Clutch, at The Cat’s Cradle,Carboro, N.C., Feb. 9
 From Encore Magazine, Wilmington, NC


   Imagine for a moment, if you will, what it must
have been like seeing the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing
Module touch down at Tranquillity Base.  The same
effect, not as historically significant yet equally
celestial, occurred Feb. 9, 1999 A.D. at the Cat’s
Cradle when Clutch descended on the stage to sonically
level all in attendance with their groovy and fuzzy
interpretation of what we know as the hard rock form.
   Touring like madmen in their renovated Winabago,
the band blasted music predominately pulled from the
eponymous and space Clutch LP as well as from their
current platter, The Elephant Riders.  While the songs
on Clutch had more of a futuristic, mission control
style lyricism, The Elephant Riders looks into the
Civil War past through a fictional aura of
elephant-led cavalry.  The album was even recorded in
a Southern, black snake infested plantation house.
   If you have never heard Clutch, you are absolutely
missing the boat.  With influences as diverse as Deep
Purple, Led Zep, John Coltrane, Black Sabbath, and The
Grateful Dead, the result is a cauldron full of stew
that can’t be explained, only experienced.  The first
couple of songs that the band ripped out were in the
improvisational style of Cream, loosely fragmented
blueprints of what will probably be on their next
album.  They even tipped their hat to another space
invader-- Jimi Hendrix, with a couple of bars of "In
 From The Storm".
   Everyone in the house seemed to be rather sleepy
looking and tuned to frequency (myself included) as
the band churned out the classic "A Shogun Named
Marcus", followed by "Texan Book of The Dead" and
"Ship of Gold".  The two songs I wanted included in
their set "The Yeti" and "Dragonfly" were strangely
absent.  It didn’t matter.  The crunch coming out of
Tim Sult’s twin Orange amps and Jean-Paul Gaster’s
John Bohnam/Elvin Jones jazzy, yet powerful skin
bashing more than made up for it.
   There are several bands out there like Fu Manchu,
sHeavy, LAB, and of course, Clutch who have seemingly
been sucked into a vortex of spidery riffs, vintage
gear, ambiguous lyric sensibilities and customized
vans.  After the show we hung out with ‘em at a local
bar and I asked Neil Fallon where most of his lyrics
come from.  "Anywhere, really", was his reply.  "Most
of what we’re doing now is somewhat reflecting on the
past while looking to the future."
   The band said they really enjoyed playing here in
years past and really dug the Wilmington scene and its
fan base.  When will Clutch play again in Wilmington? 
Your guess is as good as mine.  Since there isn’t a
place on par with the now-defunct Mad Monk or Jacob’s
Run, I wouldn’t hold my breath.  Just kneel down,
Budweiser in hand, face the full moon and repeat after
me:  "I pledge my undying devotion and will follow
thee on the great shining path of monster trucks!"

--Keith S. Byers