New Zealand Heavy Metal Forum & Discussion

[Obzen]

MELVINS / HIGH ON FIRE

New Zealand 2011

Saturday February 19th - The Kings Arms, Auckland
Sunday February 20th - ReFuel, Dunedin
Monday February 21st - Al's Bar, Christchurch
Tuesday February 22nd - Bodega, Wellington

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM:

http://www.undertheradar.co.nz
http://www.moshtix.co.nz
Real Groovy (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch)
Cosmic Corner (Christchurch, Dunedin)
Marbecks (Dunedin)

The Melvins have been a band for over 25 years...The Melvins have done a shitload of albums.... How many is a shitload? No one really knows. The Melvins live in Los Angeles and it's understood in hip circles that the United States tilts left and anything covered in slime tends to slide straight out to California. If you're sliding too fast when you slide into San Francisco you tend to glance off south and the real scumbags end up in Los Angeles where their skin dries into a Malibu Ken tan which most hipsters have to painstakingly remove with Easy Off oven cleaner.

Think about the fact that many acts fade away after being one-hit-wonders or maintaining a career for only a decade. Then, when most bands do stick around for longer than that, their material tends to suffer. The music becomes redundant, boring, recycled hogwash that only the most hardcore or dimwitted of fans can support. Not the Melvins.

This band, which is composed of mainstays ³King² Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover, has progressed in their own twisted way since forming in the early 1980s in Montesano, Washington. The two have also been through a plethora of band members, both in the studio and on the road. Many of them weren¹t just random players, either. We're talking guys like guitarist Adam Jones, of Tool (for whom the Melvins opened on their last NZ visit in 2002); bassists Joe Preston of Earth and Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle. There¹s also the fact that Kurt Cobain yes, that Kurt Cobain tried out for a spot in the band, but couldn¹t cut it.

The band¹s mythology aside, the Melvins do one thing and they do it well.
They create progressive, always-changing, heavy-as-hell music that has remained relevant and interesting since properly debuting with 1987's Gluey Porch Treatments. Since then, the band has dabbled in a number of genres, from noise to punk to metal, sometimes on one album. And we have heard them do just this on 2010's lo-fi garage rock-oozing The Bride Screamed Murder, the band's most recent release. The band have not forgotten their ability to drill chugging, raucous riffs into your skull, and the album is armed with in-stereo, oddly timed guitars that bring to mind old school material from this band of Pacific Northwest rockers. From the first minute, the listener is punched in the throat before a barrage of guitars and drums squeal and slam their way around their airspace.

And yet live is where the eccentric and elastic genius of The Melvins must be seen and heard to be believed. Between the punkish sprints and the sludging riffs - all amplified at such an intense volume that the most diehard headbangers and shoegazers alike are bound to recoil in strangely stimulating sonic shock - the band push fans to their breaking points with extended, plodding soundscapes of feedback and screwy squeaking, punctuated with their trademark sly, get-it-or-you-don't humour. Try and imagine this all unfolding inside a packed, sweat-dripping New Zealand club.

And joining the tour, their first in New Zealand, with a heavy-handed approach and a sound that crashes like thunder, are fellow California residents High On Fire. Less a band than a supersonic exercise in conquest by volume and sheer heaviness, the band has burned the rock rulebook and forged a new archetype.

Before the band had even made its first live appearance, labels flocked to get a piece of the trio's rock hard, unorthodox form of modern metal cloaked in strange religious theology and unique, distinct, and absolutely crushing sonic style. Accolades poured in the world over: Rolling Stone, Spin, GQ, Alternative Press, Magnet, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, Village Voice and dozens of other publications - almost overnight, High On Fire became the unassuming heroes of the riff.

In 2010 came High On Fire's magnum opus Snakes For The Divine - continuing to push the boundaries of stoner rock and metal; infusing the speed of Motorhead into Sabbath-esque riffs topped off with the power of Matt Pike's gruff vocals. Lauded by fans and critics alike and sharper, faster and darker than anything the group has ever recorded, Snakes for the Divine is an unrelenting tour de force that has cemented the band's place as one of the most uniquely potent acts in modern heavy music.

Backed ably by the finest of local openers, February 2011's Melvins + High On Fire New Zealand tour will be the stuff of live legend, to be remembered hazily years after the smoke has settled. Do not miss out on this must-witness experience.

[Crud-bucket]

Oh yeah!Wellington doesnt miss out for once!

[Skoll]

Will probably go to this.

[Crud-bucket]

Finally got my ticket to this.Beastwars have been confirmed as their support for the wellies show.Congrats to them!

[666 Pack]

Fuck yeah!! One week til this craziness goes down.

