By Josh Herwitt //
Tomahawk with Melvins //
The Belasco – Los Angeles
August 15th, 2026 //
I will never forget the first time that I saw Tomahawk perform almost 25 years ago.
It was the summer of 2002, and my musical obsession for the past year had been Tool’s magnum opus Lateralus that had convinced me at the ripe age of 18 to trek up and down California for three shows in five days.
Up until that point, I had not heard of Tomahawk before. As a devoted fan of 90’s music, I have always found Mike Patton to be such a unique and gifted vocalist dating back to his earliest days in Mr. Bungle and Faith No More. His six-octave range puts him up there with once-in-a-generation talents like Layne Staley and Chris Cornell, while his eclectic catalog of work spanning heavy metal and hip-hop to avant-garde jazz and classical has made him one of the most prolific collaborators in the music industry.
But it was in Sacramento — or “Sactown” as it was commonly referred to in the early 2000’s when the Kings were formidable foes against the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs — where the alt-metal supergroup formed by Patton and guitarist Duane Denison of The Jesus Lizard left an indelible mark on me after their opening set that night in Northern California.
The main reason I even traveled more than 400 miles north up to ARCO Arena was because my older brother and I had secured floor tickets on a whim back when you used to purchase concert tickets at a local Wherehouse Music where (no pun intended) the “Ticketmaster computer” lived. It was one of those rare opportunities I have had to see my favorite band up close, and as I prepared myself to head across the country for the start of college the following month, I was glad in retrospect that I didn’t miss hearing “Ticks & Leeches” in the pit.
On that tour, all four members of Tomahawk — Patton, Denison, drummer John Stanier (Helmet, The Mark of Cain, Battles) and bassist Kevin Rutmanis (The Cows, Melvins) who has since been replaced by Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle) after the quartet reformed in 2013 — came ironically dressed onstage in police uniforms that felt not only satirical, but also theatrical. Patton, after all, has long been a jokester and prankster. His memorable beef with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Keidis, who claimed Patton ripped off his style in the music video for FNM’s hit single “Epic” on 1989’s platinum-selling The Real Thing, is one of the best feuds in rock ‘n’ roll history to this day, with Mr. Bungle famously mocking their fellow labelmates during a 1999 Halloween show in Keidis’ home state of Michigan merely months after Warner Bros. Records pushed back the release date of California that was originally scheduled to drop — not coincidentally — on the very same day as RHCP’s Californication.
But considering that finding a suitable opener for Tool presents its own challenges and Tomahawk were still a fairly new act by this point, I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations walking into “The Old Barn” as they called it. Any allegiance I had to Patton lied strictly with FNM, but what I quickly learned in less than an hour was that his stage presence should not be underestimated no matter which of his many projects he is choosing to showcase. Patton’s portfolio doesn’t run as deep as it once did now that Peeping Tom, Lovage, Kaada/Patton, Hemophiliac and Nevermen are no longer active, but currently in addition to Mr. Bungle, FNM and Tomahawk, it still includes Fantômas, Dead Cross and his newest, yet arguably most surprising collaboration AVTT/PTTN with folk-rolk veterans The Avett Brothers.
It was in between songs midway through Tomahawk’s performance when things started to take a turn, though. Making fun of the cow bells Kings fans would loudly ring during their home games at the arena, Patton taunted the crowd with “cow town” jokes prior to revealing the Lakers jersey — and it was Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 no less — he was wearing underneath his black button-down shirt. The boos reached a deafening level immediately as I couldn’t help but laugh while remaining stunned by Patton’s audacity. This was, mind you, just a few weeks after the two teams’ controversial, seven-game playoff series in the Western Conference Finals that saw the Lakers prevail and subsequently win a third straight NBA championship to cap off the franchise’s three-peat era.
