09-02-2007, 07:11 AM
Endless Strummer MySpace page
A friend emailed me a few weeks back. He asked if I was going to the Joe Strummer/Clash tribute featuring David J of Bauhaus.
A whole night of Clash songs? A Bauhaus member playing a set? How did this slip past my radar?
We arrived at The Bottom of the Hill around 8:30PM. The place was practically deserted. I figured that the Bay Bridge closing, Labor Day vacations and lack of advertising had doomed this show from the start. Nah - It was just San Francisco's tendency to arrive fashionably late (even if you miss half the show). By the end of the night (1:30 AM - Yikes!) the place was a seething mass of sweaty, drunk punks.
I won't comment on each band individually. They were all great. You could tell they were passionate about The Clash and were playing each song as if Joe was standing in the wings judging them.
Each band had 20 minutes to thrash, strum, wail and harmonize through their favorite Clash songs. There were 3 piece, 4 piece, and 5 piece bands. Some raged with metal, some toyed with reggae, one had a horn section. David J did a spoken-word performance of 'Straight to Hell' and told a story about Joe extolling on the virtues of all-wood guitars versus 'those plastic pieces of shit'. Everyone raised a toast to Joe and thanked him for his contribution to their lives.
Oddly enough the headlining band, 'Clash City Rockers' were the least entertaining of the lot. They are a professional Clash cover band and played the longest set, but didn't seem to play with the joyous abandon that the earlier acts had. It almost seemed like they were at work instead of amongst friends wanting to hear the old songs one more time.
Joe Strummer and The Clash have left an inarguable legacy in both music and culture. Their commitment to mixing politics with performance inspired countless socially-conscious musicians.
Here's to you, Joe.
BTW if you have not heard 'Global-aGo-Go' by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, go buy it. Now. I'll wait.
A friend emailed me a few weeks back. He asked if I was going to the Joe Strummer/Clash tribute featuring David J of Bauhaus.
A whole night of Clash songs? A Bauhaus member playing a set? How did this slip past my radar?
We arrived at The Bottom of the Hill around 8:30PM. The place was practically deserted. I figured that the Bay Bridge closing, Labor Day vacations and lack of advertising had doomed this show from the start. Nah - It was just San Francisco's tendency to arrive fashionably late (even if you miss half the show). By the end of the night (1:30 AM - Yikes!) the place was a seething mass of sweaty, drunk punks.
I won't comment on each band individually. They were all great. You could tell they were passionate about The Clash and were playing each song as if Joe was standing in the wings judging them.
Each band had 20 minutes to thrash, strum, wail and harmonize through their favorite Clash songs. There were 3 piece, 4 piece, and 5 piece bands. Some raged with metal, some toyed with reggae, one had a horn section. David J did a spoken-word performance of 'Straight to Hell' and told a story about Joe extolling on the virtues of all-wood guitars versus 'those plastic pieces of shit'. Everyone raised a toast to Joe and thanked him for his contribution to their lives.
Oddly enough the headlining band, 'Clash City Rockers' were the least entertaining of the lot. They are a professional Clash cover band and played the longest set, but didn't seem to play with the joyous abandon that the earlier acts had. It almost seemed like they were at work instead of amongst friends wanting to hear the old songs one more time.
Joe Strummer and The Clash have left an inarguable legacy in both music and culture. Their commitment to mixing politics with performance inspired countless socially-conscious musicians.
Here's to you, Joe.
BTW if you have not heard 'Global-aGo-Go' by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, go buy it. Now. I'll wait.
![[Image: magpie13.gif]](http://imagegen.last.fm/LastfmLiveJournal/recenttracks/magpie13.gif)