Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
– LOS ANGELES – King Dunn, the duo of King Buzzo and Trevor Dunn, walked onto the stage at the Lodge Room and played an hour set of aggressive acoustic art rock. King Buzzo roamed the stage from the start. His trademark hairstyle, which reminds one of Christopher Lloyd’s look in “Back to the Future,” was flung to the very edges of the stage.
Though it didn’t happen at the Lodge Room, one has to wonder if King Buzzo has ever done an accidental head bang with a fan at the front of the stage. He did this while at the same time playing guitar, sometimes with a soft touch and other times playing like a heavy metal rock star. Trevor Dunn meanwhile stuck to his spot, playing the stand-up bass with authority. At times, he hit the strings so hard it was amazing that they didn’t break. Other times, he turned the sounds of the bass into a synth or made the audience feel like they were listening to classical chamber music.
The duo played a powerhouse set that included songs from various projects including King Buzzo, King Dunn and Melvins. The duo released two EPs in 2022 under the band name King Dunn and played a trio of songs from those two releases: “I Like Stuff Clean,” “Dirty One & The Poor Dog,” and “Eat The Spray.” As for “Eat The Spray,” the band recently released a David Lynch Eraserhead inspired music video to go with the song. The two also collaborated on the 2020 album Gift of Sacrifice and played two songs off that album: “Science In Modern America” and “Mock She.”
Vocals took a backseat in this set to the acoustic jams. The duo played off each other well and perhaps spent more time jamming together as close friends before King Buzzo stepped up to the microphone.
Lyrics of the set: I want to live until I’m a hundred years old. I don’t want to die.
The band let their music do the talking. There was not much conversation during the set as the band went from one song to the next. As the set came to an end, King Buzzo did say farewell to the crowd, “Thank you.”
JD Pinkus and Field opened up the night. JD Pinkus will be touring with King Dunn throughout the two month tour across the United States. He came on stage and shook off his shoes to play a barefoot set. Unlike King Dunn, he had plenty to say to the audience, such as, “If you need to use the bathroom, use the corner over there” or “This song goes out to the oldest chick I’ve had sex with . . . . my wife.”
On his stage right were two inflatable pears that were used as a white screen for images that flashed throughout the set. It was interesting to note that King Dunn kept things stripped down to the core while JD Pinkus did include the pear props and video technology. JD Pinkus also uses the images of two pears on his recent album Grow A Pear. Though that album came out this year, his setlist focused on songs from his 2021 album Fungus Shui and the 2018 album Keep on the Grass. He seemed to have the time of his life on stage. Whenever the crowd screamed their approval to his bluegrass playing of the banjo, he would tip his hat to the crowd.
Opening up the night was Field who played some acoustic guitar strumming with camp fire solemn vocals. He mentioned this was the last stop of his time on the tour, having played the SoCal venues.
King Dunn (King Buzzo & Trevor Dunn) setlist: Lysol, Dark Brown Teeth, Laid Back Walking, Dirty One & The Poor Dog, Eat The Spray, I Like Stuff Clean, Sidewalk Begging, Suicide In Progress, Science In Modern America, Revolve, Boris, Mock She
JD Pinkus setlist: Fungus Shui Trinity: In Tension, Don’t Forget To Breath, Coming Down Is Half The Trip, Happy Cow, Woke Up Dead, Pissin’ Dirty, I Like the Way You Have Fun, Churn, Everybody’s Talkin, Broken Days, Good Trouble, Foot Stop, Bride of Crankenstein
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