By DJ Astrocreep
My final gig of the year (probably) involves one last trip across the M62 to Manchester., back to the Academy for the stoner rock delights of Clutch, with 1000Mods and Bokassa in tow. Mad Friday is often not the best day to head on out, but some shows just shouldn’t be missed. Grabbing a cab, rather than risking the busy trains, I grab a couple of drinks at a local bar before heading to the venue for doors.
Bokassa come on to a decent sized crowd shortly after doors and do a pretty good job. With two of the trio sporting Liverpool football tops – a brave act in Manchester – they start winning people over well during their set. While there’s time for a more ballad type song mid set, most songs are quite up tempo, making it easier for those less acquainted with the band to appreciate their sound. A lot of their tracks come across as Motorhead worship, which is a noble cause in these rock n roll days.
Considering I’d last seen them six years previously , it was good to see them stepping up on to a bigger stage with aplomb, rightfully strutting their stuff with pride. The room is about three quarters full as we approach the end of their set and there are a lot of nodding heads and body movements amongst the busy crowd, a sure fire sign of a job well done. A well played set that feels far shorter than the 30 minutes they’re given. A couple of laughs echo around as they leave stage to You’ll Never Walk Alone, with more singing it than I would have expected in Manchester.
1000Mods take to the stage, the Greeks close to celebrating their 20th anniversary themselves. The room is all but packed out at this point and the Sabbath induced riffs clearly catch ears from the very off. The rhythmic bass paired with dual guitars approach has plenty of heads nodding in appreciation around the room. It’s hard to imagine feeling any more into it if I’d decided to drop acid just before the gig, such is the pummelling wall of noise.
We get a brief pause as unfortunately two people need to be escorted out between songs by security. The embarrassment of being thrown out of a Clutch gig for fighting is hopefully strong in their particular minds as they are led out. The band stop to let security do their job quickly and effectively without disturbing others around them, before we get back to the music. The incident almost feels like a break for an encore, as there’s only time for two more, but the set goes down really well. As close as they are to the end of the tour, there’s no sign of fatigue, the band are still tight as hell and it’s a superb set.
Finally, it’s Clutch time and they are sounding absolutely fierce. There are no signs of tour weariness at any point of the set, which is quite the achievement one date out from tour end. It’s noticeable how much smoke is pumped out for several minutes before they come out, making the lighting as nuch a part of the experience as the sound, both of which are perfectly manned through the set.
The lights dim and the crowd are abuzz with anticipation as our headliners finally take to the stage. Singing along to the entrance song, the capacity crowd are right at it from the off. Clutch are masters of getting things just right and the setlist is almost perfect.
While some of the crowd seem a little less knowledgeable of the first half of the set, with the exception of ‘Slaughter Beach’, they’re all well at it for the second half, as loud cheers and sing alongs erupt to ‘X Ray Visions’ and ‘The Regulator’, amongst others. Everyone is quite expectant for one track in particular, before finally…
BANG BANG BANG BANG VAMANOS VAMANOS
We may have to wait until the first song of the chorus, but it soon don’t worry our lives, any more. ‘Electric Worry’ and ‘Fortunate Son’ ring out for our two song encore, sending everyone packing with aplomb. A fantastic night of music.
- Photos by the author.
