Posted in Whathaveyou on February 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I suppose Clutch touring isn’t much of a surprise — it’s what they do — but it is still news. The long-tenured Maryland lords o’ the thing will be out out starting June 6 running down the Eastern Seaboard and hitting into the Midwest along the way. It’s probably not the longest stretch of touring Clutch will undertake throughout 2025, but the fact is you never really know and maybe it is. Either way, it’s been a minute and a half since the last time I saw the band, so yes, I’ve got my maps app on and I’m checking how far away Bensalem, PA, is from my house. Totally doable, as it turns out.
Not that one would expect Clutch to make it a challenge to see them. Short of stopping by your house as they pass by, they’ve done just about everything in their power to draw an audience, and they have the loyal fanbase to prove it. I didn’t know site-specific ticket preorders were a thing, but all of the dates listed below have passed now, so I think if you want tickets you can probably just get them from the band’s page. I wouldn’t want to accidentally give Spotify a cut or whatever.
I bet these shows’ll be good. You know why? Clutch are playing.
Here’s particulars:
We are announcing Canadian and US dates for the Full Ahead Flank Tour in June of 2025 with special guests Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown and Nate Bergman.
Tickets are on sale Friday, Feb. 7th at 10 AM local time.
Check the tour tab atclutchmerch.comfor local pre-sales or try any of these:
Spotify Pre Sale: Wednesday Feb 5 @ 2pm ET Password: FULLAHEAD25
Knotfest.com Pre Sale: Wednesday Feb 5 @ 2pm ET Password: KFCLUTCH2025
Blabbermouth- Wednesday Feb 5 @ 2pm ET Password: BBMCLUTCH2025
All pre sales end 10pm local time on Thursday Feb 6 Come and join us on any of these dates!
6-Jun Montreal, QC MTELUS 7-Jun Pickering, ON The Arena at Pickering Casino Resort 8-Jun Ottawa, ON Bronson Centre Theatre 10-Jun Moncton, NB Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick 12-Jun Lynn, MA Lynn Memorial Auditorium 13-Jun Portland, ME State Theatre 14-Jun Bensalem, PA Parx Casino 15-Jun Albany, NY Empire Live 17-Jun Morgantown, WV Ruby Amphitheater 19-Jun Sault Ste Marie, MI Kewadin Casino Indoor Concert 20-Jun Ann Arbor, MI Michigan Theater 21-Jun Elizabeth, IN Caesars Event Center at Caesars Southern Indiana 22-Jun Pelham, TN The Caverns 24-Jun Charleston, SC Charleston Music Hall 25-Jun Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues 27-Jun Columbus, OH KEMBA Live! 28-Jun Greensboro, NC Piedmont Hall
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
This was the era that really got me hooked on Clutch. Pure Rock Fury. At the same time, it’s never been my favorite record from the Maryland kings of heavy groove, and though I might reach for it now more than I did around 2001 when it was released — I like to think I’m open-minded, but it’s just distractibility — I don’t think it’ll ever in my mind top the likes of 2004’s Blast Tyrant (discussed here), 2005’s Robot Hive/Exodus (reissue review here), 1995’s landmark self-titled (discussed here) or 2013’s charged realignment in Earth Rocker (review here). In the pantheon of Clutch records — hallowed halls and all that; marble statues in wall alcoves of bassist Dan Maines looking basically the same over the last 30 years; soft lighting — it occupies a difficult place, between the smoother production captured in part at Electric Lady Studios in New York for 1998’s The Elephant Riders and featuring the beginnings in “Careful With that Mic” and “Drink to the Dead” of the production collaboration with Machine — who recorded those songs while the bulk of the album was helmed by Larry “Uncle Punchy” Packer, by then a familiar presence behind the board for Clutch, as well as Jason Corsaro — that would come to fruition with such stunning results just a couple years later.
Such a convenient narrative leaves out the 1999 self-release Jam Room (also produced by Packer, with the band), which is like a spiritual prequel to Pure Rock Fury in its performance-in-studio focus, the sidestep the band made between The Elephant Riders and Pure Rock Fury from Columbia to Atlantic — they’d end up on DRT Records before starting their own label, Weathermaker Music, late in the aughts — and the hard touring Clutch were doing at the time, having already amassed the reputation as a live act they continue to reinforce to this day. But it’s a narrative, and the progression in the sound of guitarist Tim Sult, the aforementioned Dan Maines on bass, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and vocalist/sometimes-guitarist Neil Fallon can be heard across four full-lengths before Pure Rock Fury, including Jam Room, bringing the band to a point of attack the likes of which they hadn’t before known and wouldn’t again.
It’s a rawer sound, and no, I’m not just saying that for the scorched-earth feedback that starts “American Sleep” at the album’s outset, though for sure that’s part of it. The tinny snare sound on the title-track, and the throaty voice telling the story of “Red Horse Rainbow” — one of two on which Scott “Wino” Weinrich (The Obsessed, etc.) guests, the other being the funky extravaganza “Brazenhead” — or indeed, the way “Brazenhead” starts with 9:30 Club crowd noise and Fallon talking about how they’re recording before the studio version of the track launches. It’s a stark, rug-pull of a moment and it’s supposed to be, but you wouldn’t say “Brazenhead” as it exists on the record wants for vitality, so in addition to standing out, it also works. “Immortal,” “The Great Outdoors!,” “Open Up the Border,” and “Smoke Banshee” are just a few of the hooks littered about the proceedings, and around those one finds the impressive rhythmic turns and semi-rapped spoken delivery of “Careful With That Mic,” the hook and jam in “Frankenstein,’ and the quintessential summary that is “Drink to the Dead,” not only for this record but accounting for aspects of the self-titled and The Elephant Riders as well — Clutch exploring new ideas and old in their songwriting, having clearly figured out more than a few somethings about their sound over the course of their first decade.
