Staff Editor on September 7th, 2019

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The legendary Troubadour hosted some familiar faces on Thursday night, with sludge-rock gods the Melvins, irrepressible L.A. rockers Redd Kross and friends. Half of the audience likely has been going to see bands at the Troubadour for longer that the other half of the audience has been alive.

The front row was lined with diehard Melvins and Redd Kross fans when noise artist Toshi Kasai started painting with music on a cloth hung up center stage. Kasai manipulates vibrations and projects their waveforms, in a sense drawing with sound. It takes listening to another level when you can visualize what is happening.

Those diehards were clearly ready, though, for Redd Kross, who just released “Beyond the Door,” their first album since 2012. The band has undergone some chances since they first blasted out of Hawthorne in the late 1970s, but the constants have always been brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald, who at ages 56 and 52, respectively, still rock like teenagers. (Steve, who’s also currently playing with the Melvins, still executes a 9.0 [on a 10 scale] scissor-kick.) Redd Kross’ current lineup includes Melvins drummer Dale Crover, who was Nirvana’s drummer before Dave Grohl.

Thursday’s sold-out date was one of a handful of Southern California dates on the two bands’ “Escape From L.A.” tour (they’ll play Nov. 7 at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and on Nov. 8 at the Echo). Their furious, high-spirited sets including a lot of mixing and matching, with Buzz Osborne’s formidable presence carrying the headliners. Aside from one smelly fan who insisted on stage-diving into a void, the crowd loved it and fist-pumped the night away. And both bands shared the stage for the final few numbers of the Melvins’ set.

Photos and recap by ZB Images