King Buzzo, the singer, guitar player, and frontman of the almighty Melvins joins composer and Ahleuchatistas and Mr. Bungle bass player Trevor Dunn for the long-awaited “King Dunn” acoustic summer tour.
Over the years, Buzz and Dunn have worked on several projects including Fantômas, the Melvins Lite 2012 album Freak Puke, and the 2022 LP titled Gift Of Sacrifice. Their most recently released collaborations arrived in 2022 as two four-song EPs titled Invention Of Hysteria (Amphetamine Reptile Records) and I’m Afraid Of Everything (Riverworm Records). In April 2024, they released another EP titled Eat The Spray (AmRep). These songs materialized as pandemic restrictions were lifting, which is to say they haven’t had much time for touring with this material together until now.
For those who are unfamiliar, Buzz and Dunn’s paired-down offerings do not yield the full-bore sonic onslaught of distortion and wild rhythms that one gets from a Melvins or Mr. Bungle record. There are no drums. However, when playing one-on-one they craft a spacious atmosphere that ranges from cinematic to downright haunting, summoning a dark ambiance from the natural resonance of their respective voices and stringed instruments. Each song delivers an ominous traipse of psychological and physical tension by subtle but no less affecting means.
J.D. Pinkus of the Butthole Surfers, Daddy Longhead, sometimes the Melvins, and more lands in the middle slot commanding a set of cosmic banjo strumming from the deranged outer limits. It’s all set to a beautifully hallucinatory visual display. Press play below to check out a couple of cuts from Pinkus’ latest offering, Grow A Pear!
Atlanta-based abstract electronic project Void Manes sets the night in motion with a dazzling array of modular synths and analogue gear wrapped in a galaxy of multi-colored cables. The one-man outfit explores dreamtime and nightmare soundscapes, striking a balance between atmospheric noise and melody; drones and sub-bass swells that rise and fall in fugue-like moments of rhythms, sonic impressionism, and chaos.
$25 (adv). $30 (door). Monday, April 29. 7 p.m. The 40 Watt Club in Athens.
$29.50 (advance). Friday, September 13. 7 p.m. (doors). The Masquerade (Hell).
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