Posted in audiObelisk on June 22nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
If the guys from Morton Gaster Papadopoulos aren’t careful, they’re going to end up being an actual band. You might recall last summer a jam was premiered here by the project featuring Yanni Papadopoulos of Stinking Lizaveta, Jean-Paul Gaster of Clutch and Mark Morton from Lamb of God, and the trio are back with what might legitimately be called a single in the form of “The Burnt Offerings.” The new track brings them into more structured songcraft, and they sure sound like a band. With Naeemah Maddox on vocals and Chris Brooks on keys, “The Burnt Offerings” wants nothing for arrangement or intensity, and while noting that something “speaks to the moment” has actually become one of the moment’s most brutal cliches, Maddox‘s voice as a woman of color resonates in the early verses. It is a voice that needs to be heard, especially in an underground so predominantly, exhaustingly white and male.
“The Burnt Offerings” runs just under six minutes and right about at its midpoint there’s a break. By that point, Maddox has locked step with a building rhythmic intensity, and from there, Brooks‘ keys take a prominent position alongside a solo from Morton, with clean lines from Papadopoulos and Gaster supporting. The vocals return soon, and the effect is progressive and sweeping, almost psych-Beatles-style melodymaking, but the protest-song spirit continues in the repeated lines, “Let me tell you something/I think you oughtta know.” The group — and for the purposes here, it feels very much like a five-piece rather than the trio plus two guests — ride that movement out to a last crash and some final keys, but the only thing that seems to stop it is them. I’d easily take another 10-15 minutes of that jam with Maddox improv’ing lines overtop. That’d be just fine.
Alas, not this time. Maddox and Papadopoulos were both kind enough to offer a few words about the making of “The Burnt Offerings” — which was recorded by the esteemed J. Robbins (Clutch, Caustic Casanova, and so on) — below, and graciously gave permission for me to host the single as both a premiere and a free download. I hope you’ll take the time to enjoy it and join me in waiting for whatever the project might come up with next.
Dig:
Naeemah Maddox on “The Burnt Offerings”:
In the current social climate it is no longer sufficient to be non-racist. One must be anti-racist. This moment demands true accountability, and real change.
Transnational corporations stating their support for BLM should only be taken as sincere if they also advocate and lobby for social reforms like a living wage, universal healthcare, and defunding and demilitarising the police; using these new freed up resources to reinvest in vulnerable communities that need it most.
The time has long passed for petty sloganeering and cynical tokenism. Being against police brutality in 2020 shouldn’t even be a political issue. This is a failure of our society and goes beyond political persuasion. This is about human rights and creating a world our children would want to live in.
Yanni Papadopoulos on “The Burnt Offerings”:
This were my riffs that I brought to the table when jamming with Mark and JP. Those guys took the parts and rearranged them in a less linear order and Mark added his own fills in the spaces. Of course Naeemah wrote her own parts to the arrangement with lyrics, vox and flute. Chris Brooks filled in the keys. However, it all started with a bassline which I thought JP could really sink his teeth into. J. Robbins was great to work with, he knew just how to make sense of it all. What your hearing is virtually a live in the studio track. Mark’s solo was cut live with bass and drums with no edits. First take magic!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 23rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Clearly, Clutch have found a kindred soul in video director David Brodsky. I don’t know how many clips the two parties have worked on together at this point, but the latest, for the Weathermaker Vault Series redux of if-a-single-could-have-a-cult-following-this-one-does “Willie Nelson” — which also brings the band back together with producer/engineer J. Robbins; a sort of homecoming bound to be welcomed to longtime fans and which indeed works well in the track — is perhaps the best of them. Neil Fallon shaves his beard, hell breaks loose. It’s genius.
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dan Maines in a more fitting scenario than playing bass in a wingback chair. Dude looks like he was born to be there. I’m 100 percent serious. He should bring one on stage.
My prior favorite version of “Willie Nelson” was on the 2004 High Volume compilation from High Times Magazine, but I’m digging the harmonies here pretty hard. Might have a contender.
But either way, yeah, watch the video. Right now:
CLUTCH RELEASE BRAND NEW STUDIO RECORDING OF “WILLIE NELSON” AS PART OF THE “WEATHERMAKER VAULT SERIES”
Clutch announce the release of the new studio recording of the track “Willie Nelson.” The single is the sixth in a series of new studio recordings that comprise the Weathermaker Vault Series.
