MUDHONEY + JOHN E VISTIC – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 27.9.24
Mudhoney, the band that all genuine grunge lovers hold in high esteem, were back in Brighton. Having missed their last visit, I would not let that happen again. 2024 is the 35th anniversary of the classic, self-titled ‘Mudhoney’. To celebrate, several coloured vinyl reissues are available. Their new album, ‘Plastic Eternity’ highlights the contradictions and ridiculousness of contemporary life. It is packed with the band’s sarcastic, biting lyrics and filthy riffs. No less necessary than when they formed over thirty years ago in Seattle.
Returning to Concorde 2, the band was behind schedule, with an expected arrival time of 8:30pm. The venue was packed with plaid shirts. A few quasi-grunge luminaries dotted the crowd. There were metalers, grungers, punks, and indie kids of all ages. They were all waiting for the main act to come on.
Memory recalls their ’90s gigs as more frenetic. But it has been thirty-six years since the band formed. So, we could expect a little restraint. The band’s appeal has since widened. The audience would have consisted of only ‘grunge’ fans at the height of the ’90s. Now, a mix of musical tastes fills the crowd. The tribal lines between fan bases no longer matter. Everyone chatted, a pleasant hum above the tangible buzz of anticipation in the venue. At 8:44pm, screams and applause rang out from the crowd as the band took the stage.
Older, greyer but still recognisable, Mudhoney started with ‘If I Think.’ I then wondered, were the audience aware of how many songs are on the setlist? Who will last longer, the band or the audience? It was a flawless start to the set, the band sounding like they always had, thunderous. They hammered straight into the next song, ‘Move Under’, giving it a long musical intro. If you looked away from the stage, you’d think nothing had changed. Mark Arms’s screams were still taunt, raw, and visceral. The backing vocals kept pace with him. The same crisp playing from past masters who knew their material back to front filled the air.
The front five rows were pogoing and head-banging from the very first note. A moshpit had formed a quarter of the way into the set, taking up a third of the dance floor. Those at the sides and rear of the venue found it hard to find a place to perch to get a view of the stage. Luckily, everyone was using old-school rules. They allowed people to cross the crowded venue a few times to reach the bar, toilets, and smoking area, then return.
By the time ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ started, even the older fans were willing to mosh. The pit grew to over half the dance floor. I spied support artist John E. Vistic a short distance ahead of me, camera in hand. The audience reached a fever pitch. The band barely spoke. They were determined to play a career-spanning set.
The next song, ‘Little Dogs’, is about the joys of time with your dog. In Arm’s case, it’s Pomeranians (as the tour poster confirms). See, I told you everyone had mellowed! Sadly, no fluff balls are on stage, though Concords 2’s disco ball did a turn. After that short and sweet interlude, the band returned to the booming ‘You Got It’. The last three-quarters of the audience had given in. They were dancing, swaying, moshing, and singing. I wondered which song would finally persuade the few, still holding out to let themselves go.
The gig fever slowly spread backwards. The trick was to get the midsection to do more than sway with a fixed grin. They were too afraid to move lest they lost their spot. It was ‘Souvenir Of My Trip’ that finally had everyone moving. Followed in quick succession by ‘Tom Herman’s Hermits’. A slower track, (easier on the audience’s knees). It was the second of two genuine love songs on ‘Plastic Eternity’. It’s the first time Mudhoney has included any. The other track was the previously played ‘Little Dog’s’. Who could have predicted this is how things would have gone thirty-odd years ago?.
‘Fearless Doctor Killers’ sped things up before slamming into ‘Oh Yeah’. I was impressed that everyone in front of the stage maintained pace with a monster twenty-seven-track set. The band showed no pause as they segued into ‘Flush The Fascists’ (still relevant after thirty plus years). It opened with a primal scream from Arm. In familiar territory, the frenzy of the audience slowed into appreciative group nodding. ‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ was the last track to fully trigger the forty-somethings’ memories. It still hammers hard.
