There are some shows that are must-sees. The Melvins opening for Tomahawk is one of them. The tour hit the 9:30 Club recently and proceeded to blow the crowd’s collective mind. Any time a supergroup takes over a decade off from touring, it’s going to be special when they hit the road again. Make it a band fronted by Mike Patton and you amplify that.
But hold on there. Let’s not forget who’s OPENING this tour…The Melvins! But it wasn’t only Buzz, Dale, and Steven. Coady Willis joined as the second drummer at 9:30 Club on July 26. So if a sonic beating from Dale Crover wasn’t enough, we got doubled up on by Coady.
Before The Melvins even hit the stage, they started the show off right by playing the Jimi Hendrix version of The Star Spangled Banner. The quartet walked on stage, all wearing something connected with singer/guitarist Buzz Osborne’s eyeball emblazoned muumuu.
The Melvins’ actual set began with the feedback and drum blasts of Working The Ditch and just tore through a set heavier than most other bands’ entire catalog. They played classics like “A History Of Bad Men” and “Blood Witch.” They also played their version of The Rolling Stones’ song “Sway.” Buzz pounds his guitar and his body throughout the set while Stephen mocks all kinds of rock star poses, including some sultry tongue flicks and guitar caresses.
The entire set sounded like the soundtrack to an earthquake with guitars. The absolute power of the drums was just insane. The 12-song set was highlighted by the final song, “Night Goat.” Trevor Dunn emerged from the shadows in a cowboy hat to join The Melvins on bass. At the end of the song, Dale rose from his drum kit and held Trevor while bass player Steven McDonald pretended to stab him with his bass. At the end of the set, all five took a bow and left the stage.
Then it was time for Tomahawk. Tomahawk is made up of Mike Patton (Faith No More) on vocals, keyboards, and samples; Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) on guitar; John Stanier (Helmet) on drums; and the aforementioned Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) on bass. The “Huge Waste Of Your Time And Money” tour is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band. It’s also the first time the band has toured in 13 years.
The band is something different than its parts. Tomahawk doesn’t sound like any of the bands that the group is made up of. Mike Patton goes to extremes with his vocals. What is amazing is the fact that his voice sounds as good as ever. And the band can’t be pinned down to any genre. If you think you have them figured out, you’ll be proven wrong pretty quickly, sometimes within a single song. They played songs from all across their catalog.
The band just exudes energy and it isn’t just Mike. Trevor and John are also fun to watch. Duane lets his guitar provide the energy while he remains stable. The set had so many highlights like “Predators And Scavengers,” “Doomsday Fatigue,” “Birdsong,” and “Point And Click.” The band wrapped up with a great, pretty faithful cover of the George Jones classic, “Just One More.”
After briefly leaving the stage, the band returned for a five song encore, including “God Hates A Coward” (complete with gas mask mic), “Sidewinder,” and Duane Eddy’s “Stalkin’.”
While this show was a triumph after waiting 13 years, here’s hoping we don’t have to wait 13 more for the next tour. So definitely see them if you can. You never know when you’ll get the chance again.
Melvins Setlist
- Working The Ditch
- Never Say You’re Sorry
- Sway (The Rolling Stones)
- Evil New War God
- Civilized Worm
- It’s Shoved
- A History Of Bad Men
- The Bit
- Blood Witch
- Hag Me
- Honey Bucket
- Night Goat (w/Trevor Dunn)
Tomahawk Setlist
- Flashback
- SHHH!
- Predators And Scavengers
- Business Casual
- Doomsday Fatigue
- Capt. Midnight
- Rape This Day
- Eureka
- Birdsong
- Howlie
- Recoil
- Southpaw
- I.O.U.
- Fatback
- Point And Click
- Just One More (George Jones)
Encore
- White Hats/Black Hats
- God Hates A Coward
- Stalkin’ (Duane Eddy)
- Sidewinder
- Totem
Here are some more photos of Tomahawk and The Melvins performing live at 9:30 Club on July 26, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Marc Shea.
