Hollywood is being treated to a strong display of metal-tinged bluesy thunder tonight, beginning with Swedish psychedelic rockers Graveyard – their Nordic Americana receiving a consensus of approving nods from the sea of camo cargo shorts and unruly beards.
Ostensibly a co-headline tour, Clutch are closing out only a quarter of the shows on this run, but the Maryland rockers fit plenty of their badass back catalogue into their set. They also preview a couple of funky new songs from their forthcoming eleventh album Psychic Warfare; Neil Fallon seeming to come alive during X-Ray Vision, karate-chopping Xs into the air. There’s no sense of them letting up on the quality any time soon.
Some edges have been sanded off Mastodon’s bludgeon over the years but that doesn’t stop mosh-pits opening up tonight. There’s an enormous cheer for Oblivion but a big highlight is seeing Atlanta pals The Coathangers running on, clad in black like punk rock cheerleaders, to sing their refrain from Aunt Lisa.
It’s a night of friendship. Mastodon and Clutch first toured together in 2001 and Brann Dailor ends the night by stepping out from behind his expertly and fiercely-manned drum kit and chatting to the crowd about how old both bands are.
There’s life in them yet.
