Clutch – Live in Flint, MI & Live in Melbourne, AU

2004 River Road Records              2007

I recently came across these gems from my favorite band online and I’m just stunned.  Though I should have known they would be excellent.

Both discs are worth seeking out if you’re a Clutch fan.  Being a proud veteran of numerous shows, I can confidently say they’re both fine documents of Clutch live and up close, and “Heard It All Before” is kinda special due to the fact that our fave Maryland boys recorded it live on their first Australian tour.

One of the discs, however, stands out as absolutely one of my favorite live albums of all time, and that’s Live In Flint, MI.  Recorded live at the Machine Shop in front of a rabid crowd, it documents a two hour show from the “Blast Tyrant” tour and features material from all their albums, as well as some cool B-sides like “Hoodoo Operator.”

The surprising highlights for me, though, were the tunes from the self-titled “Clutch” CD from 1995.  I was originally not a huge fan of that disc, due to what I feel is a powerless drum mix that doesn’t do Jean-Paul “The Master” Gaster justice, and really an overall mix that lacks power and crispness.  With said power and crispness, those tracks are my overall favorites here, with “Rock and Roll Outlaw” just leveling the place and “Tight Like That” translating well to a heavier live format and providing the perfect chaser for “…Outlaw.”   “Escape From the Prison Planet” and “I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth” show up in powerful form here, as do “Big News I” and “Big News II.”

Honorable mention goes to “Walking in the Great Shining Path of Monster Trucks” and exemplify how well the inimitable Neil Fallon is able to make these older tracks work with his newer vocal stylings, as they were recorded with his old monotone growl on the studio versions.  The more modern Clutch tunes from “Elephant Riders” through “Blast Tyrant” sound as excellent as you would hope, too.

I’ve flown many, many times to and from Louisiana to spend time with my children and I can’t tell you how many times this has been my music of choice to get my mind off of my fear of flying.  Dozens easily.  One of those few live documents that actually makes you feel like you’re a part of the celebration not apart from the celebration.  The proudly face-melting mix makes you feel like you’re right there…you can almost smell the sweat.

For Clutch fans, this is a must have.  For the uninitiated, “Live in Flint, MI” is a great introduction to a superb rock band and will undoubtedly have you hungry for their back catalogue.

Rating:  4.5 out of 5

LIVE Review: Cage the Elephant 5/8/11 Rams Head Live! in Baltimore, MD

Cage the Elephant ticket stubHaving been a fan of this band ever since I first heard the stone cold classic “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” in 2009, it’s been quite cool to see them grow as a band.  I saw them last year at the Recher Theater in February and then again in October opening for Stone Temple Pilots in Pittsburgh.   Both shows were quite fun and I was very much looking forward to this show at Rams Head Live…especially since my heroes Clutch have some awesome live videos recorded there.

First of all, Rams Head Live is my new favorite live venue. Just a really cool, open, multilevel atmosphere that must be a blast for bands to perform in.  Especially a band like Cage the Elephant with such an in-your-face front man.  I really didn’t know what I was in for, though.   As much as I expected a good show, what I saw and heard was a band becoming true seasoned pros right before our eyes. The most obvious difference was guitarist Lincoln Parish’s stage presence. Not that he wasn’t just fine before, but man he’s lost whatever shred of shyness he may have had and was working the crowd along with the rest of the band.

Cage the Elephant Matt Schultz Brad Schultz Lincoln Parish Daniel Tichenor Jared ChampionAs a band, they’re just plain tight and full of life.   From opener “In One Ear” through the entire set, the performance was right on the nuggets and a lot of fun.   Matt Schultz was his usual ball of unbridled energy…moving, dancing, flailing, diving and singing his way through the night in constant motion.   The band, quite frankly, is becoming a finely tuned machine.   Drummer Jared Champion and bassist Daniel Tichenor are fast becoming one of my favorite rhythm sections with just the right combination of power and touch.   Then there’s guitarists Lincoln Parish and Brad Schultz…who are fast becoming one of my favorite guitar tandems.   The chemistry between them and their attention to detail with guitar tones is just incredible.

Cage the Elephant Rams Head Live May 8 2011They covered all the bases with their hits so far, playing “In One Ear,” “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” “Back Against the Wall,” and “Shake Me Down,” but what I love the most about seeing these guys live is that the fans aren’t just about the hits.   It felt like everyone knew every word to every song, creating a real sense of togetherness, and it just feels so good to scream “Cuz you’re a robot!” at the top of your lungs during the chorus of “Tiny Little Robots.”

