The Melvins’ Buzz Osborne, a.k.a. King Buzzo, might have unplugged for his solo debut, This Machine Kills Artists, but he hasn’t mellowed in the slightest. If you haven’t noticed his incredibly fun Twitter and Facebook posts documenting his solo acoustic tour, you are missing out. This guy knows how to connect with his fans and he does it better than almost anyone else out there.
With a barren stage that hosted a small amp and a road beaten guitar case, Buzzo came to the stage, set himself up, and began to strum. Opening with the Melvins’ classic “Boris,” Buzzo crept across the empty stage grinding out the heavy-duty riff on an acoustic guitar that knew it was in trouble. Slowly, he took a close look at the crowded room of fans on both sides…and then he came alive.
In one burst of Buzzo vocal superiority, the entire crowd knew that this was not going to be your average acoustic show. This was some sort of new genre being invented before my eyes. It was like Black Sabbath recording a soundtrack to the apocalypse—during MTV Unplugged set; powerful, a bit eerie at times, but incredibly well done.
I’m not even sure acoustic guitars are supposed to make sounds like I heard that evening but it was pure genius and it begged the question; what the fuck took Buzzo so long to do this tour and make this record in the first place?
Bottom line—this guy is brilliant and Melvins fan or not, this is a tremendous record. Check out the tracks “Rough Democracy,” “Drunken Baby,” and “Dark Brown Teeth” as these are true standouts—and they sound even better live. Don’t miss this one, folks.
