Category Archives: Live Shows

Live Shows, Metal, Music, Music Video, New Release, Review, Rock

Clutch – Full Fathom Five: Audio Field Recordings 2007-2008 – CD Review

2 October, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Rock act Clutch has recently released Full Fathom Five: Audio Field Recordings 2007-2008, a CD including many of the live tracks that appear on their first ever live DVD. The CD and DVD appear to be aimed towards the Clutch fan base as it is being sold only through Clutch’s official website, Merch.Com, and other Clutch websites. So far both releases are not available in retail chains.

Where Clutch has released live albums before, this is the band’s first live DVD to be released and also is their first release under the band’s own label Weathermaker Music. Clutch plans on releasing further material on their own label.

Formed in the early nineties, Clutch was not your typical rise-to-the-top rock band. Gaining early commercial attention was something the band seemed to never worry about. Starting off selling out small clubs, they, through hard work and perseverance, soon found themselves selling out larger shows and were later headlining tours. Their sound is that of metal, stoner rock, and even a little blues mixed up. Their solid sound seems to lure in new fans with every release.

Speaking of fans, famous skater misfit Bam Margera labels himself and hug fan of Clutch and even helped direct the video for “The Crowd Goes Wild” for the band. As a return perhaps, Clutch played live for Bam Margera and a few lucky attendees on a ski slope on a past episode of Viva La Bam. That is about as mainstream the band has ever been as they really do not care for the predictable rock band approach.

If you have never seen Clutch live, you need to know that they are here to rock. They do not have fancy stage setups nor do they pause a lot in between songs. I can say this from experience as once I heard them through the doors of the House Of Blues in Cleveland. The show was sold out and my only way in fell through (it sounded great). I also can say that a year later I went back to the same venue with ticket in hand (visually just as amazing).

The CD and DVD capture tracks played by Clutch on four separate occasions in New Jersey, Pittsburgh (Mr. Small’s Theatre, one of the coolest venues I have ever been to), and overseas in Sydney. For a review of the DVD check out what Charile Doherty, a Blogcritics.Org writer had to say about it.

Starting off the fifteen track CD was “Dragonfly” a rather grungy track with Neil Fallon roaring throughout as the guitar riffs landed heavy and the drumming was stern. I especially got a kick out of the track originally found on Elephant Riders going into a little jam session and then unexpectedly slammed into From Beale Street to Oblivion’s “Child Of The City” without even missing a beat. Upon the completion of these two songs, the crowd went spastic.

“Texan Book Of The Dead”, the first single off the CD, showed Nail Fallon’s voice struggling a tad but hardly noticeable to the point where the song was dire sounding. “Oh Eee Oh Ahh Ahh” was sung during the track reminding of Alvin & The Chipmunks. The song is currently in heavy rotation on Sirius’ Faction Radio.

“The Mob Goes Wild” was nowhere even close to sounding like the studio recording with a slowed down chorus but I loved the organ playing and just the energy that could be felt throughout. Sometimes a change in tempo and pitch is a good thing. “Cypress Grove” simply rocked out with help from some sick harmonica playing. Once again there was a mid song jam session making for an incredible listen. “Ship Of Gold” and “10001110101” were two other favorites of mine that I enjoyed profusely.

The only vice I have with the performance was that the band really only focused on material from 1995 onward. Many of the songs played were welcome to my ears but I was kind of hoping to hear a rare track from Transnational Speedway League. We can all dream, can’t we?

This CD is just a sample of the twenty song live DVD that was released showcasing their abilities. I now have to go out and order the DVD because after hearing this I need to see it. Hell, any fan of solid rock music should check the DVD out and if for whatever reason you have no DVD player then this CD should at least give you a small fix of what Clutch is capable of doing. Do yourself a favor and order the CD or the DVD today by heading over to Clutch’s website, you won’t regret it.

For your viewing pleasure “Texan Book Of The Dead”:

Here is the video that Bam Margera directed, “The Mob Goes Wild”:

Live Shows, Music, New Release, Punk, Random

Missed Festival, Wedding, & 3OH3!

28 September, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

I’ve had a few days off now and it all comes to an end in less than 5 hours. I took some time away from work to be with friends as one of us was getting married. I normally do not like weddings as they are very formal and of course I am not a church goer.

