A near capacity crowd filled Amos’s Southend this past Wednesday to see the Maryland rockers Clutch as they made their way back to the Queen City. With their recent release “Psychic Warfare” climbing up the charts, fans were pumped and ready to be rocked and Clutch did not disappoint. There’s one thing that you can always count on at a Clutch show and that is a level of intensity and energy like no other.
Warming up the crowd nicely was the L.A. band The Shrine followed by a great set from Corrosion of Conformity. C.O.C began in Raleigh, NC, so it was almost a homecoming for them and there was a strong contigent of their fans in the house. Vocalist/guitarist Pepper Keenan officially reunited with his bandmates in 2014 and since then C.O.C. is back in form. However, it was the main event, Clutch, that everyone was waiting to see. From the time the band took the stage just a few minutes after 10, it was clear that everyone in attendance had better buckle up. Frontman Neil Fallon was in exceptional form as he controlled the audience with his animated performance. He zigged, he zagged, and gave facial expressions that were alone worth the price of admission as the band opened their set with two tracks off the new album “X-Ray Visions” and “Firebirds.” After so many years together, the band is a tight knit unit playing off each other’s nuances. Guitarist Tim Sult kept the riffs coming as drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and bassist Dan Maines drove the pace. The band was definitely focused on their newer music with the majority of songs from the new album and their prior release “Earth Rocker.” Closing the set was “Electric Worry” and “One Eye Dollar” which had the audience singing and fist pumping along. The crowd was begging for more as Clutch took the stage for a three song encore. Neil brought out the harmonica and cow bell for “D.C. Sound Attack!” before the finale “The Wolf Man Kindly Requests…”.
It’s always a treat to see a great rock band tearing it up on stage and few bands do it as well as Clutch. This is a concert you’ll want to check out when they bring their special brand of “Psychic Warfare” to a town near you.
Setlist:
X-Ray Visions
Firebirds
Crucial Velocity
Burning Beard
Cyborg Bette
The Elephant Riders
A Quick Death In Texas
Behold the Colossus
Our Lady of Electric Light
Earth Rocker
Pure Rock Fury
The Mob Goes Wild
Noble Savage
Electric Worry
One Eye Dollar
Encore:
The Face
D.C. Sound Attack!
The Wolf Man Kindly Requests…
We would like to thank Doug Weber from New Ocean Media for the credentials to review the show.
