MR. BUNGLE + MELVINS - Sydney
Written by: Joel Ewart
Saturday 9th March 2024
The Raging Wrath of Australia & NZ
Saturday 9th March - Hordern Pavilion - Sydney, NSW
MR. BUNGLE hasn’t played in Australia since 2000, before I was old enough to go to concerts. It’s hard to imagine that in that time I’ve been to countless shows and played countless gigs as both a drummer and adoring fan of several MIKE PATTON projects. From FAITH NO MORE and BUNGLE, to TOMAHAWK and FANTÔMAS everything this man is involved with is gold. Now they were finally touring Australia with ex-SLAYER drummer and FANTÔMAS member, the great Dave Lombardo behind the kit. Alongside them are MELVINS, featuring FANTÔMAS guiratist Buzz Osborne, as MR. BUNGLE tour their latest release The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny throughout Australia and NZ.
Now I’m sitting on the train on the way home from Sydney, feeling a little rough. Wearing camo cargo shorts and a black psycroptic t-shirt thinking, “Not much has changed in 20 years”. I'm still just as excited to be doing these trips to the city as an adult, the only difference is I'm wearing Nike's instead of skater shoes now as I try to collect my thoughts on BUNGLE.....
I've been looking forward to seeing (the) MELVINS for some time and boy did they not disappoint. They walked onto the stage exuding IDGAF attitude and the show started with some filthy feed back and a drum solo. This laid the tone for the rest of the set.. there was no silence... every space was taken up with drum solos or increasingly grimey guitar tones to the point it was making me feel dirty. A sexy kind of dirty you can only get from music.. These guys are a seriously talented well oiled machine. My only complaint is they didn't play for longer.. but oh well… Ya can't win ‘em all.
I've been In the wrong place at the wrong time for every PATTON related show played in Sydney thus far, and I'm stoked I got to see him for the first time with such a wildly experimental band as BUNGLE. From guttural death metal all the way to gentle crooning & every note & octave in between PATTON proves that he is a serious vocalist with a mass of talent and zero limitations.
*Drummer alert* This is the first time I've ever seen Lombardo play live and holy shit the guy is a weapon. The speed and massively heavy levels of thrash by this outfit are unrivalled. Blisteringly fast solos from Trevor Dunn, Trey Spruance, Scott Ian alongside Lombardo were matched by songs so quick and varied that it felt like the mosh was just vibrating. As they blazed their way through a stacked set of originals and covers I found myself laughing at all the various noises mike would make and pulling faces of both true stank and intense adoration watching this band absolutely shred the Hordern .
I’ll have to leave it there cos in the words of those before me I’m a drummer, not a writer… or maybe I’m getting that confused with something else. But to answer the question, did MR. BUNGLE live up to my expectations? The answer is no, they exceeded them. 11/10 would recommend.
