Release the Clutch and Press Down on the Funk Pedal

I climbed the stairs up to the Troc's tiny, crowded (though thankfully not smokey) balcony bar to catch a great metal show Saturday night, headlined by Clutch spin-off band The Bakerton Group. I've seen shows at the Troc before, of course, but never one up in the balcony, and I was surprised to find that the sound there, at least for this show, was absolutely fantastic - loud, crystal clear, and beautifully balanced. Kudos to the soundboard guy!

Anyway, the festivities started with local guitars-and-drums four-piece Kingsnake. When these guys started playing, I thought maybe I'd been misinformed about The Bakerton Group being all-instrumental; surely, even though they had a vocalist, this was TBG? Who else could sound so much like Clutch and yet not be Clutch? But no, this was Kingsnake, and despite being a bit derivative, they rocked quite hard (how could they not with a drummer who looks eerily like Jason Statham?). I definitely would have picked up a CD of theirs if they had had one available for sale. Sadly they did not, but I did pick up a CD by the next band: Never Got Caught, out of Boston. These fellows play a punk/alt/metal kind of thing that I really enjoy. The stand-out track on their disc, and of their live set, is the driving, catchy "Under Your Skin," but all of their stuff is worth a listen.

Last to take the balcony's tiny stage was The Bakerton Group (who added keyboards to the guitars-and-drums combo that ruled the night), and their performance was worth the wait. As one might expect, they sound quite a bit like Clutch without the lyrics, but they're a bit more complex and interesting than that. Their music is a tasty stew of metal, funk, and improvisational jazz. But it's not boring jam band music - it's totally dance- and headbang-worthy hard rock that had the crowd bouncing and hollering with glee. You might even be tempted to think these four guys don't need vocalist Neil Fallon of Clutch. If you do think that, though, you might not want to voice your thoughts with the words, "Fuck Neil!" between songs at the Bakerton Group show. The rest of the crowd weren't too pleased when that happened Saturday night, and definitely would have hurt the foolish fellow who said it, if they could have tracked him down.