Words/Photography/Footage:
Samuel O’flynn
Presented by:
Press Play Presents
Venue:
VOLTA
2026 has been a year of unexpected midweek gigs, and this Tuesday was no exception. Mudhoney, one of the great surviving forces of the grunge movement, had returned to Australia, bringing a career-spanning set to Volta in Ballarat. The chance to see them in such an intimate venue promised an evening of volume, distortion and familiar songs delivered at close quarters. It was a prospect well worth rearranging a working day around.
After finishing work, I still needed dinner and a change of clothes before heading to the venue. A stop at Sebastopol KFC took care of the first requirement, while a quick change into a Glenn Hughes “Burn 50” shirt handled the second. It felt like an appropriate choice for an evening devoted to loud guitars. With the advertised information listing doors at 7.30 pm, I took the drive into Ballarat at a relaxed pace.
By the time I reached Volta, however, the room was already packed, and local openers Laura and the Hell Cutz were well into their 30-minute set. Hailing from Melbourne, the four-piece delivered a modern grunge sound with clear echoes of Veruca Salt and Hole. Laura Russo had an intense, commanding stage presence, while lead guitarist Bella Thompson-Hope sent distortion-heavy riffs straight into the crowd.
Russo’s voice carried a sweet huskiness that suited the material, and backing vocals from Thompson-Hope and bassist Liz Hernyak strengthened the early-1990s atmosphere. I would happily hear more bands explore this style. Before I discovered thrash, grunge was the music I lived for, and there was plenty here to remind me why. The familiar influences gave me a way into the performance almost immediately.
Introducing “My Favorite Industry”, Russo declared, “I only want to say a couple of things, free Palestine and the world’s fucked.” Hernyak’s pummelling bassline then took over, supported by Dylan Connolly’s forceful drumming. That combination gave the song considerable weight, with the rhythm section providing a firm foundation beneath the distorted guitar and vocals.
The band’s energy was reflected in the audience, where several fans were already swaying and dancing. Volta is a small room, and with so many people inside, the temperature rose quickly. A few conversations threatened to compete with the music, which was frustrating when the performance deserved the room’s attention. One passage had a distinct Tumbleweed feel, adding another welcome reference point to the band’s fuzz-heavy sound.
The final song was introduced as a statement about Russo being a tough woman, and its punchy delivery made the point convincingly. The entire band leaned into the groove, encouraging more movement from the crowd. My one regret was arriving too late to hear the complete set. The 15 minutes or so I caught were excellent, and Laura and the Hell Cutz made a strong impression in the opening slot for Mudhoney.
The audience crossed generations, with fathers and sons, mothers and daughters sharing the floor. From where I stood, much of the crowd appeared to be over 40. I decided to leave the mosh pit to the dads enjoying their night out and find a position where I could watch and sing along. There was no shortage of anticipation, even among those of us content to stay out of the action.
The music between sets helped build that anticipation. A well-chosen selection of underground punk and grunge favourites kept the atmosphere lively, with Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” playing just before Mudhoney took the stage. I joined in for a brief singalong. It was an effective final warm-up for a room already eager to hear the band.
Mudhoney appeared at 7.55 pm. I expected the volume to be considerable and realised I had come without earplugs, an oversight I regretted once I was settled in my spot. Leaving would have meant losing that position before the opening song. Seeing the band on a Tuesday night in a tiny, crowded Ballarat club already felt special; the substantial set that followed justified the anticipation.
The opening chords of “If I Think” set the tone immediately. Steve Turner and Mark Arm supplied the thick, saturated guitar sound that makes the Superfuzz Bigmuff material so distinctive. It remains one of my favourite tracks from that release, and hearing it first was an ideal way to begin. I was singing along with gusto before the band had made it through the opener.
An extended exchange between the two guitars brought “If I Think” to a thrilling close, stretching for roughly a minute before Dan Peters and Guy Maddison drove straight into “Get into Yours”, from the self-titled 1989 album. The raw bass, forceful punk drumming and buzzing guitars gave Arm’s vocals a suitably abrasive setting. The band’s presence was immense, particularly at such close range.
The set also drew on Plastic Eternity, the 2023 release associated with this tour, alongside material from Digital Garbage. To my ears, the newer selections leaned more towards direct, classic punk than the dense fuzz of the early recordings. They offered a useful change in texture without losing momentum. “Nerve Attack” was a particular opportunity for Maddison to stand out, with bass work that demanded attention.