In addition to Weinrich, Leslie West of Mountain sits in for “Immortal” and Dan Kerzwyck and Joe Selby of Sixty Watt Shaman, take part in “Sinkemlow” and “Frankenstein,” respectively, and as it was recorded in three separate studios between Silver Spring, Maryland, and Weehawken and Dover, New Jersey — plus what was grabbed from the stage — it isn’t shocking that Pure Rock Fury bounces between the different ideas and moods being presented, stories being told, and so on. This is something Clutch would hammer out in their next collaboration with Machine, which resulted in Blast Tyrant — arguably as close as they’ve come to a concept record; at very least it’s the most characterful — but for catching that moment of stylistic evolution as it was happening, as Clutch figured out they didn’t need to be metal to be heavy, and that being heavy could also mean being metal, punk, funk or blues, Pure Rock Fury feigns simplicity and offers depth. Even next to Jam Room, it has a sound of its own, and while Clutch have stayed loyal to many of the core aspects of what they do — not a backhanded critique, but a cause to celebrate — they’ve also never put out the same record twice. That those two things could be true at the same time, over a period of 30-plus years, puts simple math to how rare a band Clutch are.
And for that alone, Pure Rock Fury is worth engaging, and I’ll note again that this was the era when I became a fan of the band, even if that happened via their onstage performance and persona more than the record — not their fault they’re impossibly good live and not dicks in interviews — but where some Clutch records hit immediately, “book, saddle and go” as the fellow says, Pure Rock Fury demanded more time to sink in, and in the years since it finally did, I’ve come to appreciate it all the more. In the arc of Clutch‘s evolution, it harnesses the impression of a moment that could never come again, prefaces the righteousness that would soon manifest in their maturity, and still carries over some of the stripped-down, hardcore-born push of their youngest days.
I don’t usually like to close out a week with the same band twice within the span of a year — I did the self-titled back in September; just a couple months but technically a different year, in my defense — but some things just force their way in and this is the most honest to what I’ve had on this week that I could possibly be, so here we are. If you’d complain about more Clutch, I suspect you’ve probably stopped reading already anyhow.
The rest of everyone, thanks as always. I hope you enjoy what’s considered a classic in my home. I even have it on tape somewhere around here…
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Man, I gotta answer some email. Fuck it, maybe tomorrow. Again.
Email’s hard. I don’t like disappointing people. I don’t like being like, “Hey yeah your stuff sounds pretty cool but chances are I’m never gonna write about it or if I do it’s not gonna be like 10,000 words and you’re gonna be bummed out.” I’m glad ANYONE gives enough of a shit about what I do to reach out and send music. I am GRATEFUL for people who do, and some of the best stuff I’ve ever heard in my life has come to me in exactly that way, but I just can’t keep up. I have the autorespond, and that lessens the brunt, but people still follow-up, and then I’m like a cave troll hiding from my own inbox, which feels weird and shitty. Like, why would answering email be too much labor since it involves very little actual labor? Why is it easier for me to come here and spend 15 minutes writing a very long paragraph about how email is hard than it is to dedicate that same time to actually answering the email in question? I don’t know. Because I’m a bad person? Pretty sure that’s it.
I’m doing my best, paltry as that is. The Pecan was home from school until yesterday, so that I managed three reviews on a holiday week is pretty solid. Next Monday I’m ending the year-end poll, so if you haven’t gotten that done yet, get on it. I’ve also got streams for Noisepicker and Kaiser slated, and I wanna review either Dunes or Heavy Trip, depending on my mood, but I may or may not get there. There will be a pickup in news too as people get back to work. I’ve been doing three posts a day, not trying to dig out filler. It’s been less quantity but I do feel like especially the reviews got more of a look this week than they otherwise might when there’s a glut of news or videos or premieres or whatever, so that’s a tradeoff that’s not terrible, however satisfying it sometimes is to bang out four or five posts in a day.
I’ve also written a couple bios in the last few weeks. I took on two projects for Relapse, both of which were for records that haven’t yet been announced, so I’m waiting on those to come back around — actually I’m waiting on approval for the second of those bios, come to think of it — which I assume will happen over the first half of this month. Which means, among other things, even more email. Which means I should bang out what I can now so that when I inevitably fall behind, I won’t already be behind falling further.
On the other hand…
It’s been like five days since I last played Tears of the Kingdom and I hope you’ll understand when I say I’m having a low-key existential crisis about it. Who even am I if I’m not using a rocket-shield to take out elemental gleeok heads in the sky above Eventide Island? I’ve been playing Final Fantasy VIII instead, so I guess the answer to that is I’m me in high school. Maybe I should’ve closed the week with Primus.
So, I just pasted the Forum/Radio/Merch links — the FRM links, in my mind — below, as I do every week. I know the Radio stream only works like half the time. I know the FB group isn’t crazy super-active — I actually like that about it — and I know there isn’t any Obelisk merch at the Made in Brooklyn store right now.
All of that being the case, please know that I appreciate your support for The Obelisk and its strange, ongoing existence. I probably should’ve stopped doing this years ago, but I’m in it now and I kind of want to see where it all ends up, where I end up. Thanks for coming along. If you haven’t joined the FB group, it’s nice, you should. And when the Radio works, it’s rad. And I’m glad to support Dave MIBK regardless. So yeah, the links still apply. Have a great and safe weekend, and thanks again for reading.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 6th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Oh, the party boat is here. Released in 1995 through Eastwest Records, which at the time was under Atlantic, the self-titled sophomore full-length from Maryland groove rockers Clutch is a founding document of stoner-heavy in the 1990s. Distinguished by its funk-informed bounce, hardcore undertones carried over from the four-piece band’s earlier days — their debut, Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes And Undeniable Truths (discussed here), came out in ’93 — and its depth of quirk in the lyrical storytelling of Neil Fallon, it not only defined the path Clutch would take over the nearly three decades since, but has been a point of inspiration for two generations of bands since. In the riffs of Tim Sult, Dan Maines‘ smooth low end groove that, for this record alone, hell, for “Droid” alone, deserves a statue carved somewhere in its honor but nobody makes statues for bassists, and Jean-Paul Gaster‘s purposefully tinny-sounding snare popping through no with no less personality than Fallon‘s vocal on “Animal Farm” while highlighting and complementing the intricacy of Sult‘s start-stop patterns or the release of tension as “Big News I” turns over to “Big News II” at the outset, the band itself was very much the biggest news of all.
