Concert Review: Melvins and Redd Kross at The Mohawk, Austin: two cult favorites that taste great together warm up a frigid Austin crowd.

Not even a miserably cold and rainy tonight could keep away the Melvins faithful. Anticipation was high for yet another blowout set from the sludge/grunge progenitors, and this evening didn’t disappoint.

Openers Redd Kross brought a manic burst of energy to the venue, and the group’s 70’s flavored power-pop hooks helped warm up the crowd, blasting out singalong classics like Peach Kelli Pop, Lady In The Front Row and Stay Away From Downtown along with newer numbers like The Party Underground and What’s a Boy to Do off their 2019 release Beyond The Door.

It should be noted that the rhythm section of Red Kross is composed of Dale Crover and Steve McDonald of The Melvins, so major bonus points for pulling double duty, but be that as it may, there were no signs of fatigue once Buzz Osborne and co. arrived onstage, cutting though the cold on set opener Sesame Street Meat.

It was a fierce and slamming set, raising the temperature of the crowd to the point that moshing began in earnest by the time the band launched into second number The Kicking Machine.

The band’s setlist was a solid career spanning collection, leaning heavily on the band’s 90’s output: from 91’s Bullhead (Your Blessened, It’s Shoved,  Anaconda), 93’s Houdini (Honey Bucket, Hooch–the latter garnering the biggest amount of cheers of the set), to 94’s Stoner Witch (Queen) among others.

The band also delivered a diverse collection of covers, from fellow Washington natives Malfunkshin (With Yo’ Heart, Not Yo’ Hands) to Redd Kross’s Charlie.

The other members of Redd Kross joined the band onstage for the final number of the evening, a blistering cover of Kiss’s Deuce, proving that while the two bands different musical styles might make them strange touring bedfellows, they still come from similar influences and mixed pedigrees.

Set List:

Sesame Street Meat
The Kicking Machine
Anaconda
Queen
It’s Shoved
Oven
With Yo’ Heart, Not Yo’ Hands
(Malfunkshun cover)
Billy Fish
Charlie
(Redd Kross cover)
Civilized Worm
Hooch
Honey Bucket
A Growing Disgust
Your Blessened
The Bit
With Teeth
Deuce (Kiss Cover)