Somewhere between Stephen King taking inspiration from John Wayne Gacy (a serial killer who moonlighted as a children’s party clown) for his demonic clown villain Pennywise in It, and orange-daubed fascist clown Donald Trump being elected U.S. president twice, evil clowns seem to have become dominant in popular culture. Even Ronald McDonald has been phased out due to creepy clown infiltration. Rock and rap have seen an influx of creepy clowns over the years, from Insane Clown Posse to alt-right rapper Tom MacDonald, but it’s Mr. Bungle who really brought them into the metal fold with their circus prog-metal 1991 self-titled debut album, which went on to inspire a whole generation of nu-metal clowns—Slipknot most famously, but also bands like Mushroomhead and Mudvayne.
So here we are in 2025, watching viral hit duo Clown Core play a packed MTELUS, as part of Montreal Jazz Fest, no less. What can it all mean? But first, Karneef: a Montreal local and purveyor of what he calls “ultra-tuff jazz-pop.” Backed by a six-piece band tonight, including an awesome horn section, their set is an instant winner: a bit smooth jazz, a bit Jamiroquai (Karneef even has a distinctive bucket hat). Karneef’s music recalls that oft-forgotten 90s genre: acid jazz. The loose and funky vibe of “If Only You Could See Your Face Right Now” reminds me a bit of MC 500 Feet Jesus’ 1995 song “But If You Go.” (Anyone remember that? Go listen to it!) “You said weed? Oh, ‘oui.’ My French is good but not that good,” banters Karneef with the audience, but too soon it’s time to pack up and get ready for the headliners.
The seemingly interminable wait for Clown Core sets the tone for their performance: the audience is going to be messed with tonight, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. People love to be fucked around by clowns, apparently. A photo of kittens projected onstage gets everyone roaring. They boo when the kittens are removed, and cheer when the kittens come back. This goes on for a while: the absurdity has begun.
Then, one DJ Driver shows up, in a balaclava, filmed by another mysterious masked figure, who turns the camera on the audience and projects it on the big screen. DJ Driver sits and plays some ambient and jazz from his phone hooked up to the PA, interspersed with robotic messages to the audience to keep quiet. It looks like an audience member hands him a joint, which he smokes, and then someone brings him an ashtray. The endurance test has well and truly begun. Is someone in the audience tooting a horn? There’s certainly a crowd participation element to this show.
Finally, Clown Core show up, but even then, the music is not to begin yet as they stand there in silence while a “seizure warning, parental advisory” message and then some cosmic visuals are projected behind them. Will they play a note? They will, but only after enforcing a little delayed gratification.
A viral hit racking up millions of views with their 2018 video for “Toilet”—which saw the mysterious duo (rumoured to be drummer Louis Cole of jazz-funk band Knower and saxophonist Sam Gendel) playing in a porta-potty—their music alternates between blasts of noise, drum beats and saxophone toots, interspersed with some ambient soundscapes. No guitars, just keyboards providing the noise and distortion.
The musical template is John Zorn’s Naked City, which pioneered the jazzgrind genre starting in the early 90s, but Clown Core don’t really do the “grind” part or the blast beats: the foundation of their sound is more electro-punk. You could call them a Naked City for normies, but I do want to stress that despite the throwaway vibe of their music and schtick, there is obvious musical talent and ability here. Like Picasso said, you need to know what you’re doing before you can throw away the rule book.
The projected imagery is annoying, sometimes even unwatchable—especially the AI porn and gore montages. Is that a fried chicken asteroid belt? An embryo asteroid belt? Why are we here again? Someone in front of me is dancing, but the danceable bits don’t last long, and abruptly stop. They seem to be playing certain songs twice? It’s hard to tell them apart.
There’s a segment showing members of the public reacting online to Clown Core, which is quite meta; there’s video of pooping on the keyboard and playing the keyboard with a penis, which the saxophonist actually appears to do onstage toward the end of the set. There’s a projected QR code which leads to a PayPal link—with audience members making payments. More bands should do this! Never doubt the financial value of simple, honest entertainment.
What’s it all about then? Well, I kind of feel that Clown Core are mainly here because Slipknot stopped doing their job and became simply another metal band. Mr. Bungle had given up the clown thing after their first album, and after that the clown core crown passed to Slipknot (and the other nu-metal bands), and then the throne was vacant for a while and ready for Clown Core to come along.
With soft and poppy bands like Ghost and Sleep Token busy being the public face of mainstream metal, it’s good that there’s a Clown Core to balance things out, and satisfy a hunger for loud music that is ugly, annoying, meaningless, juvenile, and all those important things metal should be.
Is that the Benny Hill theme they’re playing now? And the audience member still tooting away? Fantastic. They peak with “Toilet,” play an encore, and then the message projected onstage asks us to “Please leave” and says “Thank you for your money” as the lights go up and we file out into the Montreal summer downtown nightlife.
Review – Daniel Lukes
Photos – Melih Nehir
