Clutch w/Kamchatka
April 14th, 2008 @ Majestic Theatre in Madison, WI

On the night of April 14th, 2008, I had the privilege of catching one of what I consider to be a truly unique, one-of-a-kind rock-and-roll band, Clutch. I have seen Clutch live before, but it has been far too long! Also a bonus, catching them at a venue I have never been, the Majestic Theatre in Madison, WI. I made sure I brought some cash so I could score some Clutch swag and show my support. I made it to the venue just in time, a few minutes before Kamchatka opened. As soon as I knew they were the opening act, I checked out a few of their tracks via Myspace to see what all the fuss was about. After all, opening for the mighty C!, they must be special. I can remember thinking they were alright, and hadn't given it too much emphasis after that. When I walked in the door, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of concert-goers grazing the floor. I checked out the merch table right away, and was reminded by the (spleen) merchant how awesome Kamchatka is. They hit the stage right on time, 8pm. Kamchatka opened with a bang! This three piece from Sweden took the crowd by storm, and not just a few rumbles of thunder, a fucking hurricane of bass, guitar and drums! I was amazed at how tight the band was. Not even halfway through the first tune, i knew I would be the proud owner of both of their discs they had for sale. The music was a mix of blues, rock and old school Sabbathy riffage. The guitar player was incredible. The crowd was into it, bigtime! After about 45 minutes, the band finished up and raised the bar mighty high. My buddy's and I were all impressed.

After a long break between bands, what seemed like forever, the lights finally went down, the crowd roared and Public Enemy's "Son of a Bush" blared through the PA as Clutch slowly made their way onto the stage. "Big News I " started things off. The crowd went crazy and I couldn't help but smile as I could tell the younger group standing right in front of me were on cloud nine and they sang along and gave each other high five's. Clutch continued their massacre with a few from my favorite album Blast Tyrant. Threw in a few tracks from Slow Hole to China and a few from the new one From Beale Street to Oblivion and you have so far a great set. Neil announced that tonight was a special night, it is the tenth anniversary of the release of 1998's - "The Elephant Riders". They blasted into the title track, and continued with "Ship of Gold", "Soapmakers", "The Yeti", and my favorite track of the album, "Wishbone". It was great to hear all of those tracks live. "Electric Worry" and "Burning Beard" rounded out the set. The fans wouldn't allow Clutch to be done just yet. The encore was a giant jam of "Cypress Grove". The show was a success. The fans got their money's worth. As not a veteran, but seeing the band a handful of times... I realized the Jean-Paul Gaster is simply one of the best drummers on the planet! Man can that f*cker kick out the jams! I talked to a few folks outside after the show... some had traveled a long ways from Chicago and Minneapolis and were wondering where the party was. Since it was about midnight on Monday night, I sent them in the State Street directions in hopes they would locate some late night action. I would like to thank DRT Entertainment for supporting Adrenalin Metal Union, and for putting us on the guest list. To those of you who haven't had a chance to check out the mighty Clutch, don't wait any longer... this band is phenomenal, period. Until next time - keep the rock and roll a flowin'!

www.myspace.com/clutchband  
www.myspace.com/kamchatkasweden