Clutch Unveil Their Book of Bad Decisions at a Sold-Out Tvornica in Zagreb

Location: Tvornica Kulture, Zagreb, Croatia

Date: Sunday, 9. 12. 2018

American rockers Clutch have been enjoying huge popularity in recent years. On their new tour, which once again stopped in the Croatian capital, the band sold out Tvornica kulture, a hall that holds around 1,000 people, for the second time in a row. Clutch didn’t hit the road alone, with Germany’s The Picturebooks and France’s The Inspector Cluzo along for the ride.

The Inspector Cluzo kicked things off in a half-empty hall. The French duo didn’t promise all that much at first, but they got more interesting with every song. They won people over with a fun mix of rock, funk and swing, and every song offered something different. On top of that, they entertained with their goofy banter. The vocalist occasionally went for a pretty high-pitched voice, which even reminded me a little of The Mars Volta. In one of the speeches he thanked his wife, who was looking after the farm back home so he could go off on a tour of Europe, which was just one of the band’s many comedy bits. What was actually missing was a bass guitar for a fuller sound. Still, the performance itself, with all its comic interludes, was really worth catching. The Inspector Cluzo are one of those bands that can pleasantly surprise a newcomer, so that they pay them more attention later on too.

Next up was another duo. Germany’s The Picturebooks went for a rawer approach. At least that’s how it looked from the drummer’s side, who at times pounded the drums with his bare hands, which made the sound that much heavier. Once again there was no bass player, and honestly he wasn’t even needed. The duo served up fairly straightforward blues rock with nothing too out of the ordinary. There was definitely a lot of originality coming from the drummer, who got extra help from the mixing desk. On guitar, though, it felt more like a tried-and-tested recipe. The Picturebooks did get a better response from the crowd, though, and you could see the two of them were having a blast.

Then came a break of more than half an hour for the stars of the night. Tvornica filled up to the last corner. After a long wait, the four-piece from the town of Maryland took the stage and announced they were in the mood for a party. And so the new tracks from this year’s album Book of Bad Decisions came raining down. Of course, the band threw a few older songs into the set too. They played well-known tracks like Earth Rocker, The Mob Goes Wild, Electric Worry and others. There was a big emphasis on the last three albums, which is where the band picked up a lot of its popularity.

The band’s form is solid. By far the most standout member is Neil Fallon, the vocalist, who also picked up a guitar and a harmonica. The charismatic frontman proved himself a great hype man. With his moves and his sense of humor, he made it clear that playing live is a pleasure for him. The rest of the guys somehow didn’t get their moment to shine. The drummer stood out best with his great playing, while the guitarist and bassist were pretty static. That said, it has to be admitted that everything was played tightly, so in the end the static stage presence didn’t bother much. Despite that remark, the crowd went wild through the whole show. The front rows even responded with a moshpit, which is pretty unexpected for a band like this.

Clutch mostly served up the more bouncy tracks, with the occasional slower one in between, like Spacegrass, where the band also dips a toe into psychedelic rock. Otherwise it was Southern rock that stood out, as is only fitting for Clutch. To make the whole thing more varied, Clutch also work in blues rock and hard rock elements. After a good hour the band said goodbye with X-Ray Visions, and after a few minutes’ break Clutch came back to play two more songs. You could have hoped for a bit more, but Clutch aren’t spring chickens anymore, so we had to settle for a set of under 90 minutes.

The show was undoubtedly a success. Together with The Picturebooks and The Inspector Cluzo, Clutch warmed the hearts of plenty of hard rock devotees on a cold Sunday night with an unforgettable show. With this gig, Clutch confirmed that they’re a top-quality live band and something special.

Photos: Tina Rus