Clutch / Duellists – Limelight, Belfast (14th June 2017)

It has been a busy couple of weeks over in Ireland. With Download Festival the week before we have been fortunate to have several bands take the trip across the Irish Sea and next up was Maryland rockers Clutch.

Duellists (c) Kerri Clarke

Local band Duellists were the support for this evening’s Belfast show. The fast paced set was just what was needed to get the midweek crowd warmed up for the main act. The energetic trio’s punk rock set seemed to fly past too quickly but contained some great tracks.

Clearly I have been hiding below my black and death metal rock for far too long because I have never managed to catch Clutch live. Several friends had informed me that Clutch were easily the best live band that they had ever seen and assured me that I was in for a treat.

Clutch (c) Kerri Clarke

Opening with two tracks from the 2013 album Earth Rocker, “Crucial Velocity” and “Cyborg Bette” which saw the sold out venue erupt into enthusiastic cheers. No one had a chance to catch a breath before “Firebirds!” and “The Mob Goes Wild”. Vocalist Neil Fallon danced around the stage and kept the crowd engaged even with a minimum amount of stage banter; a fantastic frontman.

Clutch have no stage props and no special effects, it is a straight up rock n’ roll show which is delivered so well that you can’t take your eyes away from the stage due to the strength of the songs and the musicianship.

Tracks like “Cypress Grove” and “A Quick Death in Texas” had both devoted Clutch fans and newbies like me singing along. Clutch finished of with favourites “Electric Worry” and “X-Ray Visions” having played a fantastic 17 song set.

Since last nights show I have been listening to their latest album Psychic Warfare on repeat. The next time that Clutch are playing I will definitely be there, everyone should make a point of seeing them live!

All photos by Kerri Clarke of Exposing Shadows Photography.

Clutch: official | facebook | twitter

Duellists: facebook | bandcamp

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments