The Melvins: Salad of a Thousand Delights - Live at the North Shore Surf Club

Rating:
Summary: Waiter, there are aphids in my salad!
Review: Hey, it's a Melvins' show, alright? Alright! This DVD captures the claustrophobia and heat and frenzy in the same way you'd probably remember it if you'd been there. Isn't that really the point? You would have been drunk or more, things would have been hectic, choppy, hazy. Maybe you would have been hit on the head. Maybe you would have collapsed in a corner. It would not have been glitzy or hi-tech or brightly lit or air-conditioned. It would have been sweaty and turbulent and frenzied and exhilarating and you wouldn't have been able to hear for days. So chuck in the DVD, turn your sound-system up real loud, take off your shirt, pour a beer over your head, get close to the tee vee, and rock out! Relive those days without much of the headache. And the next day you'll remember it as if you'd actually been there back in the day.

If you're looking for mixed greens, then this probably isn't for you, because, let's face it, it's pretty lo-fi, but if you have no problem with crunchy iceberg lettuce, then dig in.

Rating:
Summary: For Die Hard Melvins fans Only
Review: I have this on VHS.

This comes off as something slightly better than a bootlegged show. A two camera setup may be a step above normal bootleg quality but the third camera, (stationary, above the drums) provides less than perfect picture.

For the MELVINS completist, I'd say go for it. Casual fans may want to borrow a friends' copy.

Rating:
Summary: For true fans only
Review: It's great to see any live footage of the Melvins, especially this old, and I was looking forward to it even more since Joe Preston was the bass player on it.
But once it starts, the horrible camera shots/editing degrade this anticipated experience. There are about 3 cameras set up and most are really close to the stage so we get to see weird shots of the band, like a few seconds of King Buzzo's leg close up and close ups of an anonymous face next to an amplifier. The strange, awkward aesthetic continues on the editing that is obviously off in a few instances where the sounds/vocals don't match up with the instruments/mouths.

The audio, however sounds pretty good from the second song on and is one of the few reasons the disc remains enjoyable. Also there is a bonus scene of the Melvins from 1984 (Buzzo looks like he's 16) that is the best part of this DVD.

Overall a disappointment in terms of visual, but would be much appreciated by diehard Melvins fans.