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Melvins Solve all the World’s Problems with “Melvins TV Volume 3: May Day! May Day! May Day!” [Livestream Review]

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Ok, Buzz Osborne, Dale Crover, and Steven McDonald of Melvins DIDN’T solve all the world’s problems with their May 1st livestream. But for five measly bucks, they pushed all your problems to the back of your mind for an hour. That’s all that matters.

Number three in their Melvins TV streaming event series, May Day! May Day! May Day! built on the interview footage, music, and skit sequences established on the previous two Melvins streams. Melvins acoustically opened for themselves over a couple of tracks surrounding some black and white interview footage featuring all three members. Both acoustic songs featured heavy visual distortion and video artifacts, the second number displayed in 3D with a spiralling black and white fractal behind the band. The interview featured a few questions answered by the band, but most of it was the three members building on their topics between themselves (not an uncommon thing for a Melvins interview).

Buzzo, Crover, and McDonald revealed their penchants for single-hole golfing, pickleball, watching Brian May Star Licks clips online, and riffing a bit on Canada. Amongst our many fine Canadian attributes, we learned that hotels in Canada have water slides, our ketchup-flavoured potato chips are tasty, and our border crossings are not.

Next up, we see a video clip following a face masked Buzzo and McDonald out of a dispensary carrying a mysterious box. They walk a bit down the street and meet up with Crover, who is unmasked. The mysterious box gets opened, heavily sprayed with a nondescript aerosol can emitting a congealing green mist before it’s handed to Crover to don. Crover huffs heavily from the newly enhanced mask covering his face before all three members get into Crover’s car (with him at the wheel) and drive away.

The remainder of Melvins TV Volume 3: May Day! May Day! May Day! features a song-interview-song format as the band works through “A Growing Disgust,” “With Teeth,” “Charlie,” “The Bit,” and “Eye Flys.” Every song features a title card followed by a different hallucinogen-persisting perception disorder (HPPD) video effect worked throughout the track. Some of these effects distress the band members to the point of being hard to discern. The VFX over “Charlie” outlined the band in topographic vector lines overtop a magenta background. “Eye Flys” was particularly messed up, rendering the band as if filmed through a prism as assorted transparent colours oozed overtop of the band.

Melvins Solve all the World’s Problems with “Melvins TV Volume 3: May Day! May Day! May Day!” [Livestream Review]

A final clip features Buzzo on a live concert stage, telling the crowd how great it was to be back in front of a live audience before turning into a human-sized COVID-19 spore and then exploding.

This broadcast was a gas. I now wish I had caught Volumes 1 and 2. I understand the band intends to do a limited release of the material from these sessions on vinyl down the road.

Melvins TV Volume 3: May Day! May Day! May Day! was recorded in front of a studio audience at Sound of Sirens Studio in Sun Valley, California. Jesse Nieminen handled creative direction, editing, VFX, and production. Sound recording and production by Toshi Kasai; with videography and lighting by Alicia Kasai. Make sure you watch past the credits for Buzz, Dale, and Steven jamming “Hot Fish” together.

Artwork for ‘Melvins TV Volume 3: May Day! May Day! May Day!’ by Melvins

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