Tours: CLUTCH Return to the Road in September, Play Minneapolis September 15

Clutch performing in 1998 at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas.

Everyone’s favorite stoner/grunge rockers Clutch have announced another round of U.S. tour dates to promote last year’s Earth Rocker album. Starting in Providence, Rhode Island on September 5, the routing takes them mostly through the Midwest before ending in Baltimore on September 27. Support on the tour will come from Lionize and American Sharks, and also includes appearances at the Riot Fests in Toronto, Chicago, and Denver. The tour hits First Avenue in Minneapolis on Monday, September 15, and tickets are on sale now through etix. The full list of dates follows.

September 5 – Providence, RI, Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel

September 6 – Clifton Park, NY, Upstate Concert Hall

September 6-7 – Toronto, ON, Riot Fest

September 9 – Knoxville, TN, Bijou Theatre

September 10 – Lexington, KY, Buster’s Billiards & Backroom

September 11 – Toledo, OH, Headliners

September 12-14 – Chicago, IL, Riot Fest

September 13 – Grand Rapids, MI, The Orbit Room

September 15 – Minneapolis, MN, First Avenue

September 16 – Sioux Falls, SD, The District

September 18 – Kansas City, MO, Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland

September 19 – Omaha, NE, Sokol Auditorium

September 19-21 – Denver, CO, Riot Fest

September 22 – Springfield, MO, Gillioz Theatre

September 23 – Indianapolis, IN, The Vogue

September 25 – Huntington, NY, The Paramount

September 26 – Norfolk, VA, The NorVa

September 27 – Baltimore, MD, The Shindig Music Festival

Weekly Concert Update - June 7, 2014

The What’s Up Lounge in Mankato has announced a crazy night of death metal and grindcore with Ambassador Gun, Glutton For Punishment, Human Bashing, Cantharone, Exmordium, and The Rising Plague on Saturday, June 28.

Mill City Nights in Minneapolis has Buckcherry returning to town on Thursday, August 7. No opening bands have been announced yet, and tickets are available now through AXS.

Rock band Saving Abel has added a second area show on Thursday, August 28 at the House of Rock in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. No other information is available at this time.

Hard rock legends Boston storm into Prior Lake at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel Showroom on Friday, August 29. Tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster today, Saturday, June 7 at 10:00 am. This show is near the end of a mammoth three-month-long U.S. tour for the band. Click here to check out some cool videos of PBS interviewing guitarist Tom Scholz for their web-series “The Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers”. The coolest video is “Sound Machine”, which features Tom talking about some of his custom make equipment he uses to get unique guitar sounds, and where he reveals that his favorite moment as an engineer was when he received two warranty cards for his company’s equipment from Jeff Beck!

Rock bands Hawthorne Heights and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus team up for a tour that brings them to The Garage in Burnsville on Tuesday, September 2. Rounding out the bill are New Empire, Famous Last Words, The Ongoing Concept, and Everybody Run. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketfly.

Clutch will be back in town, this time at First Avenue in Minneapolis, on Monday, September 15 with support from Lionize and American Sharks. Tickets are on sale now through etix.

Clutch performing on The Elephant Riders tour in 1998.

Underground alternative rock icons The Afghan Whigs return to town for a concert at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, October 11. The band reformed a couple years ago, and will be promoting their first album since 1998, Do To The Beast. Their show two years ago at the Varsity Theater sold out, so get your tickets early; they’re on sale now through etix.

Dave Davies, vocalist and guitarist for The Kinks, will play the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina, on Friday, November 7. No further information is available at this time.

This show has been rescheduled for Friday, November 29

Former Journey and Tyketto vocalist Steve Augeri will rock Clyde Iron Works in Duluth on Friday, November 29. Guns 'N' Garters will open the show. This is a rescheduled show originally to take place on June 6, so check with the venue about refunds or to find out if tickets you already purchased are good for the new date.

Tonight - CLUTCH, WITCHDEN in Minneapolis; THE CONTORTIONIST and WITHIN THE RUINS in Duluth

Clutch live on October 28, 1998 at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Kansas. Click on the photo to see more pictures from this show.

Get ready for some heavy rock tonight at First Avenue in Minneapolis as Clutch returns with support from awesome stoner rock band Orange Goblin, Lionize, and Scorpion Child. This promises to be a great bill from top to bottom, so get their early for the 6:30 start time. It's an 18+ show, and tickets are available for $25 at the door. Check out the review of the latest Clutch album Earth Rocker (7/10) as well as the recent From The Vault feature on Clutch with pictures and a variety of promotional items from tours for their first three albums from 1993 to 1998.

Local sludge band Witchden continues their Wednesday night residency for the the month at Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis with Gar and Morality Crisis. It's a free 21+ show that starts at 9:00.

The co-headlining tour of The Contortionist and Within The Ruins makes it up to Duluth at Clyde Iron Works with support from I Declare War, Reflections, and City In The Sea.   This is an all ages show with a 5:30 show time. Tickets are $15 at the door. Read the review of Intrinsic from The Contortionist (10/10) here. City In The Sea missed the show in St. Paul last night due to weather driving through South Dakota so don't be surprised if they can't make it to Duluth.

