Clutch - The Sunshine Theater - 17 Jul 2009 [Live]

Clutch on Tour... AGAIN!

July 26, 2009, 10:06 PM

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Prologue

I moved to Albuquerque two years ago from the east coast. It's a cool town, but the music scene is not at all what I'm used to. You can't go buy a pack of smokes without running into at least one dude with a mullet and a sleeveless Iron Maiden T-shirt. And there's nothing wrong with that--it just takes some getting used to.

But when a band like Maryland-based Clutch comes through, it always makes me feel like I'm sort of back on home turf. And no one tours like Clutch tours. In eighteen years, the band has recorded nine (NINE!) full-length albums and a slew of other stuff, and they're constantly on tour. They've been aptly described as "road warriors," and they have the most fiercely loyal following of any band I've seen. Their massive discography ensures that no matter how many times you see Clutch, the show will be different every time, which is a good thing, since at a Clutch show you'll never fail to bump into a few people who have followed them for six or seven shows of the tour. The setlists tend to favor the newer, blues-influenced hard rock tunes over their mid-90s metal tracks, but Clutch always seems to tuck in a couple of classics for long-time hardcore fans.

The Show

First of all, if you like fancy light shows, you're in the wrong place, friend. These guys are rock musicians, and they don't need fancy backdrops or nifty lights to put on a hell of a show.

Imagine the opening scene from Patton with distortion and screaming girls, then add a hint of Mephastophilis from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, and you'll have a fair idea of Clutch singer Neil Fallon's stage presence. In most cases, it's really cool if you make eye contact with the singer of an awesome band. In Neil Fallon's case, you'd be half afraid you'd burst into flame if he looked directly at you. He doesn't just pace the stage--he stalks it. He doesn't just sing the songs--he roars them. He doesn't just connect with the audience--he commands it. He doesn't just run the show--he rules it.

But Clutch also jams out, and Fallon knows when to take a backseat (or even leave the stage) while the rest of the band shines. Tim Sult is a rock guitarist in the purest sense--his no-nonsense chording and classic metal riff-writing are balanced extremely well by his delta-blues-on-steroids solos. I've not yet had the chance to see them live with studio organist Mick Schauer (and don't know how often he plays live), but even without the masterful key comping you'll hear on Robot Hive/Exodus or From Beale St. to Oblivion, the songs remain thick and full, thanks to clean, quick work by drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and fat, warm low-end work by bassist Dan Maines.

Clutch is currently promoting their new album Strange Cousins From the West, an album with which I'm not yet fully familiar, so there were a lot of songs I didn't know well at this last show. If the show was an accurate indication of the new album's material, however, it's another big-time rocker. But in my group of friends, everyone's got a different favorite Clutch album, and none of us left disappointed. I got to hear "Burning Beard" (Q: how often do you get to hear a sick rock track in 9/8 triplet time? A: like, never.), my buddy Dave got to hear "The Mob Goes Wild," and everyone was treated to an extended jam of "La Curandera."

Solid performing and excellent musicianship are just two aspects of the trifecta that makes Clutch an incredible live band. The third is Fallon's mythology-laden, surreal, sweeping, and sometimes bizarre lyrical style. If you like stories, you'll dig Fallon's vignettes. He's stated that he enjoys lying to the audience, taking on new personae when writing lyrics, and it shows. Lines like

Holy Diver, where you at?
There's a woman on the hill in a wide brimmed hat
With a shotgun, .44,
And a big blood hound in the back of a jacked up Ford.

from "Cypress Grove," or

Now may I present to you the basilisk?
Please don your goggles if you wish to resist.
From the fiery depths of the planet’s core
The never sleeping for wont of eating unholy stench of the manticore.

From "Circus Maximus" are commonplace. Clutch lyrics take some digesting, and you'll find yourself catching new references, subtle humor, and clever wordplay the more you listen.

A note on the venue--The Sunshine has just awful sound. It's basically a brick tunnel, and the echo in the room really destroys the purity of sound. The only time I've been there when the sound wasn't distractingly awful was to see Henry Rollins doing spoken word. With no band. Also, they're a big all-ages place, which means you've got a bunch of punk-ass kids bouncing off the walls (and everyone else) from the time the music starts until the band leaves the stage. It's still worth going to see a band like Clutch, though, if you're a rock fan.


Epilogue

My advice for the uninitiated? Check out a couple of their videos (these can be viewed at their website-- here) and give them a good listen. If you like what you hear, go buy at least Blast Tyrant and Robot Hive/Exodus. I don't mean download them, I mean go to a store and get them--the packaging is worth it. Listen to these albums back to back every day for a week. Then go to the show.

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