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| Photo by David McClister |
Lucky to catch three bands in three different cities
is something that I will never do again. Losing my phone in Detroit, losing
myself in Pittsburgh, and losing my lunch in Columbus was enough to take all of
my energy. Purely for pleasure, I ventured to uncharted territory to Pittsburgh
and witnessed Graveyard.
Hailing from the beautiful lands of Gothenburg, Sweden, it
initially wasn’t love at first sight for me and Graveyard. Like any functional
relationship, it took work. Our first meeting was only okay. The sun shined on
the four piece as their beautiful hair blustered in the wind, but while their
talent was evident in Pittsburgh, my like of Graveyard grew into a full crush
in Detroit. On their 37th performance on this tour, I’m not sure
what it was that made my heart a-flutter during their set. It’s possible that it was the perfect venue
that is Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, the crowd that was more than into the band,
or maybe it was as simple as closing my eyes and letting them take the lead. I
traveled back to a time where love was rampant and Graveyard was the
soundtrack. Their 70s era soft psychedelic-blues-rock formula was the right
mixture for our one-sided love to grow. Joakim Nilsson’s voice is reminiscent
of a classic rock band from the 1970s, but with a relentless intensity and
hunger behind it. If attendees at The Missing Link Tour were unaware of who Graveyard
was before the show, they definitely knew who the fuck they were after.
Consistency is another word that describes a stable
relationship. My first Clutch show was
in Columbus in 2013 and my knowledge of the band was that a guy I was dating
was really into them, so that obviously meant that I was into them as
well. During the show, I became
intrigued. Clutch is so much more than “Careful with That Mic”.
Neil Fallon’s testosterone-filled voice always reminded me of my father and his
friends, breath smelling of Jack Daniels and cheap beer talking about what
seemed like nothing but was always something. Before Clutch’s performance in
Detroit, I had the opportunity to sit down with Fallon (video interview to be
posted soon) and he mentioned that he was ready to go home to resume some
normalcy as a husband and father before inevitably leaving for another
tour. With this part of our conversation
in mind, I witnessed Clutch perform at the Freedom Hill Amphitheatre to a packed
audience. I didn’t see an empty seat and
Fallon delivered, song after song, sipping on what looked like bourbon or
whiskey and water, with his well-groomed beard shaking with every syllable,
whether it was “The
Burning Beard” or “Profits
of Doom” or “Spacegrass”,
Fallon easily commanded attention with only the boom of his voice. Filling in
on bass for Dan Maines, since his wife is about to give birth, Fu Manchu
bassist Brad Davis played both Sterling Heights and Columbus dates, from what I
could tell flawlessly. Slated for release in September, Clutch’s “Psychic
Warfare” will most likely be supported with another tour in 2016.
My motivation to go on my itty bitty min-tour was
Mastodon. The Atlanta-based outfit got
ahold of me when I was still a minor.
Sitting in my grandparents’ living room watching MTV, “Colony of Birchmen” appeared
on my screen and I was changed forever. Unlike my growing love of Graveyard, I
fell for Mastodon instantly. While naysayers criticized the band for their
latest release “Once More Round the Sun” for being “not metal enough”, or even
“pop”, it is one of their strongest.
Brent Hinds, the band’s most animated and charismatic guitar
player, performed “DC Sound Attack” with Clutch in Sterling Heights and also
played guitar with Graveyard in Columbus. I unfortunately missed a performance
of “Blood and Thunder” in Red Rocks, Colorado where Neil Fallon took the stage
with Mastodon and sounded like a blood thirsty Viking after successfully
pillaging a small town.
Hinds’ antics such as kicking amps and rapidly flicking his
tongue kept my eyes on him, but in each city I did notice that his vocals were
muffled. In Pittsburgh, I couldn’t find the proper words to describe the bass
god that is Troy Sanders but in Detroit the haze became slightly clearer. In
Columbus, the smoke finally waned; watching Sanders is as if he is possessed
and the “normal” man inside is fighting the possessed part of him and
losing. Swaying and hell bent on bending
his back as close to 90 degrees as possible, talking and pointing to the
audience, and occasionally bulging his eyes, Sanders took Hinds’ spot as my
favorite member of the band. With that
said, Bill Kelliher and Hinds effortlessly shred the hardest but make it look
so easy. I overheard a man at the show in Columbus mention something about how
the men of Mastodon somehow haven’t developed carpel tunnel.
Both “Megaladon”
and “Oblivion” were
crowd favorites in all three cities, but hearing one of my favorite tracks from “Once More Round
the Sun”, “High Road”, was enough to seal in my Mastodon fandom. Although The
Missing Link tour is over, both Clutch and Graveyard are planning new material
to be released in September of this year. This tour made me feel as if I am
capable of love. Tour continues for Mastodon at Free
Press Summer Fest in Houston, Texas, and then to Europe.