This show is part of the 'Spanish Bombs' tour with Chuck Prophet's band playing all of 'London Calling' by The Clash. Apparently, it wasn't the band's idea initially as they were asked to get together for this purpose by a Spanish promoter who also got the Spanish TV station Gaztea to film their show in Bilbao on the 15th January for a TV special (now out as a limited edition DVD on Belle Sound) that was available at this gig with a free poster of the UK leg of the current tour.
We got in early enough to hear a good slice of Old Clash friend and compadre DJ SCRATCHY'S set, it's the second Saturday in a row that he has been our DJ as he was also on the Wheels of Steel at the Urban Voodoo Machine show where he also played guitar, but tonight he was spinning a proper old school music mix of well heavy Reggae and Punk. Magic.
Former Clash road manager JOHNNY GREEN came on and acted as host and compere for the night and dedicated the show to Amy Winehouse and Joe Strummer and anyone else gone too soon. He also explained that tonight's support act Riff Raff couldn't make it as they has crashed the tour bus on the way to the gig. We all hope they are alright. They were being replaced in a "the show must go on" move by last minute sub CHRIS VON SNEIDERN who you may know from The Spanish Bombs and John Wesley Harding etc.
Well any song titles here are guesses on my part as Chris never introduced any song by name and I don't know his ouevre. Anyway, he was playing solo with an acoustic guitar and was a touch earnest in places, but all the songs were about real life screwed up relationships with him singing about how I Might Be A Fool or that things are So Different Now. It was okay and he reminded me of early Nils Lofgren-style songs meeting, say, Ian MacNabb. Not at all unpleasant but missing a full band. That was certainly the problem with Glory Days Are Coming: a song that sounded like it needs to be a full on monumental power ballad with OTT orchestration and a Maria or Whitney oversinging over the top of it. The closing The Sun Never Shines had some really good lyrics but again missed the full band treatment. This was not Chris' fault as he was the last minute stop gap and was still limbering up for his Spanish Bombs duty.
After a few more tunes from DJ Scratchy, Johnny Green came back on to give us some of his tales from the Clash and to read from his book with Garry Barker "A Riot Of our Own: Night and day with The Clash" (Indigo non fiction 1997) a book that I ghost reviewed on behalf of my dad when it came out for Taxi Globe. I think I got given the fee but not the byline! I was going to repost the review here but can't find it as it wasn't where it should have been in my archives.
Still, Johnny was very funny and told some good tales mostly about how he got involved in tonight's project and some of the history of how The Clash came to make the album less than a mile from this gig in Highbury's old Wessex studios, what DJ Scratchy's involvement was and how they wrote some of the songs and how they treated the record company suits making them play football against The Clash in the park by the studios. He was very cool and with a voice that Jet pointed out was like listening to Frank Butcher in Eastenders he has the right amount of East end gangster menace about him. Either way, if you at all like The Clash and haven't read the book you really must find a copy now.
Then it was time for CHUCK PROPHET & THE SPANISH BOMBS to play all 4 sides of London Calling for us. For tonight, Chuck was Joe Strummer, Chris Von Sneidern was Mick Taylor, Derek Taylor was Topper Headon, Josh Lippy was Paul Simonon and Ben Frederick was Mickey Gallagher. The last three musicians are also know as The Park.
Chuck's opening call to arms was "Rupert what have you done to my country" as they launched full throttle into London Calling, which of course had the first call and response of the night. It got the packed but not sold out crowd going before they launched into the Vince Taylor classic Brand New Cadillac and, damn, if they didn't sound incredibly tight and punky with just the right amount of rockabilly and some good vocal harmonies on the chorus. Damn I love that song.
Jimmy Jazz saw Chuck veering away from his comfort zone somewhat but pulling it off nicely with a monster guitar solo towards the end of the song that was well Jazzy although not as Jazzy as Jet often considers Chuck to be. There is a long running fight in this house to make sure Jet stop confusing Chuck Prophet with Pharoah Sanders!! Please don't ask how it started or why just know that she now believes me that Chuck is white!
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Hateful was, well... hateful and full of bile as the lyrics were spat at us and the band made sure to barely pause longer than the vinyl would between songs. Rudie Can't Fail found Chuck and Chris both struggling to bring out the inner Reggae singers they never dreamed of being, while The Park guys held down the rhythm section and went nice and spacey and a little bit dubby.
Spanish Bombs was introduced as being a history lesson, but sounded nothing like a history lesson musically as Chuck fair spat the lyrics about the Spanish Civil war at us. The Monty Clift-inspired Right Profile got the mosh pit going some more but not as much as Lost In the Supermarket did. It also featured some good audience singalong parts with Chuck and Chris working it for everything they could in time for The Clampdown: one of my favourite Clash tunes and they did it justice as the song sounds so relevant to what is going on today.
But not as relevant and Guns Of Brixton does, though. It was introduced as being about Brooklyn but with the awful news from Norway, it could have been about Oslo. Still, it's a great tune and while reggae isn't Chucks specialty, the band threw in enough to bring it off and close side two of the album in style.
The band took a short break while they changed the discs over and put the first LP back in it's slip cover. Chuck told us this is where the album goes really nuts, or words to that effect (Sorry I don't recall Chuck's exact phrase for it) and anyone who thinks Wrong 'em Boyo sounds normal has a strange idea of normal. Still the band made it sound easy and we were soon all shouting along to Death Or Glory; that had some really killer bass rumblings from Josh Lippy who was really grooving with it. Koka Kola flew past on our way to The Card Cheat. Whor or what could that be about? Nominations on a card of course.
Chuck then asked us who among us are Lovers and was shocked at the poor response. Still, hearing him singing Lovers Rock was brilliant. His comfort zone was left miles behind on this one as he positively skanked along on his guitar and Ben Frederick gave us some really cool Korg organ parts. The Four Horsemen soon enough rode out among us and tore the place apart before it was time for I'm Not Down to make sure we were all plenty high enough.
If ever there was a perfect time to hear Revolution Rock then 2011 would seem to be it and it went down a storm as we are all in need of a real revolution and this music can certainly help to stir things up. They of course closed with the "not so secret bonus track" Train In Vain. That had a good size pit going bonkers to it and then they were gone, the all conquering Spanish Bombs.
After a short while and with some words of encouragement from Johnny Green they came back and encored with a great take on Bankrobber that was more punky than reggae than the Clash's version (it also veered into I Fought the Law) but this was never about note perfect reproduction. If we wanted that we would all put on the record, right? Tonight was all about nailing the spirit of The Clash and London Calling and Chuck and the Spanish Bombs had done that with consummate ease. It left everyone I spoke to afterwards gasping for the right words about how great a show this was.
If you can't make it to one of the dates on the current tour then find the DVD now as you need to see or hear this perfomance. It does leave me wondering what the Spanish promoters will ask for next year? Will it be Dan Stuart doing Van Morrison's Astral Weeks perhaps?
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