I feel like I canceled some plans too in order to attend the wedding. I thought I told Matt that I was going to hook up with him sometime this weekend as he and his friend were going to be in Kent for We The People Fest. I told Matt that my wife and I were possibly going to see Hawthorne Heights and Ben Taylor play at the fest on Friday and also check out the rest of the event but in turn we decided to crash the wedding rehearsal party. Saturday was an all day event for the wedding, and Sunday we were too pooped to go out there and see the final day, plus the Cleveland Browns were playing. (Finally, a win!)

Sorry Matt… I hope it was a good time. I hope you can forgive me and tell me a little about it…if you went.

I am sorry too, Chuck Norris, as I know you were speaking on Sunday. I know you wanted me to be there.

So let me tell you a little about the wedding…

My friends Sam and Ryan decided to tie the knot. Sam is a few years younger than me and I have known him for a while. He grew up in the same city as I did. I met him through friends and thanks to beer and punk rock music we became friends.

Sam met Ryan, they fell in love, and got married. They had a wedding locally and my wife and I were invited along with plenty of friends. The neat thing about the wedding is that it was sort of a punk rock wedding with a lot of guests being in local punk rock acts at one time or currently. Sam wore Chuck Taylors as did the groomsmen and when the happy couple entered the reception hall “Hey Ho Let’s Go” was played.

I sat at a table with my friends who some were also members of The Facials. They are a Cleveland punk rock band that has played tons of shows in Cleveland and Akron as well has opened for Rancid and UK Subs. They are currently working on a new album and I will be sure to share it once it is pressed.

Also as the wedding were friends of mine who were once in the now defunct punk acts such as the Narcoleptics X5, the Beat Kids, and Novallos. Its been a while since some of the bands played local shows. It was awesome to see that even that some of the bands separated that they still remained friends. The groom was actually a member of all three of the bands.

At one time during the day, the former drummer of Novallos, Ryan, was sitting next to me at a bar in between the wedding and reception, and we were talking about how he moved to Colorado and recently moved back. Before long we started talking about music. He asked me if I was at the Warped Tour this summer and when I said I was he asked if I saw a band called 3OH3!. I said hell yes.

I told Ryan that I loved 3OH3! and caught their entire set at the Warped Tour. Knowing that they were from Colorado I already knew what he was going to tell me. He knew them. I was stoked to hear Ryan tell stories about them. He then told me that they would be playing in Cleveland in November and asked me and my wife if we wanted to hang out with them. I thought that was pretty awesome. We shall see what happens.

The band is relatively new but has been making a strong impact on many music lovers. Their mix of emo, punk, and crunk really made me a fan. I reviewed their debut Want and will post it in my archives on here.

If I do happen to kick it with 3OH3! I will be sure to let you all know how it was.

Emo, Hip Hop, Live Shows, Mash-Up, Music, Music Video, Punk, Reunion, Rock

Face To Face Reunion?

24 September, 2008 Brian Mc 3 Comments

I was just killing some time tonight when I came upon a post on Punknews.Org stating that Face To Face has started a reunion tour. Excuse me??? Apparently I have been out of the loop because I thought the band called it quits for good in 2002. I really hadn’t heard anything from them since.

Face To Face is a So.Cal punk rock band that was one of my favorites in the late nineties. Their one song that got major attention was “Disconnected”…

I am not sure yet if the band is going to only tour a couple of cities at this time in the US and overseas or if they will take it one step further and create and album together. I would love to see a new Face To Face album as they are one of those punk bands I wish never broke up.

I have been aware that front man Trevor Keith has been doing his own thing since the band split. In fact he has been doing a few things…a few things I was not entirely aware of.

First there is his solo material he has been working on and his label Antagonist Records. I had no idea Trevor Keith has been working on creating music on his own. Earlier this year he released his solo album Melancholics Anonymous. The album is available on his website via download for 5 bucks or you can send him some of your cold hard cash and he’ll send you a CD if he has any left. I am going to be dishing out 5 bucks myself so I can check it out. He has the album streaming on his site and from what I hear I like so far.

Then there is Legion Of Doom, a mash-up project like no other featuring Trevor Keith and producer Chad Blinman. The duo remixes emo, punk, and hip hop songs as well as creates original material, some of which have been featured in films. I have been a fan of this project for a couple of year now when I accidentally came across a remix of Senses Fail and Coheed & Cambira….

