Clutch at the Westcott, Year Two

                Clutch came back to town on Thursday night, so what else was I going to do?  Brandon and I headed over, and despite trying our best to be late, were right on time.  The first band we saw was called Elephant Mountain, a local Syracuse band that was actually quite good.  They had a heavy Southern Rock feeling to them, a metal Skynrd if you will, and really seemed to be having a good time on stage, enjoying the opportunity provided to them.  I would honestly see them again, and for way longer than the twenty minutes they were given here as the opener.  If you like good music in general, and especially if you’re a fan of supporting the small, local bands, I would definitely suggest finding their music on Amazon or itunes.  They even have a song dedicated to firefighters, which tickled Brandon’s fancy, being a firefighter himself, and made him a fan right away. He purchased their most recent album and after listening to it a couple times, they are really good!  They aren't the good live band but loses that magic in the studio kind of band.  Elephant Mountain brings it no matter where they are.  I plan on seeing a lot more Elephant Mountain shows in the future.

                The next band up was American Sharks.  Ho-Lee-Fuck they were terrible.  Their opening song stole the riff from “Blitzkrieg Bop” and did nothing good with it, while their second song borrowed quite liberally from Black Sabbath (“Children of the Grave” if I remember correctly) and also failed to do anything good with it.  Brandon made it through one song before leaving, and I made it through one and a half.  We stepped outside and hung out for the rest of their set, and seeing the line of people exiting the theater during that set, we weren’t the only ones that disliked their “music”.  Seriously, I’ve seen shitty cover bands with more talent than those three jokers.  The fact that Clutch picked them to travel the country as their opener makes me wonder what the fuck they were thinking.  Was a monkey with a cowbell too expensive?

                Anyway, after an extended wait (seriously, the stage was set by 940 and we were waiting until at least ten for Clutch to come on) the moment was at hand.  All of the energy and polish that I’ve come to expect from Clutch was on full display.  Neil Fallon was at his manic best, bouncing around on stage, all hand gestures and gyrations, while the band were a perfect balance of standing completely still (seriously, Mick Mars looks at these guys and wonders if they’re alive) while still injecting energy on the stage with their playing.  The technical prowess of this band is second to none, it is seriously a joy to watch the artistic mastery of these guys on their instruments.  The set itself ran for around 90 minutes, with the highlight being that they mixed it up from last year.  There were a few holdovers from that show (“Electric Worry” to close things out, as well as “Earth Rocker “ and “Cyborg Bette” from the Earth Rocker album) but a good portion of the other songs were tunes I had yet to hear live, the highlights being “DC Sound Attack” ( a personal favorite) and “The Elephant Riders”. 

                While I was not a huge fan of the long wait for Clutch to take the stage, once they got there they did not disappoint.  I have a feeling that next year if they come back I won’t make the same mistake of getting there even close to on time (unless Elephant Mountain is playing).  I would suggest going to a Clutch show if you can, the energy that they have up on the stage is unparalleled.  For those of you in Central New York, check out Elephant Mountain as well, you won’t be disappointed.

The Eat @ Shrimpy's 2013 Year in Review

I have combed through my reviews this year to bring you a best of list.  If you neglected my recommendation the first time*, follow the links to re-read the reviews and make some post-New Year’s purchases.  If I neglected something, or you think I ranked one too low, please let me know in the comments, we’ll start a dialogue.

*Where I have failed to provide a previous review there will be a small blurb as to why I included that particular thing.

Concerts:

1.  Pearl Jam
2.  Kenny Wayne Shepherd
3.  Clutch
4.  Gigantour 2013
5.  Kid Rock and ZZ Top

CD’s:

1.   Black Sabbath: 13
1A.  Pearl Jam: Lightning Bolt
2.  Clutch: Earth Rocker
3.  Megadeth: Supercollider
4.  Black Label Society: Unblackened
5. The Rides: Can't Get Enough

Comic Series:

1.  Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye
2.  Transformers: Robots in Disguise
3.  Sons of Anarchy - I was going to wait to do a full review until after the six issue series concludes, but the long and short of it is that this is a pitch-perfect series that captures the true "voices" of the characters with good artwork that, for the most part, keeps everyone "on model" in terms of their appearance.  This couldn't have been written with any more eye toward the characters if series creator Kurt Sutter had done it himself.
4.  Bodie Troll
5.  Transformers: Monstrosity

Video Games:

1.  Ducktales Remastered - If you grew up in the nineties, there's a good chance you played the Ducktales game.  If you have even the slightest of fond memories of Uncle Scrooge bouncing up and down on the heads of his enemies using his cane then you owe it to yourself to drop the $15.00 on this digital title (you can get the hardcopy version as well, but it's an additional $5.00).  Everything is as you remember it, but the graphics are ten times better.  I kind of wish someone would get the urge to do this with the Mega Man games.  The only knock on the game is that it is so short, but you can't fault the people who created it twenty-plus years ago, as that was probably a pretty lengthy game back then. 

2.  Lego Marvel Superheroes 
3.  Donkey Kong Country - 3DS - If you like the Wii version of the game, you're in luck because this is basically the same thing but in a hand-held format.  Unfortunately it also comes complete with the horrible barrel-riding levels that are at best the worst thing to happen to a Nintendo property since Link went 3D.
4.  Transformers Prime - 3DS
5. Skylanders Swap Force

Clutch at the Westcott Theater: Your beard must be this long to ride this ride.

            Clutch was in town on Monday night and I had yet to see them live, so I took my brother and we headed over to the Westcott Theater in Syracuse, NY.  This is another repurposed old theater (much like the Palace Theater from my review of the Kenny Wayne Shepherd show.  The main difference between t he two venues is that this theater has no seats and is less “classy”.  It feels perfect for a metal show!  There was room for the obligatory mosh pit and plenty of overpriced alcoholic beverages for everyone over the age of twenty-one.  It’s a great local venue and really right up my alley as I have been searching for a venue that replicates the experience of Sayerville, New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom since I moved back up her to central New York six years ago. 

            Okay, on to the show itself.  I will touch briefly on the three (three!) opening bands before I talk about Clutch.  First, though, just from looking around the room, it looked like a ZZ Top cosplay convention.  Just about everyone there had a beard, most of the big and bushy variety.  It was odd seeing that many people sporting a similar look all gathered together in one place.  When you look at the four bands that were playing though, you can almost understand why.

This is what I think happened.  It’s just speculation at this point, but I’m pretty sure this is how we got here.

            Brandon and I arrived a little late, so we only got to hear the very end of Scorpion Child.  We should have arrived later and missed out on them completely, they were bad.  The musicians were fine, but the vocalist was trying to be Robert Plant with a voice like Geddy Lee on his worst day.  The antics and the dress (brown leather vest for the win!) were ridiculous as well.  At one point before their last song (or during, I couldn’t bother to keep track) he went over to a big, gallon water jug, took a drink, then proceeded to spray what I can only assume is a breath freshener into his mouth.  Why?  I have no idea, nor do I really care.  They left (after tearing down their own instruments, obviously the roadie budget for this tour is very slim) and were replaced by Lionize.

            At first glance, you would not assume Lionize would be that great.  They are the second band of four, they set up all of their own equipment, and following a pretty crappy band like Scorpion Child, my expectations were at an all-time low.  I was wrong.  Holy shit was I wrong.  They were great!  Think of a bluesy Black Crowes sound but heavier, with some crazy bass-work in there (the bassist was nuts).  The overall sound was very groove-oriented and went over incredibly well with the crowd (only Clutch got a louder ovation in my estimation).  In my opinion, Lionize didn’t play long enough.  I would have thoroughly enjoyed another half hour of their music as the straight-up opener for Clutch.

            Alas it was not to be, as there was one more band between me and the band I came to see.  Orange Goblin, from the UK apparently.  I have heard them compared to Black Sabbath, but I think they are a little closer to Motorhead, with a little Pantera thrown in for good measure.  They were good, not great.  I will say they are great though because their lead singer is an eight foot tall behemoth. 

This is him.

You may now commence having shitloads of nightmares for weeks to come.  

However, Brandon made a valid point, he kind of looks like Sweetums from the Muppets.  What do you think?

Still scary?

I’m not nearly as into the really heavy, mosh pit inducing music as I used to be, and it says a lot that the best track I heard all night was when they actually slowed it down a bit and played something that was a bit mellower.  I will say that the musicianship in this band was great as well.  The guitar player was fast and precise while the bass player was good as well.  The drummer looked like he was exerting no effort at all, which is not a knock against him, all of his motions were fluid and deliberate, nothing extra to get in the way of the music itself.  This is good, because anything extra was provided by the lead singer (who at first glance looks like he just came from the casting couch at a Rob Zombie movie) who had charisma to spare.  This was Orange Goblin’s first trip to Syracuse, and if the warm reception was any indication, they will be back.

