Monday, February 16, 2009

Clutch, and some other bands

Friday night we went to see one of our favorite bands - Clutch. We have seen them once before, in Austin, and knew that they would put on a good show. Their music is hard to describe - it is rock-blues-metalish, but with a dash of funny. We weren't sure what to expect with regards to the venue, since we haven't been to any other concerts here in LR yet, and we only went to a couple in Austin that weren't in the big arena. The Village was a pleasant discovery - we had seats, comfy seats! When we went to see Clutch in Austin, it was at Emo's, one of the most well-known clubs, and one of the more uncomfortable I would say. There, we were surrounded by drunk, smoking pushy fans, with nowhere to sit or get out of the way. At the Village, there was an open floor for those fans who wanted to dance and get jostled, but there were also lots of seats for those of us fuddy-duddies who just wanted to have personal space.

Enough about the seats - the music. The first band was OK - lots of exuberance and enthusiasm, but lacking in experience, or talent. The music was loud (to be expected - we had earplugs) and rather relentless - they didn't know how to use space within the music to create tension and interest. The second act was a solo singer who was touted (on his website, of course) as being a great hidden, just discovered talent. Meh. The chatty fan next to us (he made Benjamin his best friend for the evening) whispered that the singer was only on tour because he had the best drugs. That might explain it. The third opening act was Clutch, but as an all instrumental band called The Bakerton Group. At one point a fan yelled out the name of a Clutch song, and the guitarist (lead singer for Clutch) responded - "We're not that group yet," an interesting existential and identity question for the philosophers among us. Anyway, the definitely rocked. Made the first group look very amateur. A great beat, interesting rhythms, lots of sound. After they finished, there was a break, and they returned to the stage as Clutch. Unlike last time, we actually knew most of the songs they played (we hadn't listened to several albums at that point), and could sing along with the other fans. Benjamin and I even got up and "danced" in our seats a little bit (a momentus occasion, since we are both rather bad at it).

It was a long evening - the first group started at 8, and Clutch didn't finish until almost 12:30. We, or at least I, am getting too old for that sort of thing (not that I was ever really up to it), especially considering that I had been up since 5:30 and worked all day. But it was fun, and we had a good time.

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