“Willie Nelson is a song we wrote close to 20 years ago,” says Neil Fallon. “It started making appearances in our sets recently, so we figured now was a good time to re-record it. This time around Shawna Potter (War On Women) added back up vocals and is in the video as well. And for what it’s worth, ‘Red Headed Stranger’ gets regular play on our tour bus.” The single was recently re-recorded and remixed by J. Robbins (Jawbox, Jawbreaker, The Sword, Against Me!), and the track comes in at 3:21. “Willie Nelson” was originally released in 2003 on Clutch’s album Slow Hole To China: Rare and Unreleased “Willie Nelson.”
Director: David Brodsky for MyGoodEye (www.facebook.com/mygoodeye) Producer: Allison Woest Editor: David Brodsky and Allison Woest Cameras: David Brodsky and Allison Woest Lighting Design: Adam Pernick Grip: Eddie Collins Personal Assistant to Lead Canine (Hades): Amber Hoffman
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 3rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Look, I’m not even going to pretend to flatter myself here in thinking either I or this site would ever be on this band’s radar whatsoever. Clutch might’ve known who I was when I worked in print media due to the fact that basically I stalked them and their poor publicist, but I cut a different profile these days — literally and figuratively — so yeah. It’s a cute coincidence.
The reference Clutch are obviously making in titling their 12-album/18LP box set The Obelisk comes from their 1995 self-titled second album, the line from the song “Escape from the Prison Planet” that goes, “Rebuild the remnants of the obelisk, one mile from the pyramids” (which actually isn’t where I got the name of this site from, but again, that’s not relevant and neither am I; see above). And certainly that’s what they’re doing here. They’re rebuilding the remnants. Putting 12 albums in the same place definitely counts. I guess that’s everything they’ve done through Weathermaker at any point — I’m not sure as to what is actually going to be in this thing, whether it’s all their studio albums, or some of those minus the major-label stuff that Weathermaker never reissued, but with live recordings, or maybe something new like a comp of the Weathermaker Singles Series or what. I have no idea. None. Don’t ask.
All I know is it’s out April 18 for Record Store Day 2020 as part of an ongoing tradition Clutch have, and that someone sent me the link to a preorder page through Season of Mist in Europe. Apparently Europe is getting 200 of them. No clue as to how many North America might end up with, but I wouldn’t think it’ll be nearly enough.
Clutch US dates for April and May — they’ll also be in South America in April — and they’re in Australia this month and UK/Europe later in the summer. You know how they do. I reformatted everything listed on their site, so here’s that, along with the info for The Obelisk, which I cut and pasted right off the Season of Mist page.
Here it is [UPDATE MARCH 6: New details came down the PR wire. I’ve included them here in place of the info from the preorder page]:
Clutch – The Obelisk
“The Obelisk” is a box set that is comprised of all of Clutch’s Weathermaker Music vinyl releases. There are six double LP’s, three 12″ LPs, and three 12″ picture discs all together in a beautifully designed box set. In addition, the box contains a turntable mat and a square, artist signed lithograph. The rigid box has a magnetic closure and the silver foil is stamped on black Sierra cloth. This is a unique collector’s item and only 1,000 boxes were made for worldwide sales.
The individual 12” vinyl releases are Full Fathom Five (2xLP), Live At The Googolplex (Picture Disc), Jam Room (Picture Disc). Pitchfork & Lost Needles (Picture Disc), La Curandera, Strange Cousins From The West (2xLP),Blast Tyrant (2xLP), Robot Hive/Exodus (2xLP), From Beale Street To Oblivion (2xLP) Earth Rocker, Psychic Warfare, and Book Of bad Decisions (2xLP).
