Whether unplugged or amped up to the nines, King Buzzo is a master in the art of discomfort.
Arriving in Brighton for his first European solo show, Buzz Osborne – the nominal sovereign – was on fearsome form on Saturday night, stalking The Haunt’s stage like a man possessed.
His set featured a seemingly spontaneous mix of new songs (taken from latest album This Machine Kills Artists), covers, and choice cuts from the discography of his main band, Melvins.
Between songs, Buzz offered up amusing and profane anecdotes, delivered in suitably digressive style. Sadly he chose not to expand upon some of his more outlandish experiences, instead focusing on one particularly memorable incident, involving Faith No More’s Mike Patton.
Meanwhile a stripped down rendition of 1991’s Boris sounded more than a little eerie, as did a cover of Alice Cooper’s Ballad Of Dwight Fry. Even without the benefit of distortion, Buzz’s driving, percussive guitar style was unmistakable.
This was a rare treat for fans of his work, hilarious, provocative and singularly uncompromising. In fact, his whisper-to-a-snarl vocal delivery proved even more bracing that usual.
As experiments go, this was an unqualified success.
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