Reaching the Limits of Light and Sound – The Melvins and Pins of Light

The Melvins and Pins of Light
Saturday, December 29, 2012
The Great American Music Hall
San Francisco, CA

Reaching the Limits of Light and Sound

                  The 90’s? What, am I made of stone?: I loved them then and I love them now. I reckon I’ll love them futuristically too. I see the opposite of shame in that. A whole lot of rad flannel-induced shit came out of that decade. The Melvins conjure for me some cherished associations with The 90’s. I mean, fuck dude, not only were they a huge influence on a young and impressionable Kurt Cobain, but one of their drummers is Dale Crover, who pummeled the skins for Nirvana in their Bleach days of infancy. Put that in your Teva and smoke it. Gross. Anyways, I was quite thrilled when Candice told me the Melvins were playing with one of my favorite local metal bands, Pins of Light at The Great American Music Hall. I realized that the combined tits-ness of these two bands could quite possibly make my face implode. Let’s do it! I probably screamed.

So we got there early and scored some sweet seats up in the balcony near the stage and enjoyed some good old fashioned people-watching. Balconies are ideal for such a thing as so few expect a visual assault from up on high. Some highlights included a solo-partaker who clearly loved the 90’s as much as I, his garb including a Bart Simpson T-Shirt, a flannel shirt, cut-off jeans and Doc Martins.  I felt like I was looking at my own grade school year book photo, particularly when he started playing air-guitar to the intermission music. I plead to the heavens to (re)produce more of such a dude.

We also saw the most awesome dad ever. He was an older guy in a metal shirt and jean jacket who had accompanied (what appeared to be) his son along with said son’s girlfriend. The young-in was a little long-haired rocker and his girlfriend had this amazing Kid N Play fade. They were both clearly excited and awkward (oh young love), and Candice and I wholeheartedly applauded any dad who’d take his kid to see The Melvins. Gives me hope for the future.

Great American Music Hall	The Melvins	Pins of Light

The hall darkened and (no pun intended) Pins of Light took the stage. I’ve seen these guys several times and each time they somehow manage to blow my skull more than the last. They have the most incredible energy –there’s nothing like seeing a band who loves and feels what they’re playing with every note of their rad-ocity. And this will always translate many-a blip to a crowd of metal enthusiasts. Speaking of which, moshing is another thing that, although I enjoy partaking, is also quite fun to observe from above. I feel like moshing is to the youth of today what swing dancing was to the youth of the Jazz Era, just with less police raids or whatever. I know this comparison is full of holes, but still think it’s a sweet thought. The pit was alive and well during Pins of Light. I even saw one security guard get enveloped in the throbbing pulse of it all and hit the deck, having his head promptly tripped over. He stood, shook it off and dazily continued his duties. If you ever get a chance to see this band, do it! By all means necessary! They’re amazing and I truly feel they are on the cusp of taking any unsuspecting metalheads on a glorious journey of doom. As in the video game? Doom? These Pins of Light are preparing to eclipse into a retina-scorching inferno of showering rays. You heard it here…again, cause you’ve probably already heard it.

Holy shit, I’m rambling.

After their set, Candice and I breathed deeply, collected ourselves and got to know our neighbor. There was a gent next to us who was working on a cool-ass painting. After a bit of querying we learned that this fellow had seen the Melvins many moons ago up in Seattle. That show had a lasting effect on him and he had seen a man there doing a painting. This had apparently always stuck with him and when he saw that the Melvins were playing in town, he decided to visit a tribute to that show of days gone by. I liked his painting too; it was a concoction of shapes and swishy movements, something he was just kind of creating out of the energy that the whole show was producing. I love shit like that.

Before long the Melvins took the stage. If you’ve ever seen these guys you realize that words could never quite do justice to the experience, but I shall try…

Their drummers (plural) are something to behold in their own right. Those guys play together with the melodic synchronicity of a clock’s gears, punishing their drum sets like a duo of maniacal Vikings. To see these two play is pretty mesmerizing, only to be rivaled by Buzzo and the drawling punishment on his guitar. The man backs up the wall of sound with his guttural growl, like a demonic lion cub purring into the mic. I also am obliged to note that I have been jealous of Buzzo’s incredible mane of hair since I was 13…when I started going bald. That hair does a performance all its own and is a whole sub-plot to the story that the Melvins tell. Seeing them play live is like hearing a Carnival freight train run over your head, the choreography churning away with mind-blowing precision. Only in their presence can one see the on-stage mannerisms that express the brotherly camaraderie of the most awesome musical family imaginable. It’s kinda like The Munsters bred with The Brady Bunch and had some crazy-ass drummerboy twins. It’s both beautiful and frightening.

Both the Melvins and Pins of Light transcribe their passion to the audience in undeniable ways, and it’s impossible to see either band without being moved to stand up, scream, pump your fist and love the world of rock that we blessedly belong to. Which was also why Candice and I got kicked out of our taxi on the way home for trying to start a mosh pit in the back seat.  I mean that literally –get your mind out of the gutter.