The Californian outfit are going to take the 'Sup to another level.
Fresh into 2019, and we’re only a month away from a highly anticipated visit from Shannon and the Clams. Known for their lively and entertaining performances, the band’s last visit to Australia was in 2014 when they played Boogie Festival and The Copacabana here in Melbourne, along with a few other shows around the country. Four years later, and the Oakland Californian band will return to play The Gasometer on Friday March 8, as well as the holiest of places, Golden Plains’ Supernatural Amphitheatre, from Saturday March 9 to Monday March 11. With five studio albums to date, here is a rundown of some personal highlights of the Clams to get you prepped and ready for your shimmy and shake in the ‘Sup, at the Gaso or in the comfort of your own home. Something fans of ‘50s oldies and ‘80s punk can all get around.
Songs from Onion, the Clams’ 2018 album, are sure to feature in the band’s live set, so I’ve been giving it several spins in the lead-up. Title track, ‘Onion’, takes a few twists and turns, making it a good boogie song. The first ten seconds are reminiscent of the Kinks’ ‘All Day and All of the Night,’ and a very singable chorus of ‘Onion’ over and over, which I look forward belting out in the crowd. ‘Knock ‘em Dead’, off 2015’s Gone by the Dawn, is a dirty garage punk track which will definitely get you amped up and jumping around. Oh, and if you ever saw Back to the Future and were struck with the desire to dance to ‘Earth Angel’ at a prom in the ‘50s, ‘Done with You’, off 2011’s Sleep Talk, is as close as you’re going to get.
Other notable songs but ones I won’t be psyched to hear in the ‘Sup when the acid hits are; ‘The Bog’ because it sounds creepy, plus ‘The Cult Song’, which is probably my favourite song, but I don’t want to think about Cults when the grass is that green and wobbly. Alternatively, singing along to the lyrics ‘I don’t want to be in your cult no more’ could free me from any kool-aid drinking fears. Lastly, their cover of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’. Footage of this song being played at Desert Daze in 2018 is available online, which looked great, but not keen to go down that rabbit hole.
Known for their memorable live performances, blast from the past outfits and instruments, Shannon and the Clams provide an extremely unique surf, punk, rockabilly sound which I anticipate will get the crowds doing the jitterbug, bunny hop and jive.
By Morgan Mangan
