Clinic has a great image. They look ominous, dangerous, completely unpredictable and at some point in their career, they were. Their first album Internal Wrangler was released in 2000 to critical acclaim:
"One of England's most promising and distinctive indie bands" - all music
"Passionate, visceral, and immensely moving, Internal Wrangler is a landmark achievement not only for Clinic, but for all of rock music." - pitchfork media
"Clinic is my favorite band." - Thom Yorke (radiohead)
They also had legendary live shows that went beyond just surgeon costumes.
Their follow-up album Walking With Thee was ok, but didn't have the same energy and completely unexpected freak-out shifts from electronic grooves to garage noise that their debut album showcased so well. Clinic have continued their shift away from rocking and embrace of slow, melodic 60's pop through four albums to bring us the sleepiest of all their work, the recently released Bubblegum. Just as the albums slow down, understandably so does the pace of their live show. I get it, you're excited about your new album, but I do think there's a time and place for everything. To hear down-tempo similarly melodic songs for over an hour can be very very very boring no matter what mask the band is wearing.
The best thing about the show was the opener, The Fresh & Onlys, which is saying a lot because their sound mix completely killed what is usually a good combo of brooding vocals and clean simple garage rock. The live mix put the lead singer at odds with the rest of the band in a way that left you wondering if it was purposefully supposed to sound like Ian Curtis trying out for The Kingsman. Despite what you think of these two bands, it was really not a good combo.
I just happened to have done my homework and listened to a few of the Onlys records before the show, so I knew what the songs were supposed to sound like. The rest of the audience was not so lucky. I think the band could sense that they were losing the crowd and no amount of rock star posing was going to keep them interested. During their set, about 1/2 of the gathered mass of 15 people left to get beers, hang out at the photo booth, or maybe look at expensive Clinic merch.
All in all: Clinic was stale and getting worse as the years go by. Fresh and Onlys need a new soundman.