Album Review - CLUTCH

Clutch – Earth Rocker

Weathermaker, 2013

7/10

You never quite know what to expect from this zany bunch, and Earth Rocker continues the Clutch tradition of heavy grooves, quirky lyrics, and undeniable appeal. By nature this leads to some uneasy moments, but on the whole the band’s tenth album will please long-time fans. Clutch is at their best when they throw aside their more bizarre leanings and simply rock on songs like “Crucial Velocity” and the title track. There’s plenty here to keep things interesting, from the drum-driven “Mr. Freedom”, the 70s-era Aerosmith guitar sound of “Unto The Breach”, and the harmonica and explosive chorus of “D.C. Sound Attack!”. I’ve never liked singer Neil Fallon’s deep, bellowing voice he frequently employs instead his bark-like screams, so tunes like “The Face” and the bluesy “Gone Cole” fall flat for my tastes. Clutch is often lumped into the stoner rock category, but their albums are much more sonically diverse. Earth Rocker is no exception and there’s plenty here to like. The unpredictable vocal stylings of Neil, however, are an acquired taste and sometimes go too far. You gotta love, though, Clutch’s uncanny knack for delivering what you’d expect but somehow being capable able to throw in some interesting surprises. Clutch fans should consider Earth Rocker mandatory listening.

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

RELATED CONTENT: Check out the Clutch's From The Vault feature that has lots of pictures and promotional items from 1993-1998.

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.

From The Vault - SEVENDUST

I saw Sevendust a number times from 1997–2000 out on the road promoting their first two albums, Sevendust and Home. Here's a number of pictures and promotional items from that time.

A 1997 promotional picture signed by the band.

The first time seeing Sevendust was on July 19, 1997 at The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas soon after the release of their debut album. I've already posted the audio of this show for download here, where you can read more details about this show. They were on the road supporting Coal Chamber, but Coal Chamber cancelled to attend an MTV Awards show. Refunds for the show were offered, but Sevendust went ahead with their own headline show anyway for about 30–50 people.

Click on the picture to download the complete audio recording of this Sevendust concert from 1997.

Another promotional picture from 1997.

Sevendust came back to the Kansas City area for a show with Coal Chamber (Dayinthelife... had cancelled, I believe) on February 12, 1998. I honestly don't remember much about this show other than it being a completely packed house.

The next time seeing them was on March 11, 1998 at The Beaumont Club in Kansas City supporting Limp Bizkit and Clutch for a sold-out show. By this time Sevendust was taking off, and touring continued with a run with Clutch, Stuck Mojo, and Ultraspank that brought them back to Lawrence on October 28, 1998 at the Granada Theater.

Advertisement for a 1999 show in San Bernardino, CA - I wish I had been at this one!

A 1999 promotional picture for the second album, Home.

My final time seeing Sevendust during this time was June 18, 2000 at Cox Arena in San Diego where they were direct support to Creed with Nickelback opening (I previously posted Nickelback pictures from this concert here).

Sevendust performing in San Diego on June 18, 2000. Click on either of the pictures to see more photos from this show (18).

Sevendust will be performing Monday, April 8 at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with support from Coal Chamber, Lacuna Coil, and Candlelight Red.

In Concert This Week - April 4, 2013

Incredibly, there’s at least one show every single night this next week so there’s no excuse to not get out to something of interest.

Tomorrow, Friday, April 5, Screaming Mechanical Brain tops a local bill with A Boy And His Dog, The Number Seven, The Disaster Radius, and Trip System at the Forest Lake Teen Center in Forest Lake. This is an all ages show that gets underway early at 4:00. I reviewed the latest Screaming Mechanical Brain album The Policy Of Unilateral Hate here (9/10). Tonight also has American Youth and Burn Fetish playing at The Garage in Burnsville for an all ages show.

Noisy metal crew Today Is The Day brings their mayhem to the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis with support from Black Tusk, KEN Mode, and Fight Amp on Saturday, April 6.

On Sunday, April 7 metalcore/punk band A Day To Remember performs at Myth in St. Paul with Of Mice & Men and Issues. That same night Bon Jovi plays at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Sevendust and a reformed Coal Chamber play Mill City Nights in Minneapolis with Lacuna Coil and Candlelight Red on Monday, April 8. This is also a night of brutal death metal at Station 4 in St. Paul with Suffocation, Exhumed, Jungle Rot, Rings Of Saturn, and Adimiron.

Tuesday, April 9 is an evening of innovative metalcore with Within The Ruins and The Contortionist co-headlining a bill with I Declare War, Reflections, and City And The Sea at Station 4 in St. Paul. Read the review of the latest album from The Contortionist, Intrinsic here (10/10).

The mighty Clutch returns on Wednesday, April 10 for a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis with Orange Goblin, Lionize, and Scorpion Child. Local stoner/sludge band Witchden plays Cause Spirits & Soundbar in Minneapolis with Gar and Morality Crisis the same night. For those up north, The Contortionist, Within The Ruins, I Declare War, Reflections, and City And The Sea play at Clyde Iron Works in Duluth.

To cap off the week, 80s metal band Faster Pussycat plays Station 4 in St. Paul with local support from Rockfist, The Regenerators, and Mommy Sez No on Thursday, April 11.