Clutch Live 2020: Fri, MAR 20 Download Festival 2020 Melbourne Ascot Vale, Australia Sat, MAR 21 Download Festival 2020 Sydney Sydney, Australia Sat, APR 4 Big Surf Tempe, AZ Sun, APR 5 Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, NV Tue, APR 7 Mission Ballroom Denver, CO Wed, APR 8 Silverstein Eye Centers Arena Independence, MO Fri, APR 10 Irving Music Factory Irving, TX Sat, APR 11 Ford Park Entertainment Complex Beaumont, TX Mon, APR 13 Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN Tue, APR 14 Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum Knoxville, TN Wed, APR 15 Coca-Cola Roxy Atlanta, GA Thu, APR 16 Blind Tiger Greensboro, NC Sun, APR 26 Fabrique Club São Paulo, Brazil Tue, APR 28 UNICLUB Abasto, Argentina Thu, APR 30 Club Chocolate Recoleta, Chile Sat, MAY 2 Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Mexico, Mexico Tue, MAY 5 Covelli Centre Youngstown, OH Wed, MAY 6 Schottenstein Center Columbus, OH Thu, MAY 7 The Machine Shop Flint, MI Fri, MAY 8 The Machine Shop Flint, MI Sat, MAY 9 The Rave / Eagles Club Milwaukee, WI Sun, MAY 10 DeltaPlex Arena & Conference Center Grand Rapids, MI Tue, MAY 12 UMBC Event Center Baltimore, MD Wed, MAY 13 The Rooftop at Pier 17 New York City, NY Fri, JUL 17 Ramblin’ Man Fair Maidstone, United Kingdom Sat, JUL 18 Ramblin’ Man Fair Maidstone, United Kingdom Sun, JUL 19 Ramblin’ Man Fair Maidstone, United Kingdom Tue, JUL 21 Limelight Belfast, United Kingdom Wed, JUL 22 The Academy Dublin 1, Ireland Thu, JUL 23 O2 Academy Glasgow Glasgow, United Kingdom Mon, JUL 27 ARTmania Festival Sibiu, Romania Tue, JUL 28 MetalDays Tolmin, Slovenia Thu, JUL 30 Kostrzy?skie Centrum Kultury Kostrzyn Nad Odr?, Poland Sat, AUG 1 Gijon Gijón, Spain Mon, AUG 3 Hard Club Porto, Portugal Tue, AUG 4 CINETEATRO CAPITÓLIO Lisbon, Portugal Wed, AUG 5 Open Flair Festival Eschwege, Germany Thu, AUG 6 Rocco del Schlacko 2020 Püttlingen, Germany Thu, AUG 6 Eiswiese Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany Fri, AUG 7 Into The Grave Leeuwarden, Netherlands Sat, AUG 8 Rocco Del Schlakko Saarbrücken, Germany Sun, AUG 9 Taubertal Festival Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany Tue, AUG 11 Sziget Festival Budapest, Hungary Fri, AUG 14 Summer Breeze Open Air Dinkelsbühl, Germany Sun, AUG 16 Kulturbolaget Malmö, Sweden Tue, AUG 18 Gröna Lund Stockholm, Sweden Wed, AUG 19 Sentrum Scene Oslo, Norway Thu, AUG 20 Liseberg Göteborg, Sweden Tue, SEP 22 Pukkelpop Festival Hasselt, Belgium
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 10th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I’m of two minds on this one. Maybe three? First off, the new version of Clutch‘s ‘Spacegrass’ that they’ve recorded for their ongoing Weathermaker Vault Series — a CD comp whenever the series is done would be appreciated, guys — sounds great. Neil adds to the root melody and changes up the cadence, Tim adds swells of noise to the guitar that are awesome, and of course Dan and JP nail the groove as only they could. It’s a little faster, but they play it faster live, so I get it. So on the one hand, cool. On the other hand, isn’t this kind of sacred ground? Even more than when they redid “Electric Worry” last time out? And you’ll notice nobody’s calling this the “purest form” of “Spacegrass” like they were with that one. Because the purest form of “Spacegrass” is always going to be on the 1995 self-titled Clutch album. It’s a landmark — that record and this song on that record. Did it really need a revisit? They nailed it the first time.
On the third hand, who cares? They’re Clutch. They’ve proven time and again they can do whatever the hell they want and pull it off, and they basically do so again with “Spacegrass.” It’s a song about a car in space, not a statue of Buddha carved into a mountain. Maybe it’s not meant to be taken so ultra-seriously as all that. Let it be what it is.
I think that’s where I ultimately come down on it. Will the new “Spacegrass” replace the old? Nope. Is it trying to? Nope. Just Clutch doing a thing. So let them do the thing.
Here’s a rare Clutch press release without any included tour dates:
CLUTCH RELEASE BRAND NEW STUDIO RECORDING OF “SPACEGRASS” AS PART OF THE “WEATHERMAKER VAULT SERIES”
Clutch announce the release of the new studio recording of the track “Spacegrass.” The single is the fifth in a series of new studio recordings that comprise the Weathermaker Vault Series. “Spacegrass” was first released on Clutch’s self-titled album in 1995, and it stands as one of the key tracks in Clutch’s catalog of songs.
