Clutch & Red Tape

For those of you who are Human Lab fans — the scheduled openers for this night’s Brick Works show — forget about it, they were a no-show. Apparently, the band broke up over, you guessed it, artistic differences. The night began with Red Tape from Sacramento, California. Red Tape was a decent metal band pulling out a montage of heavy-hitting rock anthems that stayed true to their genre. This was a fun band to bang your head to, and the small crowd of 20 or so was doing just that. Red Tape’s four-piece ensemble had a lot of heart to go with their powerful music.
They had a punky, pop-y sound in many of their songs, especially their second number, “Stalingrad,” which could have easily been mistaken for a Mest or Good Charlotte cover. But the song that followed, “Dropin’ Bombs on Your Moms,” brought the crowd right back into that explosive, unmistakable pounding noise of hard rock. In their big, crowd pleasing number, “El Salvador,” lead singer and guitarist Jeff Jaworski sang with such raw conviction, I thought I was at a Rage Against the Machine concert. This was a welcomed contrast to the over-dramatized angry voice he used in his previous numbers. However, even though their Slayer cover was exceptional, there was nothing new or very original about this hard rocker band.
Unlike Red Tape, the headliner for the evening, Clutch, has infused two musical styles, creating a distinct and superior sound that is all their own. Clutch takes the hard-hitting form of heavy metal and transforms it into a more psychedelic groove with flashy ‘70s guitar riffs and funky flowing bass lines. This made for an interesting and intense sound that was both catchy and angry at the same time. By the second song the front row was already moshing, throwing me into the back of the crowd. From my new vantage point, I was able to focus on the band’s talent. All four members of Clutch are well-seasoned musicians. First there is Neil Fallon, lead singer and occasional guitarist. If Gene Simmons from Kiss were to have grown up in “Funky Town” you would get Clutch frontman Neil Fallon. Fallon’s guttural voice sounded like he just swallowed an angry German frog. This worked well with the hard-hitting music and angry lyrics. Guitarist Tim Sult pulled out some outstanding Hendrix-style moments and Dan Maines kept the hard rock bass lines flowing freely. Drummer Jean Paul Gaster was perhaps the best part of the band as he blew the crowd away with some outstanding drum solos. Most of their set was from their album Slow Hole To China, the most memorable song being “Oregon” with its heated frantic beats calmed and complimented by some smooth jazzy guitar work. The raw metal side of Clutch filled the audience with wild energy involving drunken chicks dancing on stage, extreme moshing and even the occasional crowd surfing.
– Mark Thomas
– Photo by Alyssa Starkey

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