhood’, before punctuating the last line “Won’t you be my neighbour” with a devastating volley from Dave Lombardo, and just like that, we’re off. With ‘Anarchy Up Your Anus’, the crowd is swept into a whirlpool where only the strong survive.
At one point Mike takes both his mics and sticks them in Dave’s two kick drums, letting us relish in the double-bass insanity of one of metal’s greatest drummers. The amount of pedigree onstage tonight is staggering. Mike Patton is one of the most talented vocalists working today in any genre, an insatiable creative powerhouse with a six-octave voice, and onstage with him tonight are not one but two members of thrash metal’s “big four” – Scott Ian of ANTHRAX and SLAYER legend Dave Lombardo – rounding out the lineup with BUNGLE originals Trey Spruance and Trevor Dunn. It feels like anything can happen, and it does. High-octane thrash metal collides with bizarre covers, as they throw everything from 10CC’s ‘I’m Not in Love’ to ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’ into the mix.
The thrashy ‘Earacist’ segues into a familiar riff, and it takes those around me a few seconds to realise … holy shit, that’s SLAYER! ‘Hell Awaits’ turns the pit into a vortex of sweat and chanting, and the tempo builds and builds, and we’re about to launch into the first verse when … the band take a left turn and start playing ‘Summer Breeze’ by SEALS & CROFTS. We can’t help but laugh, even if we’ve just been musically blue-balled. It’s our own fault. Did we really expect MR BUNGLE not to fuck with us? ‘Raping Your Mind’ sends the pit into a frenzy, before Mike shares that they’ve learned a new piece of Australian slang, asking if there are any gronks in tonight? They kick off ‘Hypocrites / Habla Espanol O Muere’, changing the refrain to “Speak gronk or die!” Then Trey strikes the riff that everyone has been waiting for, and ‘My Ass Is on Fire’ hits like a locomotive driven straight through the Fortitude Valley Music Hall.
Sudden Death brings the set to a close, and they say their goodbyes. There is an agonising wait, before we notice Buzz Osborne emerging onstage with a guitar. The crowd is electric. We all know what this means. As Patton and co. come back out onstage, they’re not MR. BUNGLE anymore. Now, they’re FANTÔMAS, and they launch into ‘Experiment in Terror’ off The Director’s Cut. It simply doesn’t get any better than this.