“The lyrics got their start originally from something Tim wrote, “ says Neil Fallon. “It involved a Dodge Swinger and Jesus. I added some words, and one of them was ‘AstroTurf,’ but that had one too many syllables. So I changed it to ‘Spacegrass’ – and the rest is history. “
Posted in Reviews on December 31st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Saw a high-speed chase between a sedan of some sort and a NJ State Trooper on my way to the show, and the guy actually got away, so it seemed fated that Clutch would play “Crucial Velocity.” Clutch are, of course, an institution. Clutch at Starland Ballroom, likewise, and that’s actually an institution that pre-dates the Sayreville venue itself, going back to the Birch Hill Night Club in Old Bridge. I suspect I wasn’t the only one thinking of those days last night as the Maryland groove overlords broke out “Passive Restraints” at the start of their set and followed up later with other nods to their pre-turn-of-the-century catalog in “A Shogun Named Marcus” from 1993’s debut album, Transnational Speedway League: Anthems, Anecdotes and Undeniable Truths, “Escape From the Prison Planet,” “Spacegrass” and “Texan Book of the Dead” from their landmark 1995 self-titled, and the title-track and “The Soapmakers” from 1998’s third LP, The Elephant Riders.
Spliced in among these and the aforementioned “Crucial Velocity,” from the more recent Earth Rocker (review here), were “The Wolfman Kindly Requests” and “Earth Rocker” from that same 2013 album — which I think it’s fair to say at this point defined their sound for this decade — and “X-Ray Visions,” “Firebirds,” “A Quick Death in Texas” from its 2015 follow-up, Psychic Warfare (review here), “Willie Nelson,” which appeared on 2003’s Slow Hole to China, “Burning Beard” from 2005’s Robot Hive/Exodus (reissue review here), the just-about-have-to-play-at-every-show “Electric Worry” from 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion (reissue review here). The older material was welcome, and the crowd, likewise older, was certainly able to keep up as drummer Jean-Paul Gaster, bassist “Crucial” Dan Maines (who doesn’t actually have that nickname, but nonetheless deserves it), guitarist Tim Sult and vocalist Neil Fallon bounced around their discography. But 2018’s Book of Bad Decisions (review here) was given some representation as well in “H.B. is in Control,” though perhaps that full-length was edged out in favor of 2019 singles “Evil” and “Fortunate Son” — covers of Willie Dixon and Creedence Clearwater Revival, respectively — the latter of which finished the set after “Electric Worry” in the encore and was listed as “John Fogerty’s Mosh Pit,” because, well, you’re in Central Jersey. That’s gonna happen.
The room was filled with familiar faces, from the Clutch crew to the longtime denizens in the crowd, and even the bright-eyed kids from WSOU — still too young and perennially bright-eyed to sue their dogshit host university for decades of discrimination and mismanagement — knew that they were in for a good night, whether it was their first experience seeing the band or not. As regards rock shows, you’re going to have a hard time getting better than Clutch, in any case, and the traditional holiday tour, which wraps tonight in Philly for New Year’s Eve, was given a special subsection this year called ‘ClutchMas.’ Three shows in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Philadelphia, with three sets and no repeat songs between them — with the presumed exception of “Electric Worry,” which, again, they play at just about every gig. With a backlog of records as deep as Clutch have amassed over the better part of the last 30 years, I have a hard time imagining it was even really a challenge for them to put three such setlists together for 54 total songs, but a holiday celebration is a holiday celebration. You go and you celebrate. If you’re feeling saucy, as I was, you buy the t-shirt with the crab on it.
It was something of a long haul to get to the point where Clutch actually took the stage, with local openers Bound Alive, who played a style I can best describe as “Jersey metal,” followed by Damon Johnson, who under the stage lights kind of looked like an alternate reality healthy-living version of Matt Pike and went out of his way on stage to explain that he toured with Clutch as a part of Thin Lizzy and, in addition to his solo work, was in Brother Cane in the long, long ago. Those two were followed by Nashville’s The Steel Woods, whose twangy country rock stylings made their Allman Bros. cover — was it “Whipping Post?” well of course it was — seem somewhat inevitable. A smorgasbord of not-my-thing, and I was reminded that last year at this time, Clutch were touring with The Obsessed and Devin Townsend. My fault for moving back to New Jersey too late to take advantage of that, but I’ll take what I can get.
