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Stream Review: Clutch, Live at the Doom Saloon II, 08.07.20

clutch doom saloon 1

Clutch clearly learned a few lessons from the first Live at the Doom Saloon streamed concert they performed at the end of May. Lighting, multiple cameras operated by video collaborators David Brodsky and Robb Brown, and even a fog machine saved for the end of the show, which ran an hour long and boasted a fan-picked set. The guy’s name was Marshall, he won — among other things — an Orange amp. Go figure. Marshall got numerous shout outs from Clutch vocalist Neil Fallon between songs — “another awkward guitar change, thanks Marshall,” etc. — but it was a righteous set and clearly the work of an established fan, running as it did from Clutch‘s earliest days to 2018’s Book of Bad Decisions (review here), their latest album, and “Smoke Banshee” from 2001’s Pure Rock Fury, which was recently re-recorded for their ‘Weathermaker Vault Series.’

That series seems to be an ongoing project awaiting handy compilation, but in the meantime, Live at the Doom Saloon II will be released on limited vinyl, and as part of the proceeds from merch was going directly to the band’s crew — obviously out of work with no touring happening; Clutch are an American small business enterprise as well as a band; pro-rock and all that — there’s little doubt the LPs will go if they’re not already gone. Those as well as commemorative t-shirts featuring art with the “king of the dragon men” — a reference to the song “Oregon,” which closed the set; nicely done, Marshall — were available to coincide with the stream, and though of course seeing Clutch on a screen isn’t the same as seeing them in person, at least they were playing live. Fallon changed the lyrics of set-opener “How to Shake Hands” from “I know how to work a room” to “I know how to work a Zoom,” both holding the rhyme and winking at the horrific absurdity of this new version of real-life.

Here’s the full set, as the band handily posted afterward:

How to Shake Hands
Power Player
Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw
Far Country
Smoke Banshee
What Would a Wookie Do?
Mice and Gods
Profits of Doom
Ghoul Wrangler
King of Arizona
(In The Wake Of) The Swollen Goat
Your Love Is Incarceration
Brazenhead
Oregon

clutch doom saloon logoIs it the bunch of songs I would’ve chosen? No, but it was probably more interesting. I’ve seen Clutch on stage any number of times — most recently last December — and I can’t ever remember them breaking out “Far Country” from the 1991 debut EP, Pitchfork, or the 2009 digital single “King of Arizona.” And putting “How to Shake Hands” next to “Power Player” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” at the start of the gig was clever in terms of drawing a theme back across a span of records from the four-piece’s catalog. “What Would a Wookie Do?” and “King of Arizona” were specifically designated as “deep cuts” by Fallon, but he, bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and guitarist Tim Sult handled them with aplomb, perhaps missing the crowd energy of having people in the room, but still putting on what felt very much like a Clutch show, if a somewhat one-sided version of one.

The multiple cameras worked well in giving each member of the band screen-time, and Fallon had one to meet head on to deliver lyrics into, which was an added touch of fun. Sadly, Maines did not have the wingback chair that featured in the video for the re-recorded single “Willie Nelson” (posted here) earlier this year, but he as ever was the secret weapon behind Clutch‘s groove. Everyone knows Tim Sult is a wah-master. Dude could teach college classes on the subject. And Gaster is so bop on drums he’s literally bouncing up and down while he plays, funking out the beats as he hits the kit. It’s wild, and Neil Fallon has an entire generation of beardo frontmen following in his wake, none of whom are a match for him in lyrical wit, vocal talent, or on-stage charisma. But Dan Maines, with his wingback chair-worthy subdued presence, is a walking, not really talking, kind-of-grooving-out lesson in how heavy rock bass can be played at its absolute best. In the parlance of our times, he is an essential worker. #achairfordan

I couldn’t help but wonder what the process was for picking a set from among the 4,000 they reportedly received when they put the ask out to their fans and started the contest. If they were looking from something different from the “usual,” they got it. Live staples like “Electric Worry” and “Firebirds!” featured in the first Live at the Doom Saloon, so that ground had been covered. Maybe they were looking for a challenge to themselves; breaking out material they hadn’t played in however long and airing it to fans who, like me, had never seen it live before. Songs like “Mice and Gods” and “(In the Wake Of) The Swollen Goat” were certainly familiar enough, and “Your Love is Incarceration,” more recent, has been a regular in sets supporting Book of Bad Decisions, but “Brazenhead” and “Oregon” both come from 2003’s Slow Hole to China: Rare and Unreleased from Weathermaker Music precursor River Road Records, and I’m going to guess they’ve never closed out a show back to back on their own.

So yeah. Good job, Marshall, I guess.

And for the Doom Saloon III: full album performance?

In my ongoing effort at honest pandemic-era-livestream reportage, I’ll note that I watched the entirety of Live at the Doom Saloon II on my phone sitting on the edge of my son’s favorite sandbox while he played with digger trucks. The morning rebroadcast. Yup, the full hour. Kid really likes trucks. He’d check in periodically, say, “Watching Clutch,” then go back to the excavator or the front-end loader. There you go. Real life.

Thanks to Suze Wright for making this one happen for me, and thanks to you for reading.

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One Response to “Stream Review: Clutch, Live at the Doom Saloon II, 08.07.20”

  1. Mark says:

    Enjoyed the Clutch stream. Great to hear King of Arizona and Oregon. Like you, not the set I’d have chosen (which would start with Mercury) but fair play to Marshall!

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