A large, tough guy with a shaved head standing in front of me began cursing at Patton in such a hostile way that he probably would have fought him right there if he had the chance. While I was lucky to have someone else on my side as I stood quietly in enemy territory, I would discover later that Patton was an avid fan of the Lakers despite growing up further north in Eureka and becoming a force in the Bay Area music scene. It should be noted this wasn’t his only troll job across that 24-date stretch, with message boards online citing other U.S. cities received a similar kind of treatment and responded with their own brand of disdain. Plus, let’s be honest — the audience not surprisingly was mostly Tool bros and not a bunch of Mr. Bungle or FNM diehards. Nevertheless, there’s an eccentricity and experimental nature to Tomahawk’s material that’s patented Mike Patton whether he’s playing the role of grand provocateur or not. Equipped with a modified industrial gas mask, portable vocal effects pedalboard and radio-dispatch microphone, his artistic techniques and sensibilities could certainly draw comparisons to some of what Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan began doing in the late 90’s and why they tabbed Tomahawk for that slot at the time.
More than three years have passed since the last time we caught Patton in the flesh, and it was great to witness him back in full form at a sold-out Hollywood Palladium for Mr. Bungle’s “Geek Show 2023” tour after having to cancel gigs a couple of years earlier amidst the pandemic due to “mental health reasons” (read our show review here). Yet, when it comes to Tomahawk, it’s not often that you see the four-piece convene onstage. It had been 13 years since the band’s last tour in support of 2013’s Oddfellows, and although Patton and company would follow with their fifth studio album Tonic Immobility in the spring of 2021, they weren’t able to tour at all behind it because of the aforementioned pandemic. Adding to their extended hiatus, a planned return at last year’s Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas never happened after poor ticket sales and high booking costs forced the event to be canceled.
Given that this year marks a quarter century since Tomahawk’s self-titled debut LP came out, it seemed only right for it to be the one they targeted for their long-awaited return. Maybe that’s why Patton turned to good friend and Fantômas bandmate Buzz Osborne to have Melvins serve as special guests for their month-long tour in July and August named “A Huge Waste of Your Time and Money.” The sludgy Pacific Northwest rockers were a major influence in the alt-metal and grunge scenes — much like Pixies were for alternative rock — with a dedicated and loyal following built over more than four decades of service, and they came out swinging on the first of two sold-out nights in LA at The Belasco to wrap up the tour. The historic downtown venue, which will turn 100 years old on November 1st, was packed by the time Melvins entered stage left as Osborne (guitars, lead vocals), Dale Crover (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Steven Shane McDonald (bass, backing vocals) and second timekeeper Coady Willis (drums, backing vocals) dove into old favorites and deep cuts over the course of an hour to go along with their cover of “Sway” by The Rolling Stones.
When it came time for Patton, Denison, Stanier and Dunn to finally reveal themselves in front of the SoCal faithful, everyone appeared ready to kick their Saturday night into high gear. Flashing back to 2001 with the first track off Tomahawk, they launched into “Flashback” to hook us and make a strong impression before turning to Tonic Immobility, Oddfellows and 2003’s Mit Gas. In fact, just one song from 2007’s Anonymous ended up on the setlist and it was “Totem” leading us into the encore break. Welcomed back by a spirited applause, Tomahawk treated us to Charlie Ryan’s “Hot Rod Lincoln” for just the fourth and final time of the tour but couldn’t leave without uncorking “God Hates a Coward” of course. I remember being captivated by Patton’s distorted delivery when I heard it for the first time in ’02, and even though I know most folks wouldn’t feel the same way as me, I’m not totally shocked it’s the group’s most popular tune on Spotify by a very wide margin (nearly eight million for those who are counting). But if listening to Tomahawk makes us any less of a coward after all these years later, we’ll happily take it while we wait for them to come back around.
TOMAHAWK
Setlist:
Flashback
White Hats/Black Hats
SHHH!
Capt. Midnight
Howlie
Predators and Scavengers
Business Casual
Doomsday Fatigue
South Paw
I.O.U.
Fatback
Eureka
Birdsong
Rape This Day
Sidewinder
Totem
Encore:
Hot Rod Lincoln (Charlie Ryan cover)
God Hates a Coward
Rise Up Dirty Waters
Point and Click
MELVINS
Setlist:
Working the Ditch
Never Say You’re Sorry
Sway (The Rolling Stones cover)
Evil New War God
Civilized Worm
It’s Shoved
A History of Bad Men
The Bit
Blood Witch
Hag Me
Honey Bucket
Night Goat (with Trevor Dunn)
