Article by: Eric Wieladek
Photos by: Steven Principato

Sayreville, NJ — I was given the opportunity to review what may be my favorite band (still touring) — Clutch. Living in New Jersey, fairly close to their home state of Maryland, I have easily been to at least twenty or so of their shows. Now, one of the things I have always loved about going to a Clutch show is seeing and learning about the opening bands on the bill, ranging from Mastodon and Sixty Watt Shaman, to solo acts like William Elliot Whitmore (which if you are a fan of the banjo and a bluesy/gravelly voice, I highly recommend). For being more or less a “rock” band, (more on that later), Clutch always seems to bring out on tour with them a wide variety of acts and genres — and tonight was no different.

First up for the night, Asbury Park’s own, Negative Sky. Now, I would like to preface this by saying I have never been a huge fan of the Metalcore genre as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, when it’s done well, I do enjoy it. But when done wrong it feels like a bunch of guys on stage trying to put on a tough facade and act the part of their musical heroes. In those incidents it just comes off as fake and causes me to lose interest rather quickly. That being said, this was not the case for Negative Sky. As they started their set you were treated to a great mix of metal, with some great, almost old school sounding hardcore vocals — at times, when yelled in rapid succession, they almost had a Lynn Strait sound to them, which put a smile on my face. Balancing out the heavy riffs, breakdowns and aggressive vocals were some great clean harmonies that sounded like something from a System of a Down song sung over the more melodic parts. Yes, I know this is a typical trope of the genre, but what was refreshing here was that it came across as very honest; there was no tough guy act going on. It was because of this that I ended up enjoying these guys much more than I initially expected. If you get the chance I would suggest giving their tracks, “The Dark Unknown,” and “Beneath” a listen to hear what I’m getting at.

From here we move on to what I would comfortably describe as the most unique band of the night, and even that is putting it lightly. Up next we have The Mike Dillon Band. Now, it would be very difficult to talk about this band without first talking about the front man and the bands namesake — Mike Dillon. Maybe it’s because of his impressive vibraphone skills, but it is hard to not draw comparisons between Mike Dillon and the likes of Mike Patton, and even the great Frank Zappa. Mixing music styles anywhere from metal/rock to ska (Did you know you could get that perfect ska sound with a vibraphone instead of a horn section? Yeah, neither did I) you get to witness Mike Dillon jumping back and forth between instruments, including some great tribal beats on his Latin percussion, to simply playing a tin can for their finale — all the while shouting out lyrics with the delivery of a madman. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to expect when they started, but became very intrigued by what I think was the second song they played, “Hero the Burro.” But the song that completely won me over was the high energy punk track “Speed Trap,” which had Mike Dillon dancing atop his vibraphone belting out lyrics in an almost Henry Rollins fashion.

The third openers of the evening was a group nobody in the audience seemed to be expecting — Mariachi El Bronx, a very traditional Mariachi band. Now honestly, asides from background music in movies, I know very little about this genre. I can say that these guys put on a good set and that I, and about 80% of the audience, thoroughly enjoyed their music. Large groups of people broke out into dance and were cheering along to the music. The rest of that crowd, well… it wasn’t quite their “cup of tea.” While trying to learn more about the band after the show, I learned that they are actually a hardcore punk band that goes by the name “The Bronx” who just so happens to also play Mariachi on the side. It makes you wonder what kind of reaction that would have gotten if they went that route. All in all, if you are a fan of the genre I would definitely seek them out.

And finally, our headlining act, Clutch. Some refer to them as stoner rock, others simply as hard rock. But I believe there is no way better way to categorize them by citing their fifth studio album and calling them “Pure Rock Fury.” Formed in the early ’90s, these guys have been writing and evolving their brand of rock (or whatever you choose to call it) for the past 25 years. Starting out more on the alt metal side of the genre, you would have originally found Clutch playing alongside bands like Korn and Marilyn Manson. Over the years the foursome (and sometimes “fivesome”) have added a much bluesier/funk edge to their music, which has gotten us closer to the sound of the Clutch people know today. In making these changes, a complaint that some fans started to voice, was that around their 7th-9th studio album they started to lose their heavier tone. This was quickly silenced with the release of their last two CD’s, Earth Rocker and Psychic Warfare. So now that we’ve gotten that quick history lesson out of the way you may be asking, “How was the show?” To that, I would simply answer: “Amazing.”

Pulling from their 25 years of material, they started off strong by playing a couple of older and heavier songs, namely “Passive Restraints” and “The House that Peterbilt.” The band continued their set mixing songs new and old while singer Neil Fallon barked out vocals for his loyal followers. During this time the crowd was treated to two extended drum solo/breaks by one of the best rock drummers around today, Jean-Paul Gaster. Simultaneously, Tim Sult and Dan Maines blasted through some very infectious riffs and groovy bass lines. They even brought Mike Dillon back out to play accompanying percussion as they played through the track “Frankenstein,” which Neil stated they hadn’t played in over 14 years.

Though never a flashy band, (one that actually seems to take pride in their working class, “every man” look) they make up for it with their musical prowess and ability to make even this metal head dance. This is something I normally refuse to do, even at my own wedding… ask my wife! (Note: That is of course until the wedding DJ played the one Clutch song that my wonderful wife permitted. Jokes aside, if you marry someone that is okay with a mosh pit breaking out at your wedding, you should be very happy with your decision.) So in closing, if you are not that familiar with the music of Clutch, I would recommend some of their more accessible singles like “The Mob Goes Wild,” “Electric Worry,” or “Earth Rocker.” If you’re somewhat familiar with what they do and are looking for something a little deeper, I would recommend their 2003 album Slow Hole to China. Above all, if you get the chance, check them out live. Just make sure you bring your dancing shoes. Oh, and if you see me at a show, please be kind; I am well aware I can’t dance, and I do not care.