On 26 July 2026, DC’s legendary 9:30 Club was packed as Tomahawk took the stage for a sold-out stop on their “A Huge Waste of Your Time and Money” tour, celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band, with support from Melvins and Ni Maîtres, Anticipation was high as fans lined up hours before doors opened, eager to witness the Tomahawk’s long-awaited return and an unforgettable night of explosive performances. This was Tomahawk’s sixth show of their 22-date tour and amongst their first live performances in 13 years.
At approximately 7:10 PM, Melvins tour manager, Gareth Turner, took the stage as Ni Maîtres and opened the show with a roughly 15-minute set of dark, experimental, electronic noise with his programmed drums, synth, and theremin. Many in the crowd saw Turner wearing his black Rudimentary Peni t-shirt and Stooges ballcap as he was moving around the venue and setting up the stage. To obscure his identity, Turner donned a white mask, but it wasn’t enough to fool the crowd as they quickly figured out who he was. He wrapped up his set around 7:25 PM and set the tone for a wild night of sonically eclectic rock and roll.
Melvins took the stage around 8:00 PM wearing their signature psychedelic eyeball motif uniforms – King Buzzo (vocals/guitar) with this wizard-like, eyeball tunic, Dale Crover and Coady Willis (drums) with their eyeball t-shirts, and Steven McDonald (bass) with his white eyeball suit. The band plowed through an hour of their signature blend of sludge and high-octane rock and roll. As their conductor, Buzzo set the tone and leaned into the heavy, rocking out near his amp and lunging forward to the audience. The powerhouse drum duo of Crover and Willis delivered an earthmoving percussive assault with well-choreographed playing. McDonald owned the stage rocking, running, and rampaging from one end to the other. Longtime friend, band member, and collaborator Trevor Dunn (bassist for Tomahawk) joined Melvins playing second bass on Night Goat to close out their set around 09:00 PM.
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)
At around 09:30 PM, Tomahawk took the stage and began their nearly 90-minute set. Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) on vocals, keys, programming, Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) on guitar, John Stanier (Helmet, Battles) on drums, and Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, John Zorn) on bass delivered their blend of rock, punk, metal, country, and noise to a crowd eager to hear this band perform for the first time in DC since 2013. From the first note, the crowd was hooked, with Patton screaming, singing, and tearing around the stage. Denison, Stanier, and Dunn kept it funky, loud, and unpredictable, jumping from crushing riffs to weird noise. The band ended their set around 11:00 PM, giving their fans a healthy dose of their unique brand of rock. After 13 years away, Tomahawk’s return to DC was loud and long overdue.
Tomahawk’s Setlist
- Flashback
- SHHH!
- Predators and Scavengers
- Business Casual
- Doomsday Fatigue
- Capt Midnight
- Rape This Day
- Eureka
- Birdsong
- Howlie
- Recoil
- South Paw
- I.O.U.
- Fatback
- Point and Click
- Just One More (George Jones cover)
Encore
- White Hats / Black Hats
- God Hates a Coward
- Stalkin’ (Duane Eddy cover)
- Sidewinder
- Totem