[Obzen]

As everyone is now acutely aware, the city of Christchurch was struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake today which has claimed several lives already and completely incapacitated the city's infrastructure.

The Melvins and High On Fire tour party were one minute into checking in for our flight to Wellington when the earthquake struck. The airport was immediately evacuated. We have become subsequently stranded at the Air New Zealand office complex, completely unable to get out of the airport or secure accommodation. We have tried desperately to secure transport to the Wellington show, but regrettably all our options have been exhausted and we are now confronting the reality that we will be spending the night at the airport in Christchurch.

We are currently making plans to move the scheduled Wellington show at Bodega to tomorrow night, Wednesday February 23rd. Additionally, we are looking at having Kylesa play a headliner show at Whammy Bar in Auckland on the same night, and for the scheduled Melvins/High On Fire/Kylesa Whammy Bar show to be moved to Thursday February 24th. Unfortunately, until we know more about our travel plans, we are unable to confirm that these scenarios will become a reality. However, the attitude in the tour camp is very much one of "the show must go on" and we are doing our damndest to make a revised tour schedule work.

We ask that all ticket holders bare with us at this time while we can solidify our plans and work towards the aforementioned backup option. Regrettably we have no further information at this time regarding this and we would like to dearly thank all ticket-holders in advance for their patience and understanding.

We are very shaken, but are all healthy and not injured. Needless to say this has been a very stressful time but we are trying to keep our spirits up. The three shows on the tour so far have been amazing and the Melvins and High On Fire guys are fortunately an amazingly understanding and cruisy bunch of dudes who have been an absolute joy to work with.

Our thoughts go out to all the people of Christchurch who have already been through such agony recently and are now going through much worse. To those who have lost loved ones in particular, our deepest sympathies.

We hope to update the situation soon and again thank you for your patience.


Gareth Craze - RW Entertainment
Melvins/High On Fire Promoter and Local Tour Manager

[Crud-bucket]

Yeah damn hope it goes on tomorrow indeed!And QOTSA too!dear oh dear!

[Dead Kid]

**PLEASE DISTRIBUTE FREELY TO AS MANY PEOPLE AND TICKET-HOLDERS AS POSSIBLE**

Due to circumstances surrounding the Christchurch earthquake, we have revised the Melvins/High On Fire/Kylesa tour schedule as follows:

TONIGHT - WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23rd

MELVINS + HIGH ON FIRE
Bodega, Wellington
Doors 9pm - **LATER START TIME**
Neon Bastard and Elephant of the Ocean to play in Burgundy Room downstairs after the show

KYLESA with The House of Capricorn, Arc of Ascent and Shallow Grave
Whammy Bar, Auckland
Doors 8pm
All tickets for both the pre-existing Wednesday and Thursday Whammy Bar shows will be valid for this show. Door sales $30

TOMORROW - THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24th

HIGH ON FIRE + MELVINS + KYLESA
with Beastwars
Whammy Bar, Auckland
Doors 8pm
Tickets for the pre-existing Wednesday Whammy bar show only will be valid for this show. Door sales $80

Running schedule for this show as follows:

DOORS OPEN - 8pm
BEASTWARS - 8:00 - 8:30 (Wine Cellar room)
KYLESA - 8:30 - 9:15
MELVINS - 9:45 - 10:45
HIGH ON FIRE - 11:15 - 12:30
MIND RIOT - 12:30 - 1:00 (Wine Cellar room)

Please note that we have done our very best to be as accommodating as possible to existing ticket-holders while realising that the revised schedule may inconvenience many people. We hope that ticket-holders understand the extreme extenuating circumstances regarding the revised schedule, and hope to see everyone at the new shows. The last 24 hours have been nightmarish in terms of stress and panic levels, and nothing would cheer both bands up more than well attended shows full of pumped Kiwi fans.

Best regards,

Gareth Craze
RW ENTERTAINMENT

[Obzen]

Damn it, QOTSA got cancelled, so I want to go to this in Wellington, but hell... I'll have to get 11:05 train home (or ill be stranded). Doesnt indicate what time the main bands are gonna be on, but 9pm is a pretty late door opening for international band... wondering if it would be a hell of a waste of money turning up for 1 and a half hours of music then having to leave. AAARGH!

[Dead Kid]

Getting stranded sounds like a good option. Stay the night in town!

Now that I can see Kylesa for $30, I think I may do it.

[Obzen]

Probably would if I had arranged to get work off tomorrow

[Crud-bucket]

Yeah pretty messed up man!High on fire will be wicked as also!Sucks to wait for ages then to have it cancelled on the day. Will be worth it man and i'd say high on fire will be better than QOTSA imo.

[Mince]

Stop whinging you fuckn faggets