I love the sound of the two bands clashing together, it’s perfect (but you have to like the bands to appreciate it too of course). I also got a kick out of Claudo’s shorter hair on the video…. This song and others were released on Legion Of Doom’s debut CD called Incorporated. The CD is well out of print but you can find it out there in the digital world, I know I did.

Funny, Indie, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, New Release, Rock

Ben Folds Five Reunites – Kinda.

19 September, 2008 Brian Mc 1 Comment

Today would be the day where I wished I lived in North Carolina.

My good pal Matt already talked about this event a few weeks back on Addicted To Vinyl. I previously had heard about it before he reminded me it was not a dream but had not had time to write anything about it until now.

Thanks to MySpace, Ben Folds Five reunited tonight to play a special show in their native homeland at the University of North Carolina. The band helped launch MySpace’s new music feature “Front To Back”. “Front To Back” pretty much sums up the idea, a selected band will play an entire album of theirs front to back for a special benefit show that later will be available on the “Place For Friends” website for public viewing.

Ben Folds was asked to play the premier “Front To Back” show originally solo but chose to contact his past band mates to see if they would get together for a special situation. Thanks to good timing, bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee agreed to perform. The band never really broke up but then again they never have stayed together. In fact it has been just about 10 years since Ben Folds Five released their last album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – the very album they played front to back tonight. All three members agreed to play their last recording live to many lucky fans who nabbed tickets to the sold out show.

Proceeds from the sales of the show will benefit Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that helps children with facial deformities.

Ben Folds Five does not plan on continuing to tour after tonight as they all have their own projects going on. I just hope that perhaps one day in the future they will come together and put out a Ben Folds Five album once again.

Ben Folds has his new album Way To Normal dropping at the end of this month and I can not tell you how excited I am to hear it.

Here is a video from the new release featuring Regina Spektor as well stars Tim and Eric from the Tim & Eric Show on Adult Swim.

You Dont Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)

And for those of you that hadn’t heard, Ben Folds himself leaked Way To Normal to the internet himself. The catch was that the leak was actually 6 fake songs the artist recorded in only 8 hours. You can read more about it on RollingStone.Com. The guy is a hilarious genius.

Here are a few more videos from Ben Folds & Ben Folds Five I enjoy:

This is a cover of The Postal Service I randomly came accross…
Such Great Heights

Artist Site

Bad Religion @ Cleveland Agora – 1996

11 September, 2008 Brian Mc 2 Comments

Wow did I ever find a gem today on YouTube.

For almost 20 minutes this evening I flashed back to one of my favorite concerts ever 12 years ago. I remember the line up vividly. It was The Gray Race Tour featuring Bad Religion with special guests Unwritten Law and Dance Hall Crashers at the infamous Cleveland Agora.

I was fresh out of high school, reckless, and an avid punk rocker. I went to the show with a big group of friends….we took our friend’s mom’s van that had the worst suspension ever. In fact we had to turn around on route 422 and swap the van out with another friend’s mom’s van.

One thing I recall about that show was there there were cameras all over the place, professional cameras. The cameras were on the balconies of the Agora as well as on the shoulders of cameramen. My friends and I got excited because we were going to be filmed during the performance. We hoped it would be released on VHS (that’s right kids, DVDs did not exist back then).

I owe that tour for introducing SoCal Surf/Skate punk rockers Unwritten Law to me. I am still a fan of them today. During their performance I noticed the cameras were not rolling so we all agreed that the camera were there only for Bad Religion.

When Bad Religion took stage we all went insane. I remember moshing and dancing and just acting like a complete fool. At times I was just falling on people and letting them push me around as I sang at the top of my lungs. I was being a carefree 19 year old and was loving every moment of it. For the record, I was sober too…I got carded when I tried to buy beers….haha.

As the years passed I slowly forgot about that show. Since none of us could ever hunt down that footage of the show we all figured it was lost. A few weeks ago one of my buddies who went to that show with me called me telling me he saw some footage of the show on YouTube. I was in disbelief yet thrilled that it surfaced. Well thanks to my busy like I completely forgot about that phone conversation until today when I logged onto YouTube and looked it up.

Sure enough, it’s Bad Religion at the Cleveland Agora 1996. It was a sold out show. My friends and I were front row slightly to the right of center stage. I laughed when I saw the pit because I know I was a part of it. I remember it so clearly and now you can see what I experienced…

Part I:

Part II:

Other footage: