For the past seventeen years, the Maryland based band Clutch has earned respect from musicians and fans alike. Their sound, while based in heavy blues based rock, has been defined by labels such as “metal”, “stoner rock”, and comparisons have even been made to classic rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and even Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. All labels and comparisons aside, Clutch started their new tour off in Boston by proving that they truly are one of the most entertaining and dynamic bands in music today.

As soon as Clutch took the stage, the audience definitely noticed a huge difference in the band. First of all, keyboardist Mick Schauer was missing, as was Eric Oblander, the harp player from Five Horse Johnson whom Clutch had used in past tours. While the rumors circulated through the crowd of their whereabouts, most of the fans seemed to relish the idea of the original members going back to a more basic, stripped down sound. As soon as they tore into the opener, the title track from their 2001 album “Pure Rock Fury”, there was no question as to whether the band’s sound would be affected.

The band managed to play something from just about every album they have released, including some rare songs from their catalog, including “Red Horse Rainbow” from “Pure Rock Fury” and “The House That Peterbilt” from their 1995 self titled album.

Songs like “Power Player” and “You Can’t Stop Progress” from last year’s release,”From Beale Street to Oblivion” fit in very well with songs from their past releases. Three new songs, “King of Arizona”, and two instrumentals, “Trees”, and “Work’em” were well accepted by the crowd and an encore of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Who’s Been Talkin” followed by “Big News 1” and “Big News 2” proved that Clutch are truly veterans of their trade.