‘Next Time’ was superb, Arm like a slow-moving grunge Nick Cave. Arm chose this time to speak about the song “That is obviously an Ode to Fascination.” ‘Chardonnay’ was a cathartic, upbeat change from the slow, languid ‘Next Time’. The shift was fast and satisfying.
Well past the show’s halfway point, ‘Paranoid Core’ had the band still ignited and energised as if the years had peeled back. ‘Human Stock Capital’ was just as fierce and cathartic. I wondered if dehydration and fatigue had hit the audience. The band were hammering it home with each track, giving them more energy than the last.
’21st-century Pharisees’ was a similarly driven performance. The crowd’s earlier swell of energy was back. The remaining audience, not swept up again, stared in static, nodding wonder. With ‘One Bad Actor’ likely the set’s last song, the energy waned. “We love you,” shouted an audience member.
It was now that Mark Arm finally addressed the audience, “Brighton, this is our first stop in the UK; we’re practising our shit on you; we hope that’s Okay?! Thanks to John E Vistic for playing.” Before taking whatshould have been their final leave. But much to everyone’s joy, they returned for the planned encore.
Running straight in with ‘Suck You Dry’ half the audience found enough energy to pretend they were in their twenties. The moshpit went wild as if everyone had been holding something back. ‘Here Comes The Sickness’ saw the energy rapidly return to the venue. The band rode high on the renewed enthusiasm as the instrumentals grew ever-lengthening.
I am pleased to confirm that Dan Peters stays a monster of a drummer. Guy Maddison is still a phenomenal bassist. They hammered the final song, ‘In And Out Of Grace.’ The room exploded as the band let loose completely. From start to finish, it was a must-see set for die-hard Mudhoney fans. It also delivered for newcomers to their music. You should not miss the rest of the UK arm of the tour.
Mudhoney:
Mark Arm – vocals.
Steve Turner – guitar
Guy Maddison – bass
Dan Peters – drums
Mudhoney setlist:
‘If I Think’ (from 1988 ‘SuperFuzz Bigmuff’ album)
‘Move Under’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘Get Into Yours’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘Nerve Attack’ (from 2018 ‘Digital Garbage’ album)
‘Into The Drink’ (from 1991 ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Cake’ album)
‘Almost Everything’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘Good Enough’ (from 1991 ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Cake’ album)
‘Judgement, Rage, Retribution And Thyme’ (from 1995 ‘My Brother The Cow’ album)
‘Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More’ (from 1988 ‘SuperFuzz Bigmuff’ album)
‘Touch Me I’m Sick’ (from 1988 ‘SuperFuzz Bigmuff’ album)
‘Little Dogs’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘You Got It’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘The Farther I Go’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘Souvenir Of My Trip’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘Tom Hermans’s Hermits’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
F.D.K (Fearless Doctor Killers)’ (from 1995 ‘My Brother The Cow’ album)
‘Oh Yeah’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘Flush The Fascists’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘Next Time’ (from 2008 ‘The Lucky Ones’ album)
‘Chardonnay’ (from 2013 ‘Vanishing Point’ album)
‘Paranoid Core’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘Human Stock Capital’ (from 2024 ‘Plastic Eternity’ album)
‘21st Century Pharisees’ (from 2018 ‘Digital Garbage’ album)
‘One Bad Actor’ (from 2019 ‘Morning In America’ album)
(encore)
‘Suck You Dry’ (from 1988 ‘SuperFuzz Bigmuff’ album)
‘Here Comes The Sickness’ (from 1989 ‘Mudhoney’ album)
‘In ‘n’ Out Of Grace’ (from 1988 ‘SuperFuzz Bigmuff’ album)
The evening’s support came from John E. Vistic and his band, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Soundsystem. John E. Vistic fronts the band. He is a London-born, Australia-raised, now Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. He also performs and records solo. The band’s sound blends punk, rock ‘n’ roll, and alt-country. The band wears its influences on its sleeves. The set has clear hints of all Vistic’s influences. They include: The Jesus & Mary Chain, Marky Ramone, The Jesus Lizard, PIL, Bauhaus, The Stooges, The Birthday Party, The Cramps, Sisters of Mercy, The Cosmic Psychos, and newer bands IDLES, Metz, and Fontaines D.C. The band have just released their new album, ‘Das Übermensch’, the title cleverly encapsulating the ethos and tone of the album.