And the goal of the night was seeing Clutch, so you know, worthy cause and whatnot. There was a bit of a stumble as “Firebirds” got going, but they smoothed it out, and though I’m always a little surprised at how fast they play “Spacegrass” on the occasions they do it live, I’m also always surprised when I listen to the self-titled and it’s more uptempo than when I hear it in my head. I have a tendency to slow things down. I chalk it up to being old and more than a bit slow myself. But I recall the last time I was at a Clutch holiday show at Starland was maybe 2008, and it was a much different vibe than that, the band having morphed out of their organ-laced blues-heavy leanings in favor of a more pointed and rocking approach on the whole — more a balance shifted than the abandonment of the blues altogether, certainly — and they simply dig what they do, which is offer an utterly essential vision of what heavy rock and roll can and should be on a professional level, marked by classic songcraft and righteous performances that, in terms of playing the game they play, there isn’t another act out there to match them. Clutch do their own thing, on their own terms, and their accomplishments over the course of their career speak for themselves. All you have to do is show up to listen to them do that.
I left Starland fat and happy as one should be after a good holiday meal and made my way back north on wet roads that before climate change would’ve probably been frozen, “The Soapmakers” still reeling on the mental jukebox. Especially for a Monday night, they made it a party, and there was never a doubt it would be anything but. It’s Clutch, being Clutch. I dare you to find me a better way to cap a year than that.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 13th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Clutch, Strange Cousins from the West (2009)
It’s been 10 years since Clutch released Strange Cousins from the West (also discussed here), which for a few reasons represents a pivotal moment in their catalog, despite being what some might consider a “lesser” Clutch album compared to some of their other genre-defining work. Their ninth studio full-length, it was the second release through their own Weathermaker Music imprint after their 2008 Full Fathom Five live record and DVD, and it followed a stint on DRT Entertainment that resulted in arguably the most successful three-album stretch of the Maryland outfit’s career to-date, bringing forth 2004’s Blast Tyrant, 2005’s Robot Hive/Exodus and 2007’s From Beale Street to Oblivion (reissues reviewed here) making for a groove triumvirate that found the band successfully and increasingly dipping into blues influences and incorporating them with their well established funk-infused heavy rock and roll, rooted in punk and even at that point already long since distinctly their own.
They were touring hard at this point as well. They’ve never been shy, but the beginning of the Weathermaker era meant Clutch were all-in in terms of the band being their livelihood as well as their passion, so along with the aforementioned Full Fathom Five and 2010’s Live at the 9:30 (review here) live offerings, that meant they were on the road even more. At the same time, the makeup of the band itself was undergoing a rare change. It was something of a surprise when organist Mick Schauer joined the core four-piece of bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean Paul Gaster, guitarist Tim Sult and vocalist/guitarist Neil Fallon, as the band had never shown much interest in fleshing out arrangements beyond the occasional flourish of percussion or whatever else, but the massive and enduring success of Robot Hive/Exodus and From Beale Street to Oblivion both on tour and in the spread of the songs — seems like “Electric Worry” still shows up in random places over a decade later — is testament to the reception Clutch‘s bluesier stylistic turn and the collaboration with Schauer, shortlived though it was on the grander scale of the band’s almost-30-year career.
Schauer passed away earlier this year, with the awkward timing of being roughly concurrent to Clutch releasing a re-recorded version of “Electric Worry” without keys as a single for their Weathermaker Vault series. He was out of the band by the time they set to putting together Strange Cousins from the West, and though momentum was on Clutch‘s side, there are times on the album where his absence is felt, even as Fallon stepped up the amount of time he was playing guitar and the sound went to arguably its bluesiest degree. Make no mistake, the songs are there. Opener “Motherless Child” puts them in immediate blues communication, and “Struck Down” follows suit while transitioning into the pure-Clutch mega-hook that is “50,000 Unstoppable Watts” — which even a decade later continues to duke it out with the later “Let a Poor Man Be” for the catchiest song on the record in my mind — to round out an initial salvo that plays to the band’s strengths without outright repeating what they’ve done in the past. “Abraham Lincoln” takes a moodier turn, bringing in some more subdued Americana and Southern heavy, and is perhaps the first point at which Schauer seems to be missing, as some of the spaces and crescendos have room for where the organ might’ve been just a couple years earlier. Though the subsequent “Minotaur” is funkier and more uptempo and would certainly host keys as well if they’d been there to be hosted, the mid-album pair of “The Amazing Kreskin” and “Witchdoctor” represent to my mind the place where Clutch‘s transitional state is most apparent.
