From The Vault - CLUTCH

Off the wall heavy rockers Clutch are out now promoting their new album Earth Rocker so I dug through my archives to present the findings from early Clutch shows up through The Elephant Riders. My first live exposure to the band was when they were out supporting their debut album, Transnational Speedway League, on a crushing bill that had them sandwiched between Sepultura and Fear Factory on March 29, 1993 at Big Dog's in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Sepultura was riding high on the Chaos A.D. album, while Fear Factory was promoting Soul Of A New Machine. From my recollection, Clutch ripped through most the debut album, including "Earthworm", "A Shogun Named Marcus", "Rats", and "El Jefe Speaks".

The only time I remember seeing Clutch on the road for their second, self-titled album was in 1995 at The Hurricane in Kansas City on a co-headling jaunt with Tad with Far opening the show. Clutch and Tad was a great pairing, and both bands put on intense performances.

Two promotional pictures of Clutch from 1998 for The Elephant Riders album.

Clutch hit the road heavily for their third album, The Elephant Riders, during which time they played Lawrence, Kansas and Kansas City a number of times. March 11, 1998 had them playing The Beaumont Club in Kansas City on an unlikely tour opening for Limp Bizkit with Sevendust. The crowd was respectful but seemed largely indifferent. That same year, they did a phenomenal headlining show at The Bottleneck in Lawrence as part of a short tour with support from Shine (who later changed their name to Spirit Caravan).

The pictures below were all taken at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas on October 28, 1998 as direct support to Sevendust together with Stuck Mojo and Ultraspank. Again, Clutch seemed out of place on this tour, but they still rolled through a great set as only they can do.

Clutch performing October 28, 1998 at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas. Click on any of the live pictures to see more photos from this show (20).

Clutch performs tomorrow, Wednesday, April 10 at First Avenue in Minneapolis with support from Orange Goblin, Lionize, and Scorpion Child.