It is a genre landmark, pairing restless energy and languid flow. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlaw” and “Big News II” border on rap-rock — there, I said it; feels good after all this time — and but that was fair game in 1995, and the recording by Larry “Uncle Punchy” Packer is so raw and so distinctly not nĂŒ-metal in the style it’s playing toward that they were never really seen as such. Fair enough. “Escape From the Prison Planet” and “I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth” have a hip-hop element too, but again, context applies when you’re setting that next to the ultimate chill of “Spacegrass” or the wah and swing and gruff vocals of “The House that Peterbilt,” the organ-laced jamming that closes out in “Tim Sult vs. the Greys” answering back to the riffing on “Big News I,” but fast enough to not necessarily be a full reprise for a song that’s already broken into two parts.
The left-unmatched vocal layering of “7 Jam,” the rush of “Animal Farm” and immediate turnover to “Tight Like That,” which seems to sneer in its later hook but remains one of the most infectious songs Clutch has ever done — and this record is full of them — Clutch bends tempo and expectation to suit the band’s purposes, and constructs a band persona on the strength of its songwriting. As much as Clutch have come to be embodied by their touring ethic and how they present themselves onstage, whether that’s Fallon as the sometimes-mad frontman, Gaster bouncing out of his seat in back, or the calm presences of Sult and Maines on either side, the part this material has played in solidifying their character as a group can’t and shouldn’t be denied. A lot of records go where they want to. Clutch‘s self-titled does that and makes every step the band takes feel like an audience invitation to the party. Also it’s on a boat!
At 13 songs and 55 minutes, it’s very much a CD-era release, but if it feels long by modern get-to-it-and-get-out vinyl standards of 40-45 minutes at the most, that time differential is invariably well spent. “7 Jam” brings a looseness and swagger between “I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth” and “Tight Like That,” while “Animal Farm” takes off on a sprint that gives everything around it an underpinning of immediacy. “Droid” rolls through its mellower flow in a way that makes a nod of its repeating measures, but is a blueprint for mid-’90s stoner rock groove that’s still being followed nearly 30 years later, and even “Tim Sult vs. the Greys” adds something to the procession, and no, I’m not just talking about the organ that shows up there (not for the first time on the record) in bookending with “Big News I” and letting the band ride out easy and hypnotic.
Is it the best Clutch record? It’s definitely in the running, and I have no doubt there’s an entire contingent who got on board when it came out — I remember hearing “Spacegrass” on WSOU and KROQ around then and being curious, but my teenaged self sought angstier and, frankly, dumber fare and it wasn’t until a few years later, between 2001’s Pure Rock Fury and 2004’s Blast Tyrant (discussed here), when I was at WSOU, that I actually became a fan. If you look at the span of the band’s catalog over the last 30-plus years, laden as it is with collections, special editions, live records and such, it’s arguably the first of several landmarks they’ve offered.
It’s not the fairest of questions in the first place since the band’s records vary so much depending on what they’re going for sound-wise, their bluesier period sparked by Blast Tyrant that led into the quick turnaround of 2005’s Robot Hive/Exodus (reissue review here), or 2013’s charged realignment in Earth Rocker (review here) — it’s not a discography short on highlights, and whether or not it’s a favorite for a given listener, over the better part of the last 30 years — an anniversary that the band will likely mark in some way touring (possibly also for a new album) in 2025, even if they don’t own the rights to actually reissue it; I don’t know how much obtaining such a thing would cost, but it has to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars; Kickstarter preorders, anyone? — both the record itself and the songs featured on it have stood any test of time and trend one might want to apply. After a certain point, the “best” just becomes a thing to debate on the internet. Clutch are in a league of their own. This record helped them get there.
Clutch are on tour with Fu Manchu supporting as of last night, playing Blast Tyrant in its entirety, so of course something like that is possible for the self-titled as well. Whatever comes or doesn’t in that regard, the band will surely keep moving forward as the buzz around new material in progress has already begun and they’ll reportedly look to record sometime next year. In the interim, and as always, I hope you enjoy revisiting this one.
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That tour — Clutch and the Fu — started last night in Brooklyn. After running Clutch songs through my brain all week, I decided to see when they were coming around yesterday and I found Fu Manchu on social media being like “We go on in New York in like an hour!” Okay then. I couldn’t have gone anyway as The Patient Mrs. is at a conference last night, today/tonight and early tomorrow and I was on kid duty — don’t worry, I’ll get my time next week at Desertfest NYC — but I did have a chuckle at the timing. I’d have bought a Fu Manchu CD, and a Clutch t-shirt is always something good to have in the house, even if the band’s fanbase can be a lot to take at shows sometimes. At least in Jersey. I don’t know how it unfolds in Brooklyn. Either way, I missed the party boat.
School started this week, on Tuesday. After I got home from dropoff a bit ago — made myself a leftover-chicken-meatloaf sandwich on chaffles in the air fryer; not slumming it on breakfast — I sprayed the bees again (hang on I’ll get there) and settled in thinking how well the first two weeks of school have gone for The Pecan, only to remember that it actually hasn’t even been one full week yet. I’m just relieved she’s (apparently) not hitting anybody, happy to not be getting the call to come pick her up or whatever that started coming in last year. She was pretty ambivalent about starting school again, but I have yet to argue with her on actually going into the building. You take your wins where you can get them.