It’s not that there’s something wrong with either song, structurally or in execution, but in “The Amazing Kreskin,” as Sult‘s guitar noodles through the verse atop Maines‘ always-crucial/always-reliable foundation of bass, one can almost hear how Schauer might’ve played off of it in complementing and filling out the sound, and all the more so in the jam and build in the track’s second half. “Witchdoctor,” no slouch either in the hook department, goes a step further and weaves a line of sustained guitar throughout different parts, actually filling that open space as the keys otherwise would. As a fan of the band, I have a hard time critiquing Clutch — I love seeing them live and though when Strange Cousins From the West came out I thought it didn’t necessarily have the same vibrancy as Robot Hive/Exodus, which was also produced by J. Robbins, I think this record holds up 10 years after the fact — but as much as every Clutch record is different from the one before it, sometimes in direct response to the one before it, as 2013’s landmark Earth Rocker (review here) would be to Strange Cousins, the change they were dealing with at the time seems to be audible here as they were feeling their way through writing out these blues influences without having the organ, electric piano, and so on, as a part of the process at whatever stage it was.
That said, you’ll never hear me take away from “Let a Poor Man Be” on any level except perhaps gender politics, and “Freakonomics,” the Pappo’s Blues cover “Algo Ha Cambiado” and “Sleestak Lightning” do fine in filling out the end of the album, the first of them undeniably the most memorable — “Only the freaks have all the answers!” — and the Spanish-language push of “Algo Ha Cambiado” a welcome uptempo twist ahead of the finale, on which Gaster breaks out a bit of cowbell but is otherwise somewhat understated. It’s a fair-enough ending to an album that has a deceptively broad dynamic and as-ever-rock-solid-rock songcraft and performance, and it was the point at which Clutch pushed the blues as far as they would on the trajectory they’d followed for the latter half of the aughts. It would be a long stretch for them, four years, before Earth Rocker showed up, and when it did, the reunion with producer Machine essentially reset their course along a more straight-ahead heavy rock path, not forgetting the lessons of Robot Hive, Beale Street or Strange Cousins, but laying claim with renewed vigor to the driving, ultra-grooving rock and roll that made them the absolutely essential band they were and are in the first place.
Of course, their forever-tour continues and their studio work continues. The aforementioned Weathermaker Vault series has resulted in four singles this year, they released Book of Bad Decisions (review here) in 2018 as a follow-up to 2015’s Psychic Warfare (review here), and just this week, they announced that as part of their annual holiday tour, they’ll play three special sets in Washington D.C., New Jersey and Philadelphia comprising a total of 54 songs and, on the latter night — also New Year’s Eve — they’ll also do Blast Tyrant in full for the first and hopefully not last time. Also, they’re calling it ClutchMas, which is adorable. One expects 2020 tour dates to be announced in January, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they had new material in the works they’ll set to hammering out on the road soon enough (if they’re not yet). Train don’t stop.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
—
Another week. The Patient Mrs.’ first semester teaching at William Paterson University ended yesterday — at least classes did — so congratulations to her on making it through what was a pretty rough schedule, and being one chunk closer to reclaiming the tenure she gave up in Massachusetts to move us back to New Jersey earlier this year. Last night, we talked about how we didn’t really miss being up there for the most part. She and I both had friends — her more than me, it should go without saying — but being so far from family and so on was hard. I’ve seen my two NJ-based nephews more in the last eight months than in the six years prior. You can’t replace that kind of time.
I’m exhausted, and it’s going to be a long winter of “WTF do we do with this kid?” since things like freezing temperatures, darkness and snow on the ground preclude hours-at-a-time of being outside. The Pecan is a goer. He goes. He’s taken to “flying,” whereby he basically throws his arms out to his sides and runs in circles around the living room. He wants The Patient Mrs. and I to join in, and we do, because he so clearly, clearly needs that running to keep him even. I feel like I should start investing in ritalin now, but I know damn well that if I had a stockpile going, I’d just end up taking it myself. Which might be fun, come to think of it.
