Well hello once again and thanks for returning to the Clash Blog (or welcome for the first time). I know it’s been a few days, I had the very best intentions of compiling some new stuff in recent days but a combination of other commitments and a general ‘tired of the computer malaise’ conspired against me completing a thought through to conclusion. I find myself with a small window this afternoon so thought I’d get a quick update out. I’m off to see The Joy Formidable this evening with very high hopes based on what others have said and clips I’ve seen, they make a pretty impressive racket for a three piece and its also at a small venue I like so it should be a good night.

So….since last time. Well of course there will be many of you making your way into New York to see Big Audio Dynamite at Roseland playing their last gig in a while. I think it will be an excellent show and who knows, the audience might have a few interesting names in it as well (besides your good selves). I’d be happy to include your post concert thoughts on the blog tomorrow so if you’re going along and have time to send a summary, photos or your take on the night please get in touch via the usual channels. On my last post I think I noted that I’d miss the Coachella performance by B.A.D. but I think I had some inaccurate scheduling information as I did get back from playing football in time to see their entire set. I’m glad I did.

Not sure if you checked out the youtube/coachella site during the festival but it was pretty impressive. I know you can’t beat ‘being there’ but in terms of the next best thing (for free) its brilliant that technology allows us access to what it does. The website featured 3 channels which showed primarily live feeds from the assorted stages with a few replays for the bigger names. Overall the stream was excellent in terms of few stalls and the audio quality was pretty good, certainly better than standing 130 yards away in a field. I managed to see a few performances over the weekend besides B.A.D. with Elbow, Arcade Fire and PJ Harvey being amongst the best in my opinion. Looked that the potentially extreme heat stayed away another week or two as the weather there is essentially the same as here. As for the B.A.D. performance I was impressed and really enjoyed it. Obviously seeing so many bits of footage from the UK dates took away from the novelty value but it was great to see the whole thing unfold in real time. The appearance kicked off right on time, seems like Coachella is run more and more like the Swiss rail system which makes sense when so much is taking place scattered around on the various stages of the festival. The band played a shorter set so that the time slot would be filled with precision but from my recollection it allowed them to get through 9 songs in all.

image courtesy Vans 66

Following the UK dates and the warmup show in Los Angeles this was the first audience they’ve encountered that weren’t simply there to see them but I don’t think that impacted Mick’s sense of happiness one iota. Sadly though it resulted in a more subdued crowd reaction than we’ve seen on some other shows but that’s to be expected I think. Coachella has been the location of same famous reunion shows over the last decade and I sensed that some of this crowd were looking for their very own slice of 80′s nostalgia, especially when the more obvious tracks (The Bottom Line, Rush) were received much more warmly than some others. That’s fair enough though, you pay hundreds of dollars to go to Coachella and many people under the age of 40 or lesser fans in the first place aren’t automatically going to recognise songs like Beyond The Pale or A Party. I don’t think it stopped Mick and the boys having a lot of fun though, he was all smiles throughout. Looking and sounding happy to be there and at times reminding the crowd that they were watching a very famous if slightly older guitar hero. As many have written about the UK shows the sound is stronger than many gigs I’d seen in the 80′s with technology advances providing a richer and fuller sound and the guitar being more front facing in the mix. I said it to myself and the blogette at least a dozen times ‘they sound really good don’t they?’ They did, the benefit of weeks of rehearsals and this being the 11th live show in a few weeks were both notable as the band started finding that groove that touring bands have. Micks voice sounded good and Don Letts filled so many potential thinner areas that the vocals were never an issue. Mick yapped a fair bit too, which was funny. As the camera panned the crowd I couldn’t help but wonder if (due to age) more than half of those assembled had much idea of who Mick Jones is or as importantly who he was. I know Carbon Silicon had played at the same festival a few years earlier but I think that Saturday was a bigger event for Mick for many reasons (beyond it being a bigger spotlight/stage/time slot). I wonder if it crossed his mind that he played his last official concert with The Clash only 70 miles to the North at the US festival in 1983.

The set went past in no time at all, Greg Roberts tried more than once to get the sun soaked crowd revved up to some success. Mick gave Joe Strummer a rightful acknowledgment as the co-writer of V13, talked about his fascination with jack rabbits (he should live here) and that was it. First big festival date in the bag and a summer full of them to follow. Lots of news to come this week including more concerts, some great photos, radio shows and some Clash news! At last!

Hello again Clash people, how was your weekend then? Lack of a new post the last 48 hours was due to a combination of domestic matters to attend to, a game of football in a rain/hailstorm and then Saturday night was a late one out to see British Sea Power (cheers Justin, Brandon et al). Sometimes you leave a concert and know that you’ve just seen one that will automatically leap into your all time top 20, last night was one such gig. Considering that on the low side I’ve probably attended 3 or 4 hundred concerts that’s a testament to what an exceptionally strong live band they are. They’ve got a few dates left on their US tour and then will be appearing at various festivals in Europe all summer long so see them if you can.

