I’m going back to Tennessee, back where I come from...
OK, I'm not from Tennessee, but then again, neither is Neil Fallon. Neil -- and his buddies Tim, Dan, Jean-Paul, and Mick -- actually hail from a place called Germantown, Maryland. I've never been there, but I'm sure I've driven trough it on the I-95 approach to Baltimore. But this isn't a blog about geography...
I've lost track of exactly how many times I've seen Clutch play live now -- few times in Connecticut; once in Jersey; Rhode Island for my first show -- never disappointed. Never the same show twice, even if it's twice on the same tour. Strangely, though, it is the same fans twice, or most of the time... of course, Jimbo's there every time, but I couldn't imagine going to see Clutch without him... and after a while, you begin to recognize a bulk of the fans, like they're your distant cousins or something.
Now Thursday night, the crowd was huge. I've been to a couple Valby Christmas shows, and I've still never seen Toad's Place that packed. Clutch is a great band, but I've never known them to pack a house like that, especially around here, and especially on a Thursday. But packed it was, and it was a very good crowd.
Covin was up first; a local original rock band from right here in New Haven. Solid band. Because they're local, I know I'll get to check them out again; give them a solid review of their own. Any band that can pull off a Life of Agony cover the way they did deserves a blog of their own.
No one knows what happened to Puny Human. I was told good things about them, but alas they no-showed the gig. In the end, what I think that really added up to was more time for Priestess.
When Priestess took the stage I immediately noticed two things. The first was that I now knew what it would have looked like to see Mountain in 1972. The second was that the lone dude manning their merch table was indeed to guitarist/lead singer Mikey Heppner. Very DIY... very cool in my book.
The bearded boys of Montréal put on a show of insane ferocity. Wailing guitars and screaming vocals, both kept in time by, and challenged by, Vince Nudo's insanely energetic drumming. That guy is an animal, plain and simple, and you have to respect a guy who can still play a drum solo in modern music. The Priestess set was amazing, but the capper was when, as their final song of the night, they ripped into Lay Down, their single most of us know from Guitar Hero III. Who could help but to green-yellow-red along with it?
So is a short cigarette break, a random discussion on GH:3 and whether or not Slash cheats, a couple bottles of water, and them on the the main event, and a giant Maryland state flag hanging from the rafters.
Barely had the band taken to the stage when, over the roar of the assembled masses, the open chords of Devil & Me started up. The would-be-title-track of the most recent album sent the audience into motion. The opening few songs were played much in the style of classic Clutch, Tim on guitars, Dan on bass, Mick on the organ, and Jean-Paul keeping it all in time while Neil barks, screams, sings, and gesticulates as he ministers to his audience-parish.
Jean-Paul Gaster, who I contend may be the hardest working drummer in rock today, and potentially the most talented, earned his paycheck Thursday night. Beyond his incredible talent, in addition to punching up some of the older tunes to the level of percussive acrobatics he displays in later works, three sprawling solos -- including the one that marked the division of Big News I and II -- not only took the audience on a rhythmic ride of tempo and technique, but gave his band mates some 10+ minutes of breather and beer-break he never saw nor slowed down for.
The second half of the set featured the newest track King of Arizona, another very bluesy track, but with a big, wall of sound dynamic to it, driven by the full and extended line-up instrumentation with 2 guitars, organ, and harmonica. Power Player, One-Eye Dollar, and Electric Worry rounded out the Beale Street component of the set, and the rest of the night was an eclectic sampling of many of their older works, covering just about everything but Elephant Riders -- odd since the merch table seemed to be focused on Elephant Riders and Pure Rock Fury shirts and other swag.
Neil likes to play guitar in the second half of the set, but I was happy to see him put it down to sling a mic over his shoulder to join Jean-Paul the only cowbell duet you'll see at a live rock show. Only Clutch could possibly fuse blues and hardcore, highlighted with a Hammond organ and harmonica. But it completely works. Personally I'm not a fan of the harmonica player. I first saw him last year in Sayerville, where Clutch was touring with his band -- don't ask me which band; I have no clue -- and Neil asked him up to play of the last three, very blues-heavy, songs of the night. His continued presence with the band irks me in some weird way; perhaps its his spastic movement, perhaps its the fact that he tries to scream backing vocals into his bullet mic. Whatever the reason, I am please to know that he's not considered part of the band, and although there were as many as 7 people on stage playing during one song, he's still not one of the five that actually make up Clutch.
All in all and excellent show -- not that I'd expect less. And although I was unable to snag the one broke shard of Jean-Paul's stick -- Gaster is one of the few drummers I've seen who does not toss his extra sticks into the crowd after a show -- I was delighted to be handed 2 free lighters and 2 free shot glasses by the guy at the merch table when I bought my tour shirt. It seems that the folks at Jägermeister Music like to give the fans a little something for showing up. That and the CD I got earlier in the year were really nice of them.
