The Triffid, Brisbane
Thursday March 3, 2016
The Forum, Melbourne
Saturday March 5, 2016
Corner Hotel, Melbourne
Sunday March 6, 2016 :
With the arrival of new music almost always comes a tour, so when Clutch dropped the brilliant album Psychic Warfare in October I immediately began to hope the subsequent tour wouldn’t clash with other commitments. Soon after, my prayers were answered when legends Wildfire locked them in for a quick Oz run in early March.
Fast forward five months and I’m heading up the freeway to Brisbane for the first of a three show date with awesomeness that I dubbed the ‘burnout tour’ on account of it coming only a few days after one of the busiest times of my life. As I walked into The Triffid, the place was a buzz, plenty of beers and beards filled the air as the anticipation for round one grew. As a bonus this tour had some brilliant supports with Victorian’s King of the North and Cosmic Psychos sharing stages and backing up three nights in a row a piece.
Punk rock stalwarts and all round funny bastards ‘The Psycho’s’ opened in Brisbane with a tasty selection of tracks old and new, the crowd reveling in front man bassist Ross Knight’s repertoire of non-PC humour in between songs and howling along hysterically to the likes of ‘Fuck Wit City’ as sung by Macca, the Psycho’s heroically proportioned lead guitarist. Honourable mentions go to the equally profane ‘Better not Bitter’ and of another crowd favourite ‘Lost Cause’
Enter the boys from Baltimore, Clutch hit the stage to a roar (it has been three years) and launch immediately into ‘X-Ray Visions’, the lead single off latest LP Psychic Warfare, the punters are in voice immediately. What follows is a superb mix of the last two albums incl ‘Crucial Velocity’, ‘Our Lady of Electric Light’ (sensationally executed), ‘Decapitation Blues’, ‘Sucker for the Witch’ and some monsters from the past incl ‘Regulator’, ‘Burning Beard’ and ‘Electric Worry’, all of which get huge reception from the faithful.
Frontman Neil Fallon commands the stage like a pentecostal preacher possessed of the great spirit itself, barely an inch unmet as he struts, gestures and motions to the crowd to join him in his sermon as if conjuring witness to his professings. All the while maestro Jean-Paul makes some of the best and unique drumming in the business look like he’s still in second gear. The only sign to the contrary is his inspired breathing style revealing the true dynamics of his performance to those in the know.
Axemen Tim & Dan on guitar and bass respectively all the while taking a suitably casual approach as their instruments insist upon absolute focus to ensure an uncompromising and proficient performance of what has to be said are some of the genres more complex arrangements. The punters were insistent on a reprisal despite it being a school night and the fellas were happy to oblige. Brisbane were a happy mob.
Fast forward 36 hours and I’m on a plane headed to Melbs to do it all again, looking forward to catching King of the North this time around who warmed up in Sydney the night before. As I ambled down the block from my mate’s sweet pad in the city to a sold out legendary Forum theatre, the sun was still out and I was full of Korean cuisine.
As I stepped into The Forum for the first time in a few years, the majesty of the architecture came flooding back as I took in what Ross Knight would later refer to as ‘all the little dicks’ brandished by the abundance of statues gracing the tiers.
King of the North were brilliant, they always are. Fortuitously Australia has a world class 2 piece that slots very well into support spots for an almost endless stream of internationals. Danny Leo is a monster of a drummer choosing to punish the heads with the meaty end of the stick much to the delight of all in attendance, as rare as it is these days its always a delight to see someone witness their first KOTN show for this reaction alone. A quick word after their set and all is sounding spot on for their 2nd LP currently in production.
Cosmic Psychos again delivered their infectious routine of humour laced punk rock to a very warm crowd even more inclined to accompany the band in their profane musings. It was essentially the same set as Brisbane which in the spirit of things is Fucking fine by me. I have never left a Psychos show without a smile on my face. The fact that Knights guitar lead mishap led to a 5 min ad lib as an accumulation of a decades worth of gaffa tape was operated on in the process of accessing the offending implement. Drummer Dean Muller taking this opportunity to pull some ridiculous faces if I pointed the camera at him.
Clutch at the Forum it has to be said is a feast for the senses, I cant think of a better back drop to match the experience. Messrs Fallon and co laying it down for the Melbourne crowd with a suitably gritty performance including the same range of new and old from the Brisbane show including ‘X-Ray Visions’, ‘Firebirds’, ‘Quick Death in Texas’, ‘Colossus’, et al.
Notable inclusion of the last track on the latest release, ‘Son of Virginia’ made an appearance and was well received. ‘Mob Goes Wild’ capped off the encore and as has come to be expected the entire performance was faultless, after 20 something years and over a dozen albums Clutch really have this deal down.
Sunday night and it’s off to the Corner Hotel in Richmond for the final installment. I’ve left my cameras with my friend and I’m meeting an old mate who I’ve not caught up with in a while at the venue. I get there and he is shattered drunk ‘awesome’ I think to myself, it’s going to be a good night.
What followed however was little short of a dream come true for the diehards with a slather of old tracks making the set list. More bands need to do this when they play two or more shows in a town. The lads dipped back into Elephant Riders and their self titled, in fact most albums got a guernsey in what was the most enjoyable set of the 10 or so i have caught over the years. All too soon the fellas were wrapping up the encore and a sweaty throng were left cheering for more as they turned towards the bar.
Some hardcore fans out the back with merch and memorabillia waited what seemed an eternity for autographs as I caught up with mates and some old faces I hadn’t seen in years. Plenty of laughs were had as well as more than a few glowing reviews of the prior spectacle.
As I write I find myself wishing I could do it all again next weekend, could I ever grow tired of Clutch shows on a Melbourne Summers eve?
Godspeed Clutch.
Huge thanks to everyone that made it possible, you know who you are Cheers.
Reviewer and Photographer: Quenched
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