To hear the crowd singing along to every word of “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and “Shake Me Down” in particular (and to feel that energy) was just incredible.

Cage the Elephant Rams Head Live May 8 2011The band may hate me for drawing this comparison, but the visual that comes to mind is the band practice on “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with everyone just dancing and playing and having a great time doing it…albeit with more attitude.   Dance like no one’s watching.  It just happens that those who are watching and listening are loving every minute of it.  I just don’t think there’s any band having more fun with music than Cage the Elephant.   And it shows.   If they come to your town or anywhere near, don’t miss them!

Ultimately the best thing about the show was that there were songs like “Judas” and “Back Stabbin’ Betty” that I would have just loved to hear but weren’t on the night’s set list.   Why is that good?   Because just two albums in, they have so many good songs that at the end of the night it just didn’t matter.

Clutch – Live at the 9:30 Club (DVD)

2010 Weathermaker Music

(note:  I wrote this right after the release of this DVD last year, but noticed that I saved it as a draft and never posted it.  Sorry…)

Being the total Clutch homer that I am, I pre-ordered my copy of this…just so I could get my own 2-foot long Clutch logo sticker which I now proudly display in my studio:) Clutch is the band that turns me into a 15-year-old again…when nothing mattered but music.

If you buy into the Clutch thang, you’ll undoubtedly be happy with this. First, you have the live show which clocks in at around 90 minutes. Clutch is a machine live…and you never know what the set list will be from show to show. Unlike so many corporate bands (Def Leppard comes to mind in a big way), Clutch doesn’t forsake their early material when it comes to their live shows.

In fact they celebrate it…and it’s testimony to their songwriting that early songs like “A Shogun Named Marcus,” “The House that Peterbilt,” and “Escape from the Prison Planet” sound even better today in a live setting with Clutch’s modern deep-fried groove and resident vocabularian Neil Fallon’s more melodic vocal stylings.

The latter song is on this DVD in full-force as our fave Maryland boys play their self-titled 1995 disc in its entirety in this live set. 1995’s Clutch album is a bit of an underground classic, but I never truly appreciated the songs until I heard them live. Truth is, I always felt the production on that album was way too thin…but man do these songs just burn live and it’s such a kick to hear a rabid crowd singing along to “Escape…,” “Spacegrass,” and my two faves “Rock and Roll Outlaw” and “I Have the Body of John Wilkes Booth.”

I could go on and on…and most of my friends are probably tired of me talking about Clutch. Lol   Just a wonderful band and a wonderful live document here.

The second CD is a 100+ minute documentary following Clutch on the road with both band and fan interviews. Loads of fun with a band that’s unbelievably humble considering how good they are. Listening to Jean-Paul “The Master” Gaster talk about drums is mesmerizing. A lot of thought goes into the sounds both he and the entire band make.

This is a band that cares.

We all should.

Rating:   5 out of 5

Clutch – King of Arizona (LIVE)

I just discovered this gem on YouTube.    From the sound of this and “The Dragonfly,” they should release this show as a live disc.

Just another example of why Clutch is my favorite band.   Just plain magic.

Enjoy Abysmally…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xno6MXcNdIw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1]

Clutch – The Dragonfly (live video)

There’s just something about this song that does it for me.  Studio version on The Elephant Riders CD is good, but live this song just smokes.  Tim Sult’s guitar intro is just too cool, then the band kicks in.  Enjoy…and check out the lyrics while you do.   Just brilliant!


 

Lyrics to The Dragonfly:

Could’ve been a swan on a glassy lake.
Could’ve been a gull in a clipper’s wake.
Could’ve been a ladybug on a windchime,
but she was born a dragonfly.

In the sun she warmed her wings
and listened to the cicadas sing.

“The trees are all bending
in one direction
because of something…”

Cross-pollination by the legs of bees in the spring
is a beautiful thing.
Oh when the sun goes down,
the fireflies come out.

In a pond crept a slimy thing
that hummed a theme from the Rites of Spring.

Pity the mate of Queen Mantis,
so content, but so headless.
Katydid nothing but shiver and cry,
as did the dragonfly.

In the shade the gypsies spin
Among the cloves, they drop their skin.

“…beyond the hedgegrove,
over by the willows,
deep in the shadows…”

Regeneration occurs at a furious speed
beneath the white oak tree.
Oh when the sun comes up
the moon buds fold up.

In the sun she warmed her wings
and listened to the Rites of Spring

Could’ve been a swan on a glassy lake.
Could’ve been a gull in a clipper’s wake.
Could’ve been a ladybug on a windchime,
but she was born a dragonfly.