On Sunday night, July 30, 2017 the drinking crowd of Clutch and the stoner crowd of Primus converged on the three rivers of Pittsburgh at Stage AE for a sold out show. Both bands brought their brand of rock and loyal followers for a great party atmosphere on a beautiful night. The results were a melding of the traditional with the non-traditional for a crowd pleasing party.
Clutch tend to rule Pittsburgh when they come to town. Having been born and bred in close by Maryland, the band has been a town fave since their early inception. Holding the record for Stage AE alcohol sales, the band did not disappoint the house this time either, with long lines at every drinking stall. For Clutch fans, the set list was a treat in that they played quite a few new tunes, some without solid titles as of yet. Combine that with smashers like “Earth 
Rocker”, “Electric Worry”, and “X-Ray” and you have a formula of cool sneak peaks with songs a fan fan would have on their “must hear” list.
Neil Fallon is always a blast to watch and that voice is by now iconic. While guitarist Tim Sult and bassist Dan Maines do their thing and hold it down solid, the other eye catcher is definitely J.P. Gaster, the master of percussion. Watching his style and facial expressions as he gets into it is infectious and a clinic in jazz/blues drumming. As usual, the traditional blues based heavy rockers killed it and were a blast to watch.
Primus, on the other hand, cannot be put into the traditional category. Primus is definitely weird and weird in a good sense. They play some strange mixes of melody along with voice effects and odd tunings all to tremendous effect. Since their first smash in “Sailing The Seas of Cheese“, Les Claypool and co. have done their own thing their own way. Having witnessed the band at Lollapalooza and opening for U2 on the Zoo TV Tour, the addition of animated graphics and lush background visuals was an added plus that went with the music quite well. Of course, the Primus fans knew every word to every song and have kept this 90’s band not only alive but thriving without radio play and pandering to the record company. A very amazing feat in this day and age. (Setlist below courtesy of setlistFM.com).
One does not come to this type of show to see crazy jumping around or pyrotechnics, but rather fantastically played music. Both bands delivered the goods to their fans in spades.
All photos© 2017 AWeldingphoto
Primus setlist:
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(Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley cover)
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Encore: