A man with a beard singing into a microphone.

A man with a beard singing into a microphone.


Clutch, The Sword, & American Sharks live at The House Of Blues West Hollywood, CA 11-9-13 (Exclusive Coverage)

The House of Blues on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood needs no introductions as many great legendary bands have played on their stage. After a successful run together earlier in 2013, Clutch and The Sword decided to team up again for this fall tour which is bound to strike more than a few dedicated fans interest. On Saturday November 9th it was inhibited by the mighty Clutch, The Sword, and American Sharks.

Starting things off was local Southern California band The Heathens. With a more straight ahead hard rock approach, the band added a bit of diversity to the national line-up to follow them. There was a portion of the crowd that seemed to enjoy their style of hard rock. The audience appeared anxious for the main acts to begin but showed respect to The Heathens.

Without further ado… the trio band from Austin, Texas, American Sharks took over the stage. The band mixes 70’s style rock, punk, and metal for an interesting sound not to be looked over. If you have never seen these guys play, by all means check them out. They transitioned smoothly from one song to the next since their songs are straight to the point rock tracks completed within a blink of an eye. An interesting aspect to their performance is that they place their drum kit at center stage, which brings the drummer closer to the audience, which is rarely seen at all now a day. This setup brought drummer Nick Corentti to the forefront, which works well as he is very animated and entertaining while playing. Will Ellis’ guitar playing is electrifying and really brings a raw rock n roll vibe. Vocalist Mike Hardin gave it his all; flying through their set with ease. The House of Blues was buzzing with fans whispering how they loved the set. Things are moving fast for these rockers and it’s recommended you check out their debut album American Sharks, which came out in September.

It was now time for The Sword to take a stab at the crowd. Also from Austin, TX, these guys have really been trucking away now for a decade. When Ages of Winter was released in 2006 rock fans were awakened to this highly talented band. Now 4 records into their career, with each release and each tour, their popularity grows. Just recently the band completed a successful tour of America promoting their latest album Apocryphon (2012) and it was time to rock another club as they blaze across the country.

Back in August The Sword played to a loud and enthusiastic crowd in Santa Ana, CA at The Observatory, an hour north of The House of Blues. The crowd at The House of Blues seemed slightly more melody than a few months earlier, but nonetheless engaged in the performance. Adding to the atmosphere, The Sword had spectacular lighting throughout their set with rich colors adding texture to the performance. J. D. Cronise (guitarist/vocalist) put on a strong performance pouring his soul into songs. The set was balanced with a mix of their entire discography. Tracks like “Tres Brujas” and “Freya” highlighted the 9 song performance, arousing the most excitement from the crowd. It’s clear these guys are road warriors and the endless touring maybe wearing on them, but they continue to march on each night providing quality outputs to cities across America.

With an assortment of rock and metal fed to The House of Blues, fans had just enough time to cleanse their palates for Clutch. For a band like Clutch, no musical boundary has yet to be broken. Difficult to classify, other than down and dirty rock n roll, Clutch has built a cult like following over the past 2 decades. Now the owner of their own record label, Weathermaker, it’s safe to say Clutch is a corner stone in rock.

Their set opened up with the title track of their newest album Earth Rocker (2013). This was a clear winning choice when writing up the set list for the tour because The House of Blues erupted. Front man Neil Fallon, always known for his emotional stage persona, pumped up the crowd with his hand gestures and facial expressions throughout the set. Mixing things up, the band played a 90-minute set that consisted of new songs off Earth Rocker as well as old fan favorites.

Clutch moved through their set at a steady pace with little gaps between songs allowing the most music played as possible without chatter. The only point in which Fallon became most vocal between songs was his displeasure with the crowd surfing.  He declared he wanted all the fans to be safe, not get injured, and if anyone continued to crowd surf they’d be removed from the show. Depending on your point of view, this could either annoy you as a concert goer or be something you take admiration in. Clutch fans were clearly the latter with cheers. This audience was here for one reason and one reason only, that was to enjoy some kick ass rock n roll. Clutch delivered exactly what the crowd wanted as they have done 1,000’s of times before over the years and there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon.


Written by Karina Parker

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