And on that note, I’ll mention as well that we’ve been getting along decently well. Part of that is an active rethinking on her behavior — she’s not defiant, she’s sensory-seeking, anxious and often overwhelmed and arguing allows her to feel some aspect of control in her life. I won’t say I never yell at her, but it’s been a while since I’ve actually felt like I needed to raise my voice to do anything more than get her attention while she’s hyperfocused on whatever video she’s watching in the evening. On a certain level, she’s always going to be argumentative. If this becomes self-advocacy skill, it will be a strength. If she’s just a prick, well, at least she’ll have come by it honestly from my end of things. Like the card that The Patient Mrs. gave me for Father’s Day reads from the fridge: “We did this to ourselves.”
But about the bees, because yes, there are bees. There have been since we got back from Budapest, now almost a month ago. They were living in the casing of a 50-year-old air conditioner embedded into the wall of our dining room/back bar — we call it the Big Room because, well, it’s biggest room in the house — that, until it was turned on to cool off, still worked. The motor on the fan blew I guess after bumping into the hive of yellowjackets, and that was that. The Patient Mrs. and I both sprayed vigorously, but ultimately couldn’t kill the hive. I know bees are pollinators and there’s an environmental crisis, but I’m sorry, I just can’t live with either the busted A/C or bees coming out of it into my house — if that makes me a bad person, and it might, so be it — so the large, bulky and heavy unit had to come out of the wall. The Patient Mrs. and I did that earlier this week — first day of school, Tuesday, I think it was — and sprayed again.
And again, and again. Raid hasn’t done much to acquit itself, but I keep buying more so I guess they’re doing something right. I sprayed a whole can yesterday and picked up four more this morning. Two are gone already and the bees continue to look for a new nesting spot in front of the house. When we took the A/C out of the wall, we put it on the patio, so I guess they’re like “WTF happened to our house bro?” and trying to set up somewhere else. But the town came this morning and picked up the thing itself with its big grabbing-arm-truck and so they’re just basically poking around in the loose stones of our front steps and the cracks in the foundation from the last however many decades. I’ll spray again in the afternoon/evening and see where we’re at. It might require professional intervention, which of course is money I’d rather not spend. Not the least with the Zelda Lego Deku Tree set coming out.
Will be interesting to see which way it goes. I didn’t get to write as much this week as I’d hoped — I wanted to slip an Elephant Tree review in there too, since their anniversary collection is out today — but I’m happy with what I wrote, so fair enough. It’d never be enough anyway. Reviewing Thunderbird Divine, Curse the Son, Psychedelic Source, Delving and Howling Giant (coffee) is actually pretty solid for a week, and it’s nice to do things separate from the ‘event’ of a premiere. Feels oldschool as regards my Obelisk processes. Next week I’ve got Slomosa, Elephant Tree, and Tranquonauts slated, plus a Spirit Mother premiere for Thursday and then Friday begins coverage of the aforementioned Desertfest New York. We’ll see if I can get through it all. Would be nice.
I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Hydrate, watch your head, all that stuff. I’ve been wondering if I should try to get a Fall/Winter merch drop going, so if you have any opinion on that, be it “nah I’m good” or “yeah I could use a hoodie,” please let me know in the comments. Otherwise, back Monday, and thanks again for reading.
It’s good to be here. I rode in with BesvĂ€rjelsen, as my late flight ended up coinciding with their also landing at Frankfurt. It was nice to meet them. Did a bit of stretching in the parking lot of their hotel and a couple of them joined in. Warrior one, two, stretching the back. Maybe next year I’ll convince Jens, who runs Freak Valley, to let me host doom-yoga. Not gonna count on it.
Stopped off at the hotel to take a shower that I knew I needed but didn’t realize how much until the water hit me. Flight was oof. Not much sleep, delayed takeoff, shake-shake-wobble-wobble turbulence, the whole bit. I decided before we were actually over the ocean that if the plane went down I was tired enough that I’d be at least conceptually alright with it. Started watching the third Hobbit movie at one point. Watched them kill the dragon and left it at that. At the hotel, showered, changed clothes, brushed teeth, drank some water, headed back out.
It was supposed to rain today, still might I guess, but there’s an awful lot of blue sky and sunshine for that. I’m under a tent by the side of the stage anyhow, so whatever, but it wasn’t my plan to be in this spot all night. The cigarette smell would get me after a while, but, outdoors, so that’s it for that. The crowd once again is a dope mix. Oldschool heads, newschool heads, kids, a whole mess of volunteers. First band is on soon and the vibe is already on standby waiting for them to start.
And now I’m reading that Pat Robertson died. Well, this is a special occasion. Shall we make a day of it?
Sorry in advance for the typos:
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Tuskar
Heavy start to the proceedings with UK duo Tuskar, who were not at all held back in terms of heft for not having another two or three dudes in the band. Some shades of Black Cobra in the faster parts as there almost inevitably would be, but they weren’t shy about the sludgier aspects of their sound either, and thus they were able to change up when they needed to, sounding all the more explosive coming out of a midtempo groove locked into a High on Fireish thrashy shove. But thick in tone they were and intermittently aggressive, more so than anyone else playing today, despite the proggy/post-metal explorations happening in the material and the Conan-born barking vocals. If you’re not Om, atmosphere can be hard to come by as a duo, but they laid it on with ferocity, and while some were no doubt surprised at what took place after they dug in, the early crowd showed up. The band said from the stage they didn’t have merch because of Brexit, told people to go online. I popped half a Xanax while I was at the hotel. The nod is doing better by my head right now than the intense parts, but put them together as they are and it’s killer all the way. Would be devastating at The Black Heart.
