A Huge Waste of Your Time and Money Tour 2026: Tomahawk and The Melvins
- Phantom Light Media
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
August 11th, 2026 is the day that Tomahawk took the stage in Seattle for the first time in over 13 years. The legendary band sold out 2 nights in a row at The Showbox, an 1100 capacity historic venue right next to Pike Place Market. It was the perfect setting for their return which was joined by their friends in the Melvins band. This was my first time attending a sold out show at this particular venue so I went into it not quite sure what the crowd situation would be like. Well, it was PACKED with fans wearing merch and buzzing to see the return of Tomahawk on tour. There were so many people in there, I found it quite difficult to move around the venue throughout the night. But it just goes to show how loved these bands are.
It was clear that people were equally as excited for both bands as it seemed everyone was inside and ready for the show by the time the Melvins went on at 8pm. Formed in Washington State in 1983, the Melvins have made an absolutely massive, almost indescribable, impact on rock/grunge music. This includes inspiring and mentoring Nirvana, who obviously went on to become a huge household name themselves. Their influence runs deep in so many bands that have been formed since.
Rght on queue, the lights went dark and the national anthem starting playing just before the band took the stage. The Melvins touring lineup currently consists of orignal vocalist Buzz Osborne and practically original drummer Dale Crover, as well as bassist Steven Mcdonald and drummer Coady Willis who both joined the band in later years. Osborne came out wearing one of his iconic muumuu dresses covered in eyeballs. Mcdonalds sported a white suit covered also covered in eyeballs while the drummers had eyeballs all over their black outfits.
Melvins was the sole opening band of the night, and I was absolutely enthralled throughout their entire hour long set. As someone who is from Seattle but was unfortunately not alive yet during the original grunge era of the 80s/90s, it truly felt like I was being transported back to a time I could only wish to have been there for. Opening with "Working the Ditch," they let the music speak for itself with very minimal talking points, which I loved for this kind of set. The duel drummers was something I hadn't seen before but really enjoyed watching. Mcdonald was probably the highlight of the night for me, he was incredibly entertaining while he jumped around the stage and posed with the fan blowing his long hair around. And of course seeing Osborne headbanging with his iconic hair was very cool as well. We got to hear songs from all throughout their career such as "Evil New War God" (2010) and "It's Shoved" (1991) as well as a cover of "Sway" by The Rolling Stones. They ended their set with Tomahawk bassit Trevor Dunn coming out to help play "Night Goat" on stage with them. These guys definitely earned their legacy and I really hope to catch another set from them again in the future.
9:30pm rolls around and it was finally time for Tomahawk to make their long awaited return to the Seattle stage. Tomahawk is a genre blending supergroup formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999 by vocalist and keyboardist Mike Patton and guitarist Duane Denison. They were quickly joined by drummer John Stanier and then bassist Trevor Dunn joined in 2013. The band has taken a couple breaks from touring over the years, but this was by far the longest the world had gone without getting to see them live. The tour, ironically named "A Huge Waste of Your Time and Money Tour," is a celebration of their 25th anniversary as a band. It's also the first time we got to hear songs of their most recent album "Tonic Immobility" released in 2021.
They opened with "Flashback" (2001) before diving into their newer songs such as "SHHH!" and "Predators and Scavengers." We got to hear 9 of the 12 songs off the 2021 album. They did a phenomenal job with the setlist, perfectly blending these recent songs with older classics like "Point and Click" and "Birdsong," managing to keep the audience fully captivated throughout their entire 1.25 hour set. Similar to Melvins, Tomahawk also let the music speak for itself with minimal talking and they did it very well. There is something so special about shows like this and one of my favorite parts is watching the reaction of the crowd. Many of the audience members grew up with these bands and it was clear how excited they were to finally be seeing them live again (or for the furst time!). The set concluded with a 4 song encore including covers of "Stalkin" by Duane Eddy and "Just One More" by George Jones. They rounded it out with "God Hates a Coward" which is their most popular song and the perfect way to end the night.
The show ending was bittersweet for many fans, having enjoyed the night but being left wondering if and when they will get to see Tomahawk again. I loved overhearing one couple talking about buying resale tickets for the second show the following night, as I am very familiar with the feeling of one show just not being enough! It was honestly an honor to see and photograph this show after researching the history of these bands. What a special night in Seattle!
Photos & Review By: Hailey Hazen
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