Alive At the F*cker Club

Album Review

The Melvins have always been a behemoth of a live band — where the already industrial-strength-heavy riffs of their albums become even more Godzilla-like. And this point is proven further by the 1998 release Alive at the F*cker Club. For those wondering just exactly where "the F*cker Club" is located, the cold hard fact is that there simply is no "F*cker Club." The Melvins' set was taped during 1997, on the second night of a three-night engagement at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia (with the Onyas and the Cosmic Psychos also on the bill). Unfortunately, the source of the recording was allegedly from a second-generation tape of a soundboard recording, so the Melvins' fury is dulled somewhat. However, it's always a pleasure to hear live readings of such Houdini classics as "Lizzy," as well as additional standouts like "The Bloat" and the album opening "Boris" (the latter of which stretches on for six sludge-riff-filled minutes). And for those wondering about the grisly "road kill" photo on the album's cover, according to themelvins.net, it is of a dead dog's carcass. Alive at the F*cker Club certainly has its moments, but the Melvins have yet to issue their definitive live set (although admittedly, 1994's Your Choice Live Series did come pretty darn close).