This was my first time to this venue since it's renovation. The inside is now carpeted and the lounge bar area is pretty plush, which also made for an odd pairing for the denim clad beard rockers in attendance this evening. The first band Kyng, a power trio from California had already taken the stage, Their drummer was really good and the guitarist who handled the bulk of the vocals had a decent set of pipes on him. They seemed to win the crowd over, though I noticed the songs they announced that were from their new album coming out this week were better than the older material in terms of melodies that hook you in.
Up next was Zakk Sabbath. This is of course Zakk Wylde playing Black Sabbath covers with the drummer from Queens of the Stoneage and the bassist from Rob Zombie's band, who has also played with Ozzy. To not be a member of any incarnation of Sabbath, Wylde is qualified to cover these songs since he has played the bulk of them while touring with Ozzy. They opened with "Children of the Grave" and then tackled the crowd pleasing "War Pigs". The only draw back was the extended solos Wylde took that seemed pretty excessive since they were not adding anything to the songs. Wylde is a great guitarist, but this was a little much even when he went out to solo from the back of the crowd by the sound board. They also play impressive versions of "Fairies Wear Boots" and "Into the Void". Wylde's Ozzy impersonation was a little nasal, but they were into it and won over the crowd, though there was a tone of Black Label Society shirts in support.
Clutch came on with little fanfare and got down to business. The newer songs didn't dominate the front end of the set. At one point they started to go into a song and Fallon wasn't feeling it so he stopped them then said carrying on and busted into another song. It was when they played "Escape From the Prison Planet" that the pit exploded and the crowd really locked in with them. This energy kept going with Fallon running the stage like a snake handling preacher, until they dropped it down and he picked up a guitar for "Our Lady of Electric Light". He is a better guitarist than I figured him to be, but sometimes juggling this with singing left him, backing off of certain passages that the sings more robustly on the albums.
When he put the guitar down and rallied to fire the crowd back up with some of my favorite songs from "Blast Tyrants". I might not be the most impartial party when I say that "Profits of Doom" was the best song of the night since It is my favorite , but to my ears it was. At this point in time the weird mix of the crow was more evident as hippie dancing was just as abundant as moshing and the two often crossed over into the pit. So this was not the typical rocker crowd that dominated the floor when Zakk Sabbath played, but a mix of hipsters, festival hippies, and red necks sprinkled in for good measure since we are still in Atlanta. Half of the crowd reeked of pot. The set came to a powerful climax with "Unto the Breach" and "Earth Rocker" which placed the emphasis more on the bands power. The drummer made every thing look easy, while the bass player and guitarist, pretty much laid back and did their job, leaving Fallon to work the stage, which he did rather naturally.
I left before the encore , which is a shame since it was two of my favorites from their last album, but it was 11:15 and I had a 30 minute walk home, but I left satisfied and my feeling about the band still high, so they delivered, which after paying 35 bucks for a ticket, says a lot considering I rarely allow myself to pay for a show at this point, unless like Clutch it's a band I have been looking forward to seeing. Make sure to catch them even if you have half an interest in the band and they will more than likely win you over.
Burning beard
Decapitation Blues
You Can't Stop Progress
The House that Peterbilt
Escape From the Prison Planet
Texan book of the Dead
Pure Rock Fury
Our Lady of Electric Light
Behold the Colossus
the Elephant Riders
You Love in Incarceration
The Mob Goes Wild
Profits of Doom
Unto the Breach
Earth Rocker
encore
X-ray Visions
Firebirds!
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