            After an extended break, where the stage (fully set up and ready to go) sat in darkness for a good 15-20 minutes, Clutch took the stage.  Right out of the gate they had the audience on their side.  I was skeptical coming into the show because I have one of their live albums (Full Fathom Five) as well as a DVD of a short set of their songs, and I wasn’t incredibly impressed with either.  I know better than to judge a band based on its concert album when I can see them in person though.  Between old and new favorites, the band had people singing along and dancing to the music.  This was most apparent on their song “Cypress Grove” which singer Neil Fallon dedicated to “all the ladies”.  The entire venue was singing, dancing and moving as one and it was quite the sight to see.  The band itself was not very mobile on the stage itself, but they made up for that with their ability to play the shit out of their instruments.  Neil Fallon made up for the fact that the rest of the band didn’t move though.  He was all over the stage, looking a little bit like what I would assume Dave Matthews would look like if he let himself go.  This is not a knock against Fallon at all; in fact it’s quite remarkable that that huge voice comes out of him, especially after seeing someone with a large voice but also huge frame mere minutes before.  Neil Fallon has one of the most unique voices in all of music, not just rock music and being able to see him perform live and not miss a beat was a pleasure. 

There were a few songs that I wish I had heard live (“DC Sound Attack” from the Earth Rocker album  “Willie Nelson” from Slow Hole to China and “Subtle Hustle” from Blast Tyrant) but I can’t really complain about the songs that they did include.  There were many times throughout the performance where it made me forget that it was nearly midnight on a Monday and I had to get up for work the following morning, or the fact that I am getting way too old to go to a show where I have to stand for five hours straight, and that’s what good music is supposed to do, right?  It’s supposed to transport you to a different mindset, make you forget about your troubles and trials for a couple hours.  Well, Clutch did that in spades.  It was a great show from top to bottom (if you take out Scorpion Child and give a little more time to Lionize and Clutch it would have been better) and I will definitely be seeing them again.  

Clutch: Earth Rocker – Like getting punched in the face by a mix of blues and metal

            I have had a chance to listen to Earth Rocker, the new release from Maryland-based rock band Clutch, multiple times now.  I can honestly say that each time I play it, the opening title track punches me right in the mouth, and the rest of the album follows suit.  For those of you familiar with Clutch, think of their traditional heaviness, but speed it up a bit.  It’s not 1980’s Metallica fast, but considering the fact that a usual Clutch song is a heavy, plodding affair, both musically and vocally, this is a bit of a departure.  Sure, they have done some up-tempo work before in the form of “You Can’t Stop Progress” and “Power Player” from their 2007 album From Beale Street to Oblivion.  This is not the norm though, and to have nearly a full album devoted to it is a nice change of pace. 

            The best part about this album is the fact that it has no filler.  Even when the tempo slows down considerably toward the middle (the song “Gone Cold”), it is just a brief respite before the intensity picks up again.  This is definitely their most complete album since 2004’s Blast Tyrant (which, coupled with its bonus disc is one of the single best albums I have heard in the last fifteen years).  While the album prior to this, Strange Cousins from the West, was good, it held too many peaks and valleys to be a consistent success.  With Earth Rocker, Clutch has gotten back to the kind of consistency that made Blast Tyrant so good.

            The thing that Clutch does, better than pretty much anyone else out there, is take the heaviness of metal music, but infuse it with a mix of funk and blues that is not often heard.  Think of Red Hot Chili Peppers mixed with Black Label Society and a touch of the bluesiness of Govt Mule.  Not only that, but most of their songs have an innate danceability to them that you don’t usually get from a heavy rock band.  Clutch seems to be the only band that I have heard in recent memory with a sound like this.  Their ability to be an amalgamation of different music styles while still retaining a sound that is all their own (a lot of that having to do with Neil Fallon’s vocals) is something that is hard to come by in the music industry these days.  When everyone still sounds like a twisted knockoff of Nickelback, or some whiny emo band that shouldn’t even carry the rock moniker, it is refreshing to see a band that just does it their way, critics and radio airplay be damned.  Sure, they won’t be a huge commercial success, selling out theater shows instead of stadiums, but it doesn’t seem like that bothers Clutch one bit. 

            In short, Clutch seems to have found a consistency that they were lacking over the last few albums and the fact that they produced an album that is entirely listenable from beginning to end instead of a couple select strong tracks is a relief.  I haven’t been a Clutch fan for a long time (basically binge-listening over the last three years or so) but I will be for a long time to come.  

Buy this album.