Eddie Vedder famously sang about being alive; watching Mudhoney, I found myself thinking about the endurance required to keep playing this music with such conviction. The next run drew on the 1991–1995 period, including Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and My Brother the Cow. I am less familiar with the former, but the response around me made clear how deeply these songs were embedded in the audience’s memory.
When the opening riff of “Judgement, Rage, Retribution and Thyme” arrived, the movement on the floor intensified. The Generation X contingent had opened what could affectionately be called the dad pit. From my corner, I filmed a little, sang along with Arm and indulged in some air guitar. Peters’ cowbell was another highlight. This was my third Mudhoney show, and the pleasure of hearing these details live had not diminished.
A quick guitar change from Arm and Turner led into “Touch Me I’m Sick”, and the room erupted. Its opening riff and unmistakable vocal entrance brought an immediate surge of recognition. I was briefly tempted to join the pit myself, but stayed put and watched the crowd respond. The song’s pace and aggression were exactly what the audience wanted, earning a roar of appreciation at the finish.
“Little Dogs” supplied a change of mood, introduced by Arm with the simple declaration, “I like small dogs.” Its tongue-in-cheek character and folk-punk feel brought humour into the set. The balance between faster classics and slower recent material gave the evening room to breathe. If Mudhoney are the fine wine and cheese of grunge, there was still plenty of bite beneath the maturity.
“You Got It” followed with a mid-paced stomp and a chorus built for audience participation. The repeated refrain, culminating in “keep it outta my face”, was shouted back with enthusiasm. Band and audience seemed equally committed to the exchange. It was one of those moments when a familiar song becomes more powerful through the sheer number of people singing it together.
“Souvenir of My Trip” was placed between “You Got It” and “Suck You Dry”, maintaining the blend of recent and older material. Arm put his guitar aside for a stretch, leaving himself free to move and dance while Turner carried the guitar work. He would remain without it until “One Bad Actor”, giving this section a different visual dynamic as well as a change in musical texture.
Turner’s playing remained assured throughout the latter part of the set, with his lead work retaining its precision and aggression. By this point, Mudhoney had been playing solidly for around an hour and a half. There was little in the performance to suggest that their stamina was fading. The songs continued to arrive with the force that had made the opening stretch so compelling.
“The Lucky Ones” struck me as especially poignant, bringing to mind musicians the Seattle scene has lost, including Andrew Wood, Layne Staley, Chris Cornell and Mark Lanegan. During this part of the set, my sister called, apparently assuming that a Tuesday evening meant I would be at home. Apologies to her, but this was one occasion when the phone would have to wait. Mudhoney had my full attention.
“Paranoid Core” was a song I knew less well, but its live appeal was immediate. Peters’ drum introduction and the rockabilly feel made it a particularly enjoyable discovery within an already generous set. Arm then rejoined Turner on guitar for “One Bad Actor”, from the 2019 EP Morning in America. Its sharp punk energy made a convincing finish to the main performance.
Arm thanked Laura and the Hell Cutz, thanked the Ballarat audience and, with characteristic humour, thanked the band themselves. The brief walk-off fooled nobody, and the calls for more began immediately. Turner and Maddison returned, followed by a broadly grinning Arm: “Alright, here’s a little more.” The room was ready for whatever that promise might bring.
The muddy, distorted opening of “Mudride” answered it emphatically. This Superfuzz Bigmuff track had not won me over when I first heard it in the 2000s, but it had grown on me considerably since then. Hearing it live in Ballarat gave it another dimension. Its weight and gradual pull made it a particularly satisfying way to begin the encore.
The band had saved some of its hardest-hitting material for the final stretch. “Here Comes Sickness” followed with Arm’s familiar venom, raising the intensity again as the guitars pushed forward. The encore felt increasingly relentless, yet there was still one song I most wanted to hear. When it arrived, the closing sequence became the highlight of an already memorable night.
“In ’N’ Out of Grace” remains my favourite Mudhoney song. Live, its weight suggested a metal song beneath the grungy punk exterior. After the second verse, Peters launched into a substantial drum solo, with Maddison joining the extended instrumental passage for a powerful bass feature. Arm and Turner then returned for a sprawling jam before the band snapped back into the final verse.
That final crescendo captured what had made the whole evening so rewarding. Mudhoney played with stamina, humour and an appetite for pushing the songs beyond their recorded forms. After almost four decades, they still sounded fully invested in the music. I left Volta grateful to have seen them in such an intimate setting and eager to hear where they go next. Their contribution to hard rock deserves recognition, and this Ballarat performance gave it a forceful, thoroughly enjoyable expression.
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