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Astroqueen
It started to rain a couple songs into their set, slow at first then picking up. It was supposed to, but it was still a bit of a surprise when it actually happened. Surrounding sky was still at least partially blue — and I wouldn’t call it smoke-free, necessarily, but at least it’s not Canadian wildfires like at home — and Astroqueen were classic-heavy-rockin’ hard enough that I’m not sure they ever noticed. I saw them in December, but their reunion is still pretty fresh. There was some issue with the kick drum and then that was sorted and riffs were had. I’m pretty sure they called 2001’s Into Submission “their last album,” which is hilarious. Most of the crowd just stayed in the rain, but I headed for shelter in tone to hear “Soulburner” riffed out like a direct forebear to Truckfighters, with “Superhuman God” following after, and I stayed until the cigarette smoke got abrasive. For what it’s worth, there was an actual toddler in the tent, and he seemed fine. I’m ready to bet on another Astroqueen record though. You heard it here, probably not actually first.
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BesvÀrjelsen
There are arguments to be made for each of the acts playing today, but for me personally, BesvĂ€rjelsen were the one I was most looking forward to seeing. They’re a band with some pretty stark differences in personality — and here I’ll note that Johan Rockner, who generally handles bass, was absent and they had a fill-in — but across the stage from guitarist Staffan Stensland Vinrot to guitarist Andreas Baier with drummer Erik BĂ€ckwall behind, they each seemed to bring something individual to the expression of the whole in a way that was unexpected but welcome. Eclectic, they were. The vocals of Lea Amling Alazam are a definite focal point and uniting factor, and around those, the band drew pieces of different styles under the heavy umbrella — Baier’s history in more extreme metal also makes more sense seeing him on stage — from doom and psych to heavy post-rock and so on, never quite only one thing at one time. They had a pit going out front for a minute or two there — three bands in, the people are ready to throw down, apparently — but went into “Clouds” from last year’s Atlas (review here) and so put the crowd exactly where they wanted them at least twice. Was psyched already to hear to what they did next in the studio. That is only more the case now, and I feel like I have a better sense of who they are as a group as well. Total win. And they were also awesome, and finished with the massive riff of “I skuggan av ditt mörker” from 2018’s Vallmo (review here), so, bonus.
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Komodor
They were putting on a show in a way no one else here yet has been, stage costumes, ’70s strut and all, but nothing about France’s Komodor seemed phony or cheeky in an ironic sense â definitely otherwise cheeky â and they had and used three guitarists on stage, at least one of whom played her last year with Djinn? Might’ve been someone else. In any case, they ripped it up and were energetic, catchy, young, well-mustachioed, and able to pivot in terms of their arrangements with two guitarists, their drummer and their bassist also handling vocals. They drew a good crowd though, and held most of it for the duration. I kind of like it that the conventional wisdom is vintage-style rock is “done.” Makes me want to make buttons that say “Boogie Lives” or some such nonsense. I’ll confess that as they played I started to feel the length of the day, which really began when I went to the airport yesterday, never mind landing this morning, but there was fun to be had and I had it watching Komodor. Hey man, I love boogie, and I hear it’s making a comeback!
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El Perro
For a dude who spends as much of his day thinking and talking about riffs as I do, I’m not actually a huge guitar guy. I never learned to play, don’t know gear or theory or scales. But I know damn well that I could watch Parker Griggs play guitar for an entire evening and go to bed afterward feeling like night was well spent. This is a new lineup of El Perro, Griggs, Dorian from Blues Pills, Mucho Drums on⊠wait for it⊠Drums. Percussionist and bassist also seemingly picked out for the purpose of this tour and maybe more. The band that put out Hair of El Perro last year blew up, so here’s a new one, and the curated sensibility is palpable. It’s Griggs’ band and he’s pretty clearly chosen specifically people he wants to play with. Radio Moscow might also have been that, but the dynamic is different here, as well as the music, emphasis on funk over blues filtered through heavy rhythms bolstered by percussion. Demon Fuzz, anyone? You ever hear that Mandrill record? Doesn’t matter. Chaos is part of it, always with Griggs. Shit might blow up, amps or otherwise, but the guy has a genuine vision of the music he wants to make and he’s a virtuoso on guitar. It had been a long time. It was a pleasure to see him play again, and I’m glad the wah didn’t catch fire.
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Total side note: there are two dudes here in robes. Like, bathrobes. Two! Maybe even three! And at least one of them has a backpatch! They’ve got clothes on underneath, otherwise security might have something to say about it, but when was the last time you went anywhere, let alone a show, and found at least two guys Lebowskiing it up? And they’re not even here together, so far as I can tell. This is a pretty special fest.
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Urlaub in Polen
Whatever else they may be, Urlaub in Polen is the reason I know that “urlaub” is the German word for vacation. The long-running krautrock duo, who are actually from Germany, they apparently just vacation in Poland, were about as stark a left turn from El Perro as one might make and still be at the same festival, synth and organ and guitar and drums sounding like a much fuller band. Thinking back to how this day started, Tuskar used the duo configuration to emphasize rawness. Urlaub in Polen — the day’s only other two-piece — were on a different trip. Repetitive rhythms, explorations of melody and heavy impact, quirk galore and groove to match. I’ll admit that my prior experience with the band is limited to having checked them out before coming here, but they’re heavier live than anything I managed to stream, and people were still dancing. Not moshing. Actual dance, to a kind of mostly-organic techno rock. It was cool and a reminder that sometimes Freak Valley throws in a shift in vibe and it works of course because it just does. Cool shit. And I swear it’s not a slight against them that I’m falling asleep sitting up. I’m just very, very tired.