So, the next tour kicks off very soon, with back-to-back shows at Cambridge, Massachusetts' Middle East, starting Thursday, February 21, 2008. I know I'll be there one of the two dates, and I know it'll be another great show.
Now Thursday night, the crowd was huge. I've been to a couple Valby Christmas shows, and I've still never seen Toad's Place that packed. Clutch is a great band, but I've never known them to pack a house like that, especially around here, and especially on a Thursday. But packed it was, and it was a very good crowd.
Covin was up first; a local original rock band from right here in New Haven. Solid band. Because they're local, I know I'll get to check them out again; give them a solid review of their own. Any band that can pull off a Life of Agony cover the way they did deserves a blog of their own.
No one knows what happened to Puny Human. I was told good things about them, but alas they no-showed the gig. In the end, what I think that really added up to was more time for Priestess.
When Priestess took the stage I immediately noticed two things. The first was that I now knew what it would have looked like to see Mountain in 1972. The second was that the lone dude manning their merch table was indeed to guitarist/lead singer Mikey Heppner. Very DIY... very cool in my book.
The bearded boys of Montréal put on a show of insane ferocity. Wailing guitars and screaming vocals, both kept in time by, and challenged by, Vince Nudo's insanely energetic drumming. That guy is an animal, plain and simple, and you have to respect a guy who can still play a drum solo in modern music. The Priestess set was amazing, but the capper was when, as their final song of the night, they ripped into Lay Down, their single most of us know from Guitar Hero III. Who could help but to green-yellow-red along with it?
So is a short cigarette break, a random discussion on GH:3 and whether or not Slash cheats, a couple bottles of water, and them on the the main event, and a giant Maryland state flag hanging from the rafters.
Barely had the band taken to the stage when, over the roar of the assembled masses, the open chords of Devil & Me started up. The would-be-title-track of the most recent album sent the audience into motion. The opening few songs were played much in the style of classic Clutch, Tim on guitars, Dan on bass, Mick on the organ, and Jean-Paul keeping it all in time while Neil barks, screams, sings, and gesticulates as he ministers to his audience-parish.
Jean-Paul Gaster, who I contend may be the hardest working drummer in rock today, and potentially the most talented, earned his paycheck Thursday night. Beyond his incredible talent, in addition to punching up some of the older tunes to the level of percussive acrobatics he displays in later works, three sprawling solos -- including the one that marked the division of Big News I and II -- not only took the audience on a rhythmic ride of tempo and technique, but gave his band mates some 10+ minutes of breather and beer-break he never saw nor slowed down for.
The second half of the set featured the newest track King of Arizona, another very bluesy track, but with a big, wall of sound dynamic to it, driven by the full and extended line-up instrumentation with 2 guitars, organ, and harmonica. Power Player, One-Eye Dollar, and Electric Worry rounded out the Beale Street component of the set, and the rest of the night was an eclectic sampling of many of their older works, covering just about everything but Elephant Riders -- odd since the merch table seemed to be focused on Elephant Riders and Pure Rock Fury shirts and other swag.
Neil likes to play guitar in the second half of the set, but I was happy to see him put it down to sling a mic over his shoulder to join Jean-Paul the only cowbell duet you'll see at a live rock show. Only Clutch could possibly fuse blues and hardcore, highlighted with a Hammond organ and harmonica. But it completely works. Personally I'm not a fan of the harmonica player. I first saw him last year in Sayerville, where Clutch was touring with his band -- don't ask me which band; I have no clue -- and Neil asked him up to play of the last three, very blues-heavy, songs of the night. His continued presence with the band irks me in some weird way; perhaps its his spastic movement, perhaps its the fact that he tries to scream backing vocals into his bullet mic. Whatever the reason, I am please to know that he's not considered part of the band, and although there were as many as 7 people on stage playing during one song, he's still not one of the five that actually make up Clutch.
All in all and excellent show -- not that I'd expect less. And although I was unable to snag the one broke shard of Jean-Paul's stick -- Gaster is one of the few drummers I've seen who does not toss his extra sticks into the crowd after a show -- I was delighted to be handed 2 free lighters and 2 free shot glasses by the guy at the merch table when I bought my tour shirt. It seems that the folks at Jägermeister Music like to give the fans a little something for showing up. That and the CD I got earlier in the year were really nice of them.
So, the next tour kicks off very soon, with back-to-back shows at Cambridge, Massachusetts' Middle East, starting Thursday, February 21, 2008. I know I'll be there one of the two dates, and I know it'll be another great show.
1 comment:
hit the "next blog" off mine, and what a surprise, something readable. usually i get brazilian soccer sites. and i saw mountain in 1975.
Post a Comment