In April traffic was diverted, residents warned and establishments closed after a sink-hole opened up on the Otley road running through Leeds. Leeds City Council may want to consider taking the same precautions when the Melvins tour rumbles into Leeds University Stylus tomorrow night. Stalwarts of low-end doom rock and pummelling percussion, Melvins are on tour with their new album Pinkus Abortion Technician. With the addition of a second (!) bassist and Butthole Surfers member Jeff Pinkus, Friday night threatens to be a show of seismic proportions.  

For the uninitiated, The Melvins trajectory begins in the late 80s, but they really hit their stride with the 1993’s album Houdini and the follow-up Stoner Witch, melding grunge sensibilities with dark metallic stomp. Lauded by their alt-rock contemporaries, the band were and still are a huge influence on many acts- young Kurt Cobain even acted as a roadie for them.

But the Melvins aren’t the only act of 90s notoriety taking the stage tomorrow night. New York garage legend Jon Spencer will also be in attendance. Spencer’s CV speaks for itself: Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash and of course the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. So rarely on our shores, the opportunity to catch JS (sans BX) is not to be missed. Expect whoops, yeahs, fuzzed up hits from his new solo outing and the epiphanous realisation that rock and or roll is alive and well.

Friday night at Stylus promises to be an incredible, earth-moving double-header. A void of thunderous guitars and sweaty trash blues which I, for one, look forward to subsiding into.

Stephen Lewin

Feature Image Credit The Melvins Website