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Clutch
Ripper of a start to the set with “Impetus” into “Subtle Hustle,” “Earth Rocker” — hard to believe that record came out a decade ago — and “Firebirds” back to back to back to back. Then the new stuff, “Sunrise on Slaughter Beach,” “We Strive for Excellence.” Not arguing. They didn’t even let the intro song about money that they always play finish before they hit it, and that’s probably fair enough because it was already pushing past their 11:35 start. “Burning Beard.” Fast. “The Regulator.” Groove. I was standing in back by then and kind of teared up feeling grateful for being here. I am so incredibly fortunate. “Ghoul Wrangler.” No, it’s not my first time around the block with Clutch. But to be here, in this place, with these people. As beat tired as I’ve been all day, this has been an incredible start that I expect will be momentum leading into tomorrow and Saturday. Not everyone gets to do what I do. I’m not trying to take over this post and talk about feelings or some shit — we’re here for riffs, damnit! — but I am lucky to be here right now, tonight. “Boss Metal Zone.” It went on like that, Clutch tearing it up, me feeling feelings; a coda on the evening. Maybe it never stops. Maybe that’s the story. Maybe some part of me lives here. “Nosferatu Madre.” Extra groove. I wonder if they’ll put this set out. “D.C. Sound Attack.” I was in the room when Neil Fallon laid down the vocals on this hook. “The Mob Goes Wild.” Indeed. “Electric Worry,” “Noble Savage,” “The Face,” fucking “Spacegrass.” Best set ever.
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Thanks for reading. More tomorrow, and more pics after the jump.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Using context clues like the fact that they’ve been announced for Freak Valley Festival this June in Germany, I’ll say it seems reasonable to expect Clutch will follow this announcement sometime in the not too distant future (perhaps even next Sunday, AD) with a round of European touring probably starting a couple weeks later. In the meantime, like the everlasting gobstoppers of groove that they are, the four-piece will begin this run on April 11 in Norfolk, Virginia, and wrap it a month and a week later in my own beloved Garden State.
They go, of course, supporting last year’s righteous-and-consistent-in-its-righteousness Sunrise of Slaughter Beach (review here), and they’ll bring along Amigo the Devil and Nate Bergman to open. They’re calling it the ‘No Stars Above Tour,’ which comes from the lyrics of the album track “Nosferatu Madre,” and as always with these dudes, the shows promise to be a good time, as they have proven over and again to be one of heavy rock’s finest live acts, all time.
Tickets are on sale this Friday, earlier if you’re on their email list, which I am. You might say it’s how I know about the tour.
To wit:
CLUTCH ANNOUNCES: 2023 âNO STARS ABOVEâ NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
Supporting Acts: Amigo the Devil & Nate Bergman
Hi Gearheads! With the code below, you can purchase tickets today before they go on sale to the general public. We are excited to hit the road again. We hope to see yâall out there. Thanks for supporting the music! – Jean-Paul
4/11/23 â Norfolk, VA â Norva 4/13/23 â Lancaster, PS â Freedom Hall 4/14/23 â Portland, ME â State Theatre 4/15/23 â Montreal, QB â MTELUS BREWTAL Festival 4/16/23 â Niagara Falls, NY â The Rapids Theatre 4/18/23 â Memphis, TN â Minglewood Hall 4/19/23 â Fort Smith, AR â Temple Live 4/21/23 â Cincinnatti, OH â Andrew J. Brady ICON Music Center 4/22/23 â Milwaukee, WI â The Rave 4/24/23 â Winnipeg, MB â Burton Cummings Theatre 4/25/23 â Saskatoon, SK â Coors Event Centre 4/26/23 â Edmonton, AB â Union Hall 4/27/23 â Calgary, AB â MacEwan Hall 4/29/23 â Vancouver, BC â Commodore Ballroom 4/30/23 â Spokane, WA â Knitting Factory 5/01/23 â Bend, OR â Midtown Ballroom 5/02/23 â Chico, CA â Senator Theatre 5/04/23 â San Francisco, CA â The Regency Ballroom 5/05/23 â Stateline, NV â Harrahâs Lake Tahoe South Shore Room 5/06/23 â Anaheim, CA â House of Blues 5/07/23 â Flagstaff, AZ â Orpheum Theater 5/09/23 â Albuquerque, NM â El Rey Theater 5/11/23 â Omaha, NE â The Admiral 5/12/23 â Chesterfield, MO â The Factory at the District 5/13/23 â Grand Rapids, MI â GLC Live at 20 Munroe 5/14/23 â Cleveland, OH â Jacobs Pavillion 5/16/22 â Hartford, CT â The Webster 5/17/23 â Huntington, NY â The Paramount 5/18/23 â Sayreville, NJ â Starland Ballroom
More dates here: https://linktr.ee/clutchofficial
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
2022’s last announcement for next year’s Freak Valley brings word that Clutch will play the venerable German festival for the first time. That’s a pretty good get, honestly. True, the world is not short on opportunities to see Clutch, who’ve been on tour for at least the better part of last 20 years, more or less constantly, if with one notable plague-born disruption. But I have to think that those same goers who the other day made tickets for Freak Valley 2023 sell out in a matter of hours after first being made available will be able to appreciate the context and the difference of having this band in this place.
Having experienced Freak Valley for myself for the first time last year, seeing usually-on-tour acts like Red Fang and High on Fire, among others, and accordingly I’m more than happy to proselytize in favor of it being a special circumstance to see somebody play even if you’ve seen them before. Clutch are currently on tour in Europe with support from London’s Green Lung — who played FVF last year and just signed to Nuclear Blast — and with the wind and the September release of Sunrise on Slaughter Beach (review here) at their backs, they’ll probably even manage to squeeze another tour or two in before next June gets here. Because that’s how they do.
To answer the question you didn’t ask, yes, I wrote the below announcement. In this very WordPress editor, in fact. Mere moments ago. Nonetheless, here it is in blue on behalf of the festival, for whom I remain humbled to periodically do these things.
Groove:
FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2023 – Clutch!
Hello Freaks!
We wish you the very best and have one more announcement to make your holidays even happier!
At long last, CLUTCH will come to Freak Valley Festival!