This week… was a week. I’ve been in a deep-dive funk of don’t want to do anything, don’t want to move or leave the house, which is not conducive to the needs of a two year old. He keeps my ass in gear. Otherwise, I think it’d be way more couch time, which, while we’re talking about needs, is probably not conducive to my own. Being people is hard.
But hey, next week is a thing that’s happening. I’ll be putting the finishing touches on my top 30 — by which I mean actually making the list — and it’ll probably take me three days to actually write it, so that takes care of next weekend. This weekend I’m writing a new bio for Geezer and apparently trying to figure out how to get a newsletter going, since when I asked on social media yesterday, the response was pretty positive to the idea. Next week though has a review long overdue for Caustic Casanova and premieres for CB3 and (shhh… don’t tell anyone) Yatra, so it’s gonna be good. I was kind of overwhelmed this week at the responses to the news stories about Wino and Sasquatch. Nice to know people are out there and give a crap about this stuff. I know it’s not my writing drawing anyone to those news stories, it’s the music, but frankly, that’s how it should be.
I hope you’re getting through the holiday season. I hate the holidays. So much. Fuck Xmas. Fuck New Year’s. Fuck the faux ‘meaning’ of it all, the vulgar commerce, the weather, the elf, the shelf, the Jesus and the Santa Claus and the ball dropping and the lights. Even Elvis’ “Blue Christmas” isn’t worth that shit. I’d trade it happily. But I hope you’re coming through it okay, anyhow. It ain’t easy.
That should just about do it for me. It’s time for me to go try and bury my head and listen to music. Like, just for pleasure. There’s a thought. Friday’s usually my chance to do that. Maybe Thursday during nap too if I’m lucky, as I was yesterday. The real test this weekend will be if I can motivate my ass to do any work tomorrow or if I just sink back in bed after the alarm goes off and pile it all on Sunday, thereby wrecking my day entirely, stressing out myself and The Patient Mrs. and, by extension/osmosis, The Pecan, who invariably feeds off the emotions we give him.
Which is why I’m a bad parent. Because I have nothing good to give him.
I could go on, but I think you probably get the gist of how the next couple days are going to play out over here. Great and safe weekend. See you Monday for more good times.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
What the gosh darn heck is ‘ClutchMas,’ you ask? First of all, thanks for watching your language. Second, it’s a three-night mini-stint worked into their annual holiday tour whereby they’ll perform three different sets in Washington, D.C., Sayreville, NJ, and Philadephia, PA. The latter is where they’ll spend New Year’s Eve itself, and that night they’ll play 2004’s Blast Tyrant (reissue review here, also discussed here) in full for the first time ever. Never heard Clutch play “Subtle Hustle” before? Well, there’s still time to book your travel, because let me tell you, that’s a party you want to be at. I mean it. I haven’t been to Philly in a long while, but this one is tempting, even though there’s no way that show’s gonna end before like 1:30 in the morning and I’m pretty sure I’ll actually die if I am awake such an hour.
I also feel that way about, like, 10PM though, so maybe take that with a grain of whatever you take grains of.
Anyway, as Bender might tell you, it’ll be fun on a bun.
Dig:
CLUTCH ANNOUNCE CLUTCHMAS!
Clutch will perform some very special sets on their annual run of dates between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The upcoming dates in D.C., Sayreville, and Philly will feature 3 completely different sets, 54 songs total. In addition, the band will play Blast Tyrant in its entirety for the first time ever on New Year’s Eve at Union Transfer in Philadelphia, PA. Tickets are on sale now: http://www.pro-rock.com
ClutchMas Shows: December 29 – 9:30 Club Washington DC December 30 – Starland Ballroom Sayreville NJ December 31 – Union Transfer Philadelphia
“We’ve been having a blast over here in Europe playing a ton of songs spanning our 28 year career” states drummer Jean-Paul Gaster. “Nuremberg marks the 4th night of the tour and so far we’ve played 62 different songs. It is for this reason we’ve decided to play three completely different sets for the final three Clutch shows of 2019. For those folks who have already bought tickets to one of these shows but have been thinking about attending a second or third, know that you’ll be seeing totally different set each night. The New Year’s gig is gonna be extra fun as we’ll be playing the Blast Tyrant record in its entirety. Please come celebrate ClutchMas! with us!”
