Clutch, Devin Townsend and The Obsessed in Lincoln, Nebraska on December 13, 2017.
Clutch performed in Lincoln, Nebraska at The Bourbon Theater on December 13th, 2017.
Yes. I like Clutch. So much so that I do not believe that other than Omaha local bands I have photographed a band as much as Clutch. I can’t find a solid reason to not like them. This is a classic line that has been around since 1991 consisting of Neil Fallon on vocals, Jean-Paul Gaster drumming, Dan Maines on bass, and Tim Sult on guitar. This round they were headlining the tour for the “Psychic Warfare” record. On this night something cool happened. For the first time ever, I watched Neil Fallon play guitar. Glad I got to see this. Although I typically pay attention to only the first three songs, I did stay for most all of the set. The first three I heard from the pit were:
Crucial Velocity from Earth Rocker (2013)
Firebirds! from Psychic Warfare
Soapmakers from Elephant Riders (1998)
They have a huge fan base locally and I always look forward to their return to the area.
Devin Townsend supported Clutch on their tour. My first taste of Devin Townsend was a cover of “New York, New York” and I was pretty enamored with this version. But, this was my only exposure to him and so I went in blind with no real expectations of how the set might be. Devin Townsend is a showman and entertainer. He rocks a guitar pretty well also and looking back I noticed that he spent some time with Steve Vai. Considered a progressive rocker, his songs were long with a lot of tempo and key changes. I am not a magnificent fan of this sub-genre of rock but I muscled through it and got some killer photos in the process. In my opinion, this is an acquired taste. Don’t get me wrong, the music kicked ass, but it just isn’t my cup of tea. Touring with Devin were Dave Young (guitar), Mike St. Jean (keyboards), Brian Waddell (bass), and Ryan Van Poederooyen (drums).
The Obsessed was also on tour with Clutch. The Obsessed is a super old school doom/stoner band stemming back to the early 1970s. Fronted by guitarist and vocalist, Scott “Wino” Weinrich, The Obsessed was getting their start at the same time as Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, and The Stooges were coming into their own. They are super heavy with fuzzy guitar riffs, thundering bass lines and drums that can knock your teeth out. I was introduced to The Obsessed by my friend Adam of Omaha local band Valley of Shadows. From there they had a new fan. This would be my second time with The Obesessed. They recently re-released their original self-titled record from 1990 and never released 4-track demo called Concrete Cancer. PLUS, they also released a new record, “Sacred”, for the first time in two decades. I can’t say enough about them, this is a solid, old-school band that I can see a dozen more times and not get tired of it.
Photos courtesy of Winsel Photography in Omaha, Nebraska. ©2017.