We don’t usually do single-band announcements, but this is one we’ve been trying to make happen for years and we’re so glad it can finally happen for our 10th anniversary edition!
For over 30 years, Clutch have been the undisputed kings of Maryland groove, with a sound that encompasses funk, blues, punk, classic heavy rock and more. They’ve toured the world over countless times, and yeah, maybe you’ve seen them before, but you’ve never seen them HERE, and we only hope their arrival at Freak Valley is as special for you as it is for us, because we can’t wait! Clutch on our stage!
From the seemingly endless well of riffs that is guitarist Tim Sult and the reference-laced madman storytelling of vocalist Neil Fallon to the come-on-in welcoming basslines of Dan Maines and Jean-Paul Gaster’s unparalleled swing, Clutch are an institution unto themselves. Already out supporting their latest album, ‘Sunrise on Slaughter Beach,’ the four-piece are an unmistakable presence on stage and off, and we already know it’s going to be a party to remember and a piece of Freak Valley Festival history we’ll be talking about for years to come.
More announcements soon!
FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2023 IS SOLD OUT.
Thank all of you so much for your support, this year and every year.
Freak Valley Festival // No Fillers – Just Killers June 8-10, 2023
Posted in Reviews on October 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It’s tempting to try to read more into Sunrise on Slaughter Beach, which is the first Clutch full-length of the ‘post-pandemic’ era. It’s also tempting to not. It’s been a long and eventful four years since the mostly-Maryland-based four-piece issued Book of Bad Decisions (review here), and they’ve reportedly said the idea behind the new record, aside from apparently honoring the horseshoe crabs that wash onto the shore in Delaware each year, was to keep it light in terms of lyrical themes. So, “Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” starts with a sample from Blade Runner‘s Voight-Kampff test. The semi-title-track “Slaughter Beach” talks about “blue bloods” and naked moonlight shucking.
Even “Mountain of Bone,” which would seem to acknowledge through metaphor the loss of life and livelihood wrought by Covid-19 between 2020-2021, doesn’t push so far as to name names. Am I crazy in thinking an Anthony Fauci namedrop would happen at some point? Would you ever expect there to be an attempted insurrection on American soil and Clutch wouldn’t write a song about it?
Issued through their own Weathermaker Music, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach finds the band — vocalist/sometimes-guitarist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean Paul Gaster; all essential personnel — playing largely to their strengths in groove and storytelling, actively choosing to step back from lyrically commenting on the news of the day, taking few chances in sound and style apart from a bit of theremin from J. Robbins on side B’s “Skeletons on Mars” and backing vocals on the “Mountain of Bone” and “Mercy Brown” from Frenchie Davis and Deborah Bond.
The production job from Tom Dalgety (Ghost, Opeth, Turbowolf) conveys the stage-honed vitality the band brings to the material; the songs feel written to be delivered live, which has been the case over at least the last two decades of Clutch‘s catalog, now 13 full-lengths strong, despite some flourish of guitar layering in the chorus of “Mountain of Bone” and organ sounds on “Mercy Brown” and the likewise brooding-blues closer “Jackhammer Our Names.” Arrangement details like this aren’t necessarily new, though, and as most of Sunrise on Slaughter Beach happens at a comfortable-sounding mid-tempo push, each side opening fast with “Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone)” and “We Strive for Excellence” launching A and B, respectively, and closing with more subdued fare, the prevailing spirit of the record feels safe. It’s a safe album.
And that’s fine, since “safety” for Clutch invariably means operating at a level of craft and performance most bands could only dream of. I say that as a fan of the band, but the fact remains, despite a generation of heavy rock dudes growing beards and trying to emulate both the signature we’ll-just-put-funk-and-noise-rock-together-and-see-what-happens riffing, ever-locked-in instrumental chemistry and literary quirk of their lyrics, Clutch stand alone. Sunrise on Slaughter Beach offers hooks in bulk across songs that feel purposefully lean, giving hints of where the jams might go live without ever losing sight of the structures from which they might depart, as in “Nosferatu Madre,” where cleverness wins the day as they turn back to the chorus to finish in just under three and a half minutes, ready to be packed into a nightly setlist typed in all-caps, photo taken and posted on social media. Like you do.
Worth noting that Sunrise on Slaughter Beach is the shortest Clutch album of the 13 they’ve done — Book of Bad Decisions was 15 songs/56 minutes, and it would not be the first time they approached a record in direct response to the one before it — and among the tightest, even as it moves through the reaches of side B in “Skeletons on Mars” and “Three Golden Horns,” the latter distinguished by Fallon‘s intoning that “jazz music corrupts our youth,” there isn’t really enough time for something to come across as filler or not be memorable at least in a “oh yeah this one” kind of way.
No doubt there’s some amount of security in the band writing songs like “Skeletons on Mars” or even “Slaughter Beach,” big choruses and steady verses using familiar elements and time-tested methods. As the first verse of “Mountain of Bone” describes, the risk would be in stopping: “To climb the mountain is no easy task/But it’s so much harder coming down/All the torches of the party have all gone dark/Hungry mouths surround.” There are lives and livelihoods at stake. And one wonders if perhaps some of Clutch‘s stepping back from social critique in lyrics isn’t, consciously or not, driven by a desire not to alienate their audience, largely white and male and thus more demographically likely to be on board with the electric slide into fascism that’s been taking place over the last few (really 40, but golly it’s ramped up) years.
I go back to the naming of names. Why does Condoleeza Rice get mentioned in “Mob Goes Wild” from 2004’s Blast Tyrant (discussed here; reissue review here), or Dick Cheney in “Mr. Shiny Cadillackness” from 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion (reissue review here), and nothing here for right-wing stooges like Mike Pence or that guy selling pillows? That guy in the viking hat. The politicization of vaccines. As grim as the times have been, there’s absurdity to coincide, and in putting blinders on to that, Sunrise on Slaughter Beach feels a bit like it’s missing the moment.
There’s a bit of daredevil casting in “We Strive for Excellence” with the lines, “We deliver where Knievel failed/What’s a little bit of tetanus/Pledge allegiance to the denim flag/And strive for excellence,” and there’s no debating that when it comes to going, Clutch have gone, are going, will go, but as with 2009’s Strange Cousins From the West (discussed here; also discussed here), which was the first studio offering through their own label, the real danger is meta. The risk they’re taking is in touring, in engaging their audience again and maybe they’re right to be tentative in doing that. Again, it’s been an eventful four years and for what exactly do Clutch need death threats?
Ultimately, there’s nothing on Sunrise on Slaughter Beach for Clutch fans — once more, I count myself in that number — to complain about. The songwriting is unmistakable and accessible for listeners new or old, and their collective personality — of which Fallon is a defining outward presence, but to which Gaster, Maines and Sult all significantly contribute — is as convincing an argument as ever to show up to the gig when they hit your town. 31 years after their founding, the prevailing sentiment is to be happy they’re still going at all, and maybe for right now, survival and the relief born thereof can own the day. And if one Clutch album is a setup for the to-be-contrary intentions of the subsequent, they might just be ready to riot next time.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
At the risk of actual honesty, I’ll tell you that my anticipation for the new Clutch album, the title of which was revealed last week as Sunrise on Slaughter Beach, is not unalloyed. I don’t get the band’s press releases anymore if they’re being sent out, and that one stings. Clutch are a heavy rock institution, and they by no means need press from me, but after being in touch with the band and covering them for the better part of 20 years, to think this is the first record since Pure Rock Fury that I’m on the outs in terms of coverage is kind of a bummer. The music industry, such as it is, offers perennial opportunities to be humbled. If you think this sounds like privileged whining, fine, I don’t care. Nobody’s out here asking for a signed 2LP or whatever, I just feel like a rube chasing down the PR.
Still, as noted, I am very much looking forward to the Sept. 16 arrival of Sunrise on Slaughter Beach — got my preorder in for the CD and whenever they do whatever special edition they hopefully will I’ll get that too — and the singles they have out so far are choice. Expect more place-names to be dropped and ultra-groove to come, and rejoice, there’s new Clutch on the way. And of course they’ll be hand-delivering it to their waiting fanbase on tour, as is their wont.
Art (which is fantastic), info, dates and videos follow. The band are in Europe now for fests and more, as you can see:
PRE-ORDER NOW! Sunrise On Slaughter Beach Available World Wide on Sep 16. Pre-Order Now at ClutchMerch.com
Produced by @tomdalgety Art by @jaredmuralt
Sunrise On Slaughter Beach, the bandâs thirteenth studio album – a slamming summary of everything that makes the band great and another giant leap forward into career longevity.
Track Listing:
1. Red Alert (Boss Metal Zone) 2. Slaughter Beach 3. Mountain Of Bone 4. Nosferatu Madre 5. Mercy Brown 6. We Strive For Excellence 7. Skeletons On Mars 8. Three Golden Horns 9. Jackhammer Our Names
UK/Europe: Jul 23 – Nordfjordeid, NOR – Malakoff Festival – Fly Jul 26 – Belfast, N.IRL. – Limelight – SOLD OUT – Bus pickup Manchester UK Jul 27 – Dublin, IRL- Academy – SOLD OUT – Bus Jul 30 – Gijon, SPA – Tsunami Fest Xixon – Fly Aug 1 – Porto, PRT – Hard Club – Van Aug 2 – Lisboa, PRT – Cineteatro CapitĂłlio – Van Aug 4 – Kostrzyn nad Odra, POL – POLâANDâROCK, CZAPLINEK – Bus rest of tour Aug 5 – Wacken, GER – Wacken Open Air Festival Aug 6 – Leipzig, GER – Re Generation Fest. Aug 7 – Erlangen, GER – E-Werk Aug 9 – Jeromer, CZE – Brutal Assault Festival Aug 11 – Eschwege, GER – Open Flair Festival Aug 12 – Le Locle, CHE – Rock Altitude Festival Aug 13 – Puttlingen (SaarbrĂŒcken), GER – Rocco del Schlacko Aug 14 – Rottenburg o.d Tauber, GER – Taubertal Festival Aug 15 – Budapest, HUN – Sziget Festival Aug 18 – Saint Nolff, FRA – Motocultor Festival Aug 19 – Charleville-Mezieres, FRA – Cabaret Vert Festival Aug 20 – Hasselt, BEL – Pukkelpop Festival Aug 21 – Luxemburg, LUX – Den Atelier Aug 23 – Copenhagen, DNK – Store Vega Aug 24 – Oslo, NOR – Sentrum Scene – SOLD OUT Aug 25 – Goteborg, SWE – Liseberg Festival (Headliner) Aug 26 – Stockholm, SWE – Grona Lund Festival (Headliner) Aug 27 – Malmo, SWE – KB
Clutch w/ Helmet, Quicksand & JD Pinkus Sep 13 Toronto, ON @ Rebel Sep 15 Boston, MA @ House of Blues Sep 16 New York, NY @ Palladium Times Square Sep 17 Baltimore, MD @ Hammerjacks Sep 18 Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz Sep 20 Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Sep 21 Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall Sep 23 Louisville, KY @ Louder than Life* Sep 24 Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works Sep 25 Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern Sep 27 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues Sep 29 Houston TX @ Warehouse Live Sep 30 Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum Oct 01 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom Oct 02 Austin, TX @ Emo’s Oct 04 Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren Oct 05 Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Oct 07 Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock* Oct 08 Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House Oct 09 Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre Oct 10 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO Oct 12 Salt Lake City, UT @ the Depot Oct 13 Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium Oct 14 Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater Oct 15 West Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom Oct 16 Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall *Clutch only
More dates here: https://linktr.ee/clutchofficial
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