Clutch Full Annual Holiday Tour Dates: Fri/Dec-27 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts Sat/Dec-28 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel (support from Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown) Sun/Dec-29 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Mon/Dec-30 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom Tue/Dec-31 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (New Years Eve Show)
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Cheers to long-running Maryland groove rockers Clutch for finding and realizing perhaps the most appropriate cover ever. I mean, Jimi Hendrix did a number on “All Along the Watchtower,” don’t get me wrong, but Clutch taking on CCR‘s “Fortunate Son?” Talk about doing the planet a favor.
I knew what it sounded like before I listened, but of course listened anyway. You should too, even though you can already hear it in your head as well.
Clutch recently announced a December European tour that will precede their annual pre-New Year’s holiday run. They’re giving themselves a whole week to celebrate the holidays, so yeah, really getting lazy these days, fellas. What’s that about?
Oh, and since they brought it up, I mentioned it as well on social media but didn’t post here, but rest in peace Jack Flanagan. I can’t claim to have known him well, but he was nothing but a sweetheart every time we spoke.
Info courtesy of the PR wire:
CLUTCH RELEASE BRAND NEW STUDIO RECORDING OF CLASSIC CCR SONG “FORTUNATE SON” AS PART OF THE “WEATHERMAKER VAULT SERIES”
Clutch announce the release of “Fortunate Son”. The single is the fourth in a series of new studio recordings that comprise the newly launched Weathermaker Vault Series.
“Growing up it was hard not to hear CCR’s Fortunate Son on the radio, on TV or even at the county fair. The groovy backbeat and sloshy hi hats that introduces John Fogerty’s timeless lyrics written so many years ago could be found everywhere. While it may be true to say that Fortunate Son could be seen as a political song we think it’s bigger than that. For us Fortunate Son is an inspirational song. For that reason we’d like to dedicate the song to the most inspirational person we’ve ever had in our lives, our late manager Jack Flanagan. Jack Flanagan was no Fortunate son. He worked tirelessly and passionately all the while keeping a razor sharp sense of humor until his last days. Thank you Jack for making us better than we ever thought we could be.” Jean-Paul Gaster
“Fortunate Son” was mixed by 6X Grammy Award winner and Clutch collaborator, Vance Powell (Wolfmother, The Raconteurs, Arctic Monkeys).
In the video that accompanies this release Tim Sult pays homage to Jack Flanagan by playing Jack’s beloved 90’s Les Paul. The video was shot at J Robbins’ Magpie Cage Recording Studio in Baltimore, MD. J Robbins produced the Clutch albums “Robot Hive/Exodus” and “Strange Cousins From The West” and he recorded all of the WM Vault Series singles.
On Monday, December 2nd, Clutch will embark on a European headline tour with Graveyard and Kamchatka as support.
Tickets available here.
2 Dec (Mon) – Wiesbaden, GER @ Kulturzentrum Schlachthof 3 Dec (Tue) – Oberhausen, GER @ Turbinenhalle 5 Dec (Thu) – Bremen, GER @ Aladin Music Hall 6 Dec (Fri) – Nuremberg, GER @ Löwensaal *7 Dec (Sat) – Strasbourg, FRA @ La Laiterie 8 Dec (Sun) – Villeurbanne, FRA @ Transbordeur 10 Dec (Tue) – Barcelona, ESP @ Sala Apolo *11 Dec (Wed) – Madrid, ESP @ Sala But 13 Dec (Fri) – Madrid, ESP @ Sala But 14 Dec (Sat) – Bilbao, ESP @ Santana 27 15 Dec (Sun) – Bordeaux, FRA @ Le Rocher de Palmer 17 Dec (Tue) – Southampton, GBR @ O2 Guildhall 18 Dec (Wed) – London, GBR @ Roundhouse 19 Dec (Thu) – Leeds, GBR @ O2 Academy *20 Dec (Fri) – Nottingham, GBR @ Rock City
Clutch Annual Holiday Tour Dates:
Fri/Dec-27 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts Sat/Dec-28 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel (support from Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown) Sun/Dec-29 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Mon/Dec-30 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom Tue/Dec-31 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer (New Years Eve Show)
CLUTCH: Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar Tim Sult – Guitar Dan Maines – Bass Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
