(A benefit to always putting out solid music – people are actually excited when you “play the new stuff”) A Quick Death in Texas was awesome – the song features a killer groove-oriented guitar riff that really allowed Tim Sult to put on a display. As they moved into the heart of the set, Clutch focused more on their latest material, which is a pretty common theme for them. Clutch fans are diehard, and this show was no different – the energy at this show was extremely high, and Clutch really never let up. They followed that up with a fantastic rendition of Crucial Velocity, in which the crowd’s “Rocket 88” seemed louder than the speakers. and on the MICROPHONE – SCOORRPPIOOONNN!!” It was one hell of an opening, and the place went absolutely nuts. He’s also quite the singer, and his chops were on display right out of the gate, as halfway through the opening song (X-Ray Vision), he introduced the band: “And on the drums….Gemini. In contrast to that, vocalist/guitarist Neil Fallon can’t be held back, and is so animated that he makes it impossible for me to stand still. The technical ability of this band is really impressive – Jean-Paul Gaster on the drums and Tim Sult on the guitar are really fantastic to watch because of the way they lock in – neither of them are animated when they play but they both totally lose themselves in the music. I spent the first couple songs just watching the band do their thing. Something told me that the mob was about to go wild… My expectations couldn’t be higher Clutch – let’s do this.

As CoC finished their show, I snagged one last Sun King WeeMac and headed to the front of the venue. To open up the night, The Shrine and Corrosion of Conformity both put on really good shows, and my initial introduction to both bands was one of pleasant surprise. Clutch was on tour supporting their latest (eleventh!) album, called Psychic Warfare, and hit Indy on a rainy October day. (Recently, Nonpoint and 10 Years performed there). My most recent opportunity to catch them live was at The Vogue in Indy, which is a great small venue in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis. However, in my humble opinion, their real brilliance only comes to life during their show. Seemingly nothing is out of bounds for Clutch – Metal, stoner rock, blues, southern rock, and many more fall right in their wheelhouse, and the result is a seemingly endless catalog of fantastic songs, and albums that range from solid to absolute classic. Their music touches just about every genre on the planet – maybe most evident by a relatively new song called DC Sound Attack, that features a killer Go-Go beat on a cowbell as a prominent theme. They are veterans of the stage, with over two decades under their belt and the original lineup in tact. Anytime I get the chance to see Clutch, I take it – no questions asked.

Clutch xray vision