This was supposed to by my week of rock and roll heaven. Ministry’s farewell tour one night followed by Clutch the next. Unfortunately, much like my first few efforts at the wild thang it ended up becoming a frustrating disappointment that left me wondering if the lost sleep was really even worth it. Let’s start with Ministry shall we…

Had this just been another Ministry tour coming through town I would have been a little disappointed in the show but I would have been over it by the time I could walk the 6 blocks home but it wasn’t. This was it. The C U LaTour. The big finale. To quote their own fucking press release: The show will consist of a 2 1/2 hour set featuring not only tracks from their 28 years, but also archival Ministry video footage. Featuring not only tracks from their 28 years…

My beef with the Ministry show wasn’t the show itself…matter a fact, if your knowledge of Ministry began with Psalm 69 then you probably loved the show. My beef is what was absent from the show. No Stigmata? Are you kidding me? Where the fuck was So What?

See, there’s my beef. Pure song selection. Hell, I wasn’t wanting Everyday is Halloween but Supernaut would have been nice. So, as Al and his merry band left the stage I looked to my friend and our eyes were both saying the same thing…Are you kidding me? The better not be it…but it, it was and I left feeling like I had been given a big fuck you from Al and Co.

Clutch was to be my saviour from the disappointment the night before. Wash off the disappointment. My brother shows up at the house and we prime up with a few whiskey drinks before walking up to the show. As we approach the show I’m noticing an abnormal amount of people walking away from the show. I didn’t think to much about it until I noticed a big hand written sign in front of the doors and another taped to the door which, and I’m paraphrasing here, read: Due to Neil having throat problems Clutch will be performing as The Bakerton Group. For those that don’t know, The Bakerton Group is the bluesy jam band Clutch side project. Decidedly not Clutch. The disappointment would not be cleansed tonight.

Since I had gotten a free ticket I went ahead and went in to at least see what The Bakerton Group was all about. I made it for 3 songs. I am not a jam band kinda guy and just could not get into it. I don’t blame Clutch at all…people get sick…but on this particular evening it was a massive bummer.

In an effort to shed all this nastiness I am posting a few of the songs I wish I would have heard of this intended week of rock and roll heaven:

Ministry - Stigmata
Ministry - So What
Ministry - Supernaut
Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod (Al could have sung it for the final tour)

Clutch - Cypress Grove
Clutch - Mob Goes Wild
Clutch - Regulator

The other day I passingly mentioned that Clutch was coming to town on April 24 and that got me to thinking about the fact that I have not mentioned the EP from The Company Band on ninebullets.

The Company Band is Clutch frontman Neil Fallon (vocals), Fireball Ministry frontman James Rota (guitars), Dave Bone (guitars), CKY’s drummer Jess Margera and bassist Jason Diamond. They cite their influences as: Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart Stores, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, General Motors, etc. They have just released a 4 track EP available on iTunes and MerchDirect. So far as sound goes, imagine a more metal version of Clutch. If, like me, you worship at the alter of Neil Fallon you need to pick this EP up.

Track Listing:

1. Company Man
2. Fortune’s a Mistress
3. Spellbinder
4. Heartache & Misery

All this anti-corp. stuff reminded me of my favorite Snog song: Corporate Slave

This cd goes straight to the Essential Listening list!

A lot of the people I hang around with have lost interest in Clutch. They contend the band has lost its edge. I am not of that camp. I believe that Clutch fully realized their potential with 2004’s Blast Tyrant and rate Blast Tyrant, Robot Hive: Exodus and their newest effort From Beale Street to Oblivion (March 27 release) as the three best albums of their career. With Beale Street, Clutch finally stops flirting with the bluesy Southern rock sound, and embraces it fully.

Neil Fallon’s trademark deep voice is as preacher-like as ever, and his lyrical pen has not dulled one bit. Personally, I think his humor really shines through on “When Vegans Attack”. As an aside: is it me or does the opening guitar riff sound like “Lil’ Devil” from The Cult album Electric?

Beale Street leaked to the internets waaaaaayyyyy back in February, so I was able to listen to it every day I was on my recent ski trip. I constantly found myself asking: “Is this Clutch’s best album ever?” It might just be. Beale Street is definitely their most consistent effort from start to finish. They way they have embraced blues riffs and blues keys … I have to say “yes”, despite the haterade of my friends. I love this fucking CD. There is zero doubt that I am adding it to my essential listening list. Starting right now Beale Street is not only my favorite album of Clutch’s fifteen year career, so far, it is my favorite album of 2007. Do yourself a favor: If you are a fan of …. oh, just get the album!

I recently got to see Clutch live for the first time ever @ The State Theater in downtown St. Petersburg. I wasn’t really a Clutch fan until Blast Tyrant came along, so I passed on a number of opportunities to see them previously. Sidenote #2: I have had tickets to shows that were cancelled due to hurricanes before… welcome to Florida I guess.

I wish I could tell you all kinds of things about their show, but I can’t. See, the show was at a venue I can walk to, and stumble from. Bad News. The whiskey poured *really* freely at the 5th Street compound before the show, so most of the details are, as you might imagine … lost.

I can tell you I pretty much loved it.

I’m not a head banger due to the simple fact that I keep the dome shaved … so in lieu of banging the head I stomp my foot. My heel hurt for days after that show. If I qualified as professional reporter I wouldn’t get that trashed before a show, but I ain’t. I am a professional drunk who happens to love good music and has a web site so sometimes you get the “great show, but can’t remember shit” review.

Clutch - Power Player
Clutch - The Devil and Me
Clutch - Electric Worry

Clutch Official Site; Clutch on MySpace; Buy Clutch’s new CD: From Beale Street to Oblivion

Looking for something to do tomorrow night? The Dark Romantics are playing Transitions Art Gallery.

I did a writeup on their new cd a few weeks ago. Check it out and come support local music.

The Dark Romantics - So Confused (and we like it)
The Dark Romantics - She’s a Fire
The Dark Romantics - Baby Boy, Baby Girl

The Dark Romantics Official Site, The Dark Romantics myspace site, Buy The Dark Romantics debut cd

ALSO!

Monday night @ The State Theater is Clutch…..THE CLUTCH!!! I am super excited about this show. I have been practicing my rock show devil horns for weeks and i’ve already got the cock out…all that’s left is the rock out. For those out of the know: Clutch is a rock band from Maryland. Sometimes lumped into the stoner rock label I would say they are a guitar, blues riff and groove heavy rock and roll band. Plus, they have big gnarly beards. Bearded dudes playing rock music on a Monday night. Can’t beat that with a wiffle ball bat. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Watch the video for “Burning Beard”