On the subject of tours the short UK tour by Big Audio Dynamite has wrapped up since my last post with more good feedback coming from the last two shows in Manchester and Bristol. More on that over the coming few days of course, this week they’ll be jetting off to Los Angeles to play a warm up gig at The Roxy on Thursday followed by Coachella at the weekend and then New York. If you’d like to contribute stories about any of those they’ll be gladly received and recirculated here at the blog so just get in touch.

image courtesy 'nailmaker'

I’ve got it on good advice that my nemesis, well that’s a bit overstated, my thorn/boil/stalker regularly reads the blog and thinks its all a waste of time – writing about The Clash on a regular basis. Here’s the news he won’t like, over 1,000 of you each day think it’s worth reading and most of you would think him an arsehole anyway, so it’s nice to know he’ll read this and sense the collective dislike. He’s one of those walking vultures who just takes and takes and essentially tries to fuck up everyone and everything. Happily he succeeds in doing that to himself for the most part, just a pity that he wasn’t the end of his family line. I do ask myself what would Joe Strummer do? Probably get Paul to hit him….

I’ve got to put together a calendar now of B.A.D. dates in the summer months to see what gaps remain to be filled, but here is the very good news. They will be back in the States over the weekend of August 12-14 to play at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco. It’s a decidedly brilliant location as it’s located in Golden Gate Park with a backdrop of the beautiful bridge which lends the park it’s name. I’d love to say the lineup for the festival is as great as the setting but I’d be lying, perhaps more bands will be added? At present they are selling 3 day tickets for $175, I hope single day tickets will be added later. As for the acts to watch while waiting for B.A.D. the better names include Arcade Fire, Muse, The Decemberists, The Black Keys — I’m hoping B.A.D play the same day as The Joy Formidable, that might justify a plane ticket. I would have included Arctic Monkeys on that list but I just heard their new single, absolute piffle. Still don’t take my word for it – check out the festival website and see what you think. My logic says they won’t be coming back to the States for just one concert, so later in the week I’ll speculate wildly over their summer commitments as I know many of you are hoping for a North American Tour.

For now Mick is confirmed in L.A., Coachella and New York and I found a site today that are offering chances to win tickets for the Roseland gig in New York on April 19 and here is the link to have a try. Apparently there are tickets still available for that show which contradicts what I’d heard earlier so let me know if that’s the case.

I’m thinking we have a San Francisco Clash Blog party…..if they don’t add a closer venue to me. Today’s photo seemed quite apt if you’ve paid any heed to US politics recently.

Cheers for now, sorry for the delay in posts – more tomorrow. Tim

Right then, I’m back and not really prepared at that but didn’t want to let this particular Tuesday pass by with no acknowledgment. Looks like Mick and the boys took a couple of days off after the consecutive nights at Shepherds Bush with the tour resuming in Nottingham on Wednesday night. I’ve only ever gone to football matches in Nottingham when the tricky trees were playing some of the best stuff in the land, but never for a concert. The gig takes place at Rock City which has a capacity of 2,400 and according to wikipedia is known for it’s excellent atmosphere and sticky floors (?). So if you happen to be going along and want to submit a review for the blog please add your comments below or use the contact page to get in touch.

I wanted to share a special link that I think you’ll enjoy as Pete Stevens has posted a public gallery of his photography from the Saturday night concert in London that just took place. Regular visitors to the blog will be familiar with Pete’s excellent work and I know you’ll enjoy his shots from Shepherds Bush – there are 76 in total and they really capture the night in all its glory. Please respect the fact that all images on the site are copyright Peter Stevens and if you wish to use any images please do the right thing and contact him via the same site. Here’s the link to the B.A.D. gallery and you can also see some of his other excellent concert photography.

I had intended to get this post out this morning but as you can see that didn’t occur, but I’ll carry on regardless. By now I’ve had the first word from Nottingham that the gig was a great success and another smiley/party atmosphere according to emails I just read.

Which leaves me time to refer you to a Mick Jones feature on CNN….which I’ll now refer to as the Clash News Network for a few weeks before I go back to ignoring most of what they say and write. I mean seriously we’re talking about a mega wealthy cable network that chose (!!) to give a job to Piers Morgan. I know…! It’s a decent article if a little lukewarm. It points out (as have other sources) that Mick says his guitar playing is now better than it ever was in the past. I know good number of people who read this also play guitar and if so…would you agree (if you’ve a point of comparison by seeing B.A.D or Carbon Silicon in recent times versus Mick in the 1980′s. Here is the Clash News Network article…

Back very soon and thanks once more Pete for all those great photos – Tim