Taking the stage, Vistic went straight into the first track of the set ‘Psycho Death Kult’. The song opens with a long lead-in. It apes The Cult in its music and vocals, repeating the title in the chorus. A mean rhyme section drives the song. After the first track, Vistic thanked the crowd and Mudhoney for having them. He introduced himself and the band. This was their second Brighton gig with Mudhoney, as those at their last show would know.
Vistic told the audience that ‘SPIDERZ‘ would be their next single. It opens with a wall of feedback. Then, psychobilly rock rhythms and heavy, dirty rock with gang vocals backing Vistic’s. The band went straight into ‘SIN, SIN, SIN.’ which opens with heavy drums. The tone is dark and cynical. It features crunchy guitars and an anthemic chorus. From my spot, the instruments drowned out Vistic’s raspy vocals. I could only make out the lyrics at the end of the track, a repetition of “I’m a winner.”
Vistic dedicated the next song to “The Great George Romero, ‘The King of Rock Roll’.” The set was pure classic punk rock ‘n’ roll. There were headbangers in front of the stage, which I haven’t seen in a long while. Yet, at least for the start of the set, the venue had a sparse audience. The crew positioned the band’s drum kit off to the side instead of at the rear of the stage, since they had already set up Mudhoney’s kit. Vistics’s onstage posturing could rival Iggy’s. His vocals veered between Pop and Mark E. Smith. The backing vocals giving added punk force.
The lights went up. Everyone looked at each other, confused. Then, Vistic screamed into the audience. Then, as the band came back in, Vistic kept singing. He finished the track by howling into the audience again. After the third track, more of the audience warmed up to Vistic’s sound, moving forward. Before starting the next song, Vistic asked the audience, “How’s everyone doing?” Gaining a positive response from the audience, he continued, “This song’s a new song off the new album. We’ve got our new album for sale at the back.” The new track, ‘King Ambulance,’ began with Vistic’s solo vocal howl. Then, he switched to his Pop/Smith vocal style. I was sure I was hearing a touch of T-Rex’s ’20th Century Boy’ running throughout this track with a much faster tempo. Vistic took the opportunity to indulge in some noodling guitar on this solid rock and roll track.
‘HUMANZ ARE BASTARDS’ opened with howling guitars and heavy drums. It had a raw, dirty punk rock vibe. An indictment of human nature, Vistic delivered it with a knowing snarl behind every word. The audience began to show great enthusiasm for it. Many were head-banging and pogoing to this song. It was the one that got them going for Vistic and his band.
Speaking to the audience again, Vistic said, “Alright, this is our last song. Thanks for being with us, people. “This one’s called ‘Rattlesnake.’ This song is about how to kill snakes.” The last track had a great slowed section. It felt heavier and more grunge than the rest of the set’s traditional rock and was for me the best of the set. When it ended, Vistic thanked the audience and told them to enjoy Mudhoney as he left the stage.
John E Vistic Rock ‘n’ Roll Soundsystem:
John E Vistic – lead guitar vocals.
Adam Combs – keys, backing vocals
Guy Fowler – bass
Dan Clibery – drums, percussion
John E Vistic Rock ‘n’ Roll Soundsystem setlist:
‘Psycho Death Kult’ (from 2021 ‘Under The Volcano’ album)
‘SPIDERZ’ (from 2024 ‘DAS UBERMENSCH’ album)
‘SIN, SIN, SIN’ (from 2024 ‘DAS UBERMENSCH’ album)
‘The King Of Rock N Roll’ (from 2021 ‘Under The Volcano’ album)
‘King Ambulance’ (from 2018 ‘King Ambulance’ single)
‘HUMANZ ARE BASTARDS’
‘Deathgasm’ (unreleased)
‘Rattlesnake’ (from 2021 ‘Under The Volcano’ album)
