Wednesday night we saw
Clinic perform at Johnny Brenda's. We were so lucky to see them in such a tiny, intimate venue. Except for the Tin Angel, this was the smallest venue we've been to. Clinic sounds, amazingly, exactly like their albums. Sometimes that can make for a boring show, but when you're watching someone like Clinic, it's mesmerizing.
Above are my phone photos of the band. Take a look at
Andrew's phone photos, too (that first one is me). The band had postcards encouraging cellphone photos and even had a
forum you could text them to. We didn't do that, but it made me feel less like a goofball taking the pictures.
Yes, they wear surgical masks during every show. Every show. Even on Letterman. They passed out surgical masks to us at the door. They always wear a costume, too. Our show featured brown scrubs and felt top hats. They are a wonderfully businesslike and precise band. After their two song, pre-planned (we have a set list) encore, Clinic politely thanked us and left the stage in an orderly fashion.
Thank goodness they catered to the collective whim of their fans and played The Return of Evil Bill. From the uproar, you can tell it's everyone's favorite. I've learned that the fan-favorite tends to become some bands' least favorite to play. I find it funny that I always seem to fall in love with every band's big hit without knowing it's their big hit. Then I'm a little surprised and a little embarrased that everyone else loves the song, too. Well, I used to be. Now I don't care anymore that everyone else likes it, too.
Clinic is a mix of a lot of different, crazy sounds, but you can kind of sum them up with "horror show surf guitar." Curious? Watch these videoes.
Until now, Clinic evoked memories of dreary, grey Salt Lake City winters spent driving to and from work down S. 900 E. There were several months when I just listened to them in the car. I'm so glad I've reprogrammed their memory settings, although I hope I forget about the cold beer dripping down the back of my legs.
The one big surprise is that I'm even less sure of their lyrics now that I've seen them live. We were so close to the stage that I was practically in Ade's pocket. I could see his mouth moving, and I could tell the lyrics I thought I'd figured out were totally wrong.
Have more time to burn? Here are a couple of interviews with more pictures and links to music videos:
So FunFunner Still[photo taken 3/8/2007 in Philadelphia][title from the Alice-interpreted lyrics of "The Return Of Evil Bill" by Clinic from "Internal Wrangler"]