Pearl Harbour Tour supported by The Rentals & Bo Diddley
Last updated 8 March 2007
Last updated 7 July 2008 - link to photos by Cathrine Vanaria
Bob Gruens famous photo from Harvard Sq, Feb 1979
Audio 1 -
Unknown gen - sound 2.5 - 1hr 7mins - 20 tracks
Audio 2 - master
Sound 3 - 1hr 21mins - 20 tracks
Tommy Gun
Audio 3 - different source
Sound 3.5 - 1hr 24mins - upgrade - 20 tracks
Tommy Gun
The recording in circulation is a quite listenable audience recording. This one suffers some tape wear and better copies may exist, though this came from a good source.
Clearest part is the percussion, the vocals are reasonably clear as well and the lead is there as always, but the bass is buried as the sound edges toward the top end. There are also some distant problems resulting in some slight echo and some very faint noise/hiss. The atmosphere is captured well with the audience responding in loud appreciation to each song.
Bob Gruen took his famous and brilliant live photos at this gig, capturing the excitement, drama and energy of The Clash, (see his recent excellent book and his website).
The seminal US Rock critic Robert Christgau reviewed this gig (and the Palladium gig the next night) in the Village Voice dated 5/3/79. Christgau was to be a highly influential supporter of The Clash stateside.
He describes how the 1800 seat venue was sold out in an hour for an English band that were getting airplay on only one Boston radio station.
The Coaster’s Riot in Cell Block No.9 faded out before Joe, “denimy, still bezippered and fatigued, Paul slash necked red uniform and Mick in turquoise shirt unbuttoned, all with greased back hair”. Christgau goes on accurately “no one has ever made rock’n’roll as intense as The Clash is making right now, not Little Richard or Jerry Lee, not the early Beatles, or middle Stones or the inspired James Brown or pre-operatic Who, not Hendrix or Led Zep, not MC5 or The Stooges, or Pistols or Ramones”.
Mick was playing a borrowed guitar having smashed his in Washington the night before. Christgau wrote that “on our side of the PA this was an ecstatic experience but behind the fucked up monitors, the band felt they were putting out a lousy show”.
Photos by Cathrine Vanaria
7 are from Harvard Square Theater, Cambridge MA, USA (16 Feb 1979)
1 is actually from Boston Orpheum (Sept 19th 1979)
3 from the Boston Orpheum - one of which wrongly attributed to Harvard (March 9 1980)
The seven from Harvard Feb 1979
www.cavanaria.zenfolio.com/
All photos are available as 16"x20" prints for $300US
C.A. Vanaria, 50 Hudson Drive, New Fairfield, Connecticut,
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Daytime phone 203-791-1474 -
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Guns On The Roof is now the second song, brought forward in the set list at Washington the night before, as the song was getting the bulk of limited airplay The Clash were getting on US radio.
The Clash are fired up throughout, delivering great intense performances. Joe has a few digs at the elitism of the nearby University “We want to move the town to the Clash City Rockers…fat chance!” and “ we’re gonna try a bit of funk a bit of blue beat, entitled White Man in Harvard University”. Police & Thieves and Capital Radio are the usual highlights; the drama before Police & Thieves gets a new twist with mountains of echo filling the theatre and Joe includes “revolution rock, it is the brand new rock” demonstrating the popularity of this song in the Clash camp months before the London Calling sessions.
Capital Radio is introduced as Neil Diamond’s latest and Joe ad libs at length at the end of the song about “trains, tracks and dead heroes”. Joe Strummer very rarely repeated his ad-libs throughout The Clash, just going with whatever inspiration came to him. There was none of the pre-planned show biz of other acts producing supposedly off the cuff moments night after night.
Did you go? What do you remember?
Info, articles, reviews, comments or photos welcome.
Please
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I'm So Bored with the USA |
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There are several sights that provide setlists but most mirror www.blackmarketclash.co.uk. They are worth checking.
from Setlist FM (cannot be relied on)
from Songkick (cannot be relied on)
... both have lists of people who say they went
& from the newer Concert Database
Also useful: Ultimate Music datbase, All Music, Clash books at DISCOGS
If you know of any articles or references for this particular gig, anything that is missing, please do let us know.
Diamondz Fanzine
Harvard Square Cambridge
Review by Brian Goslaw
I was all ready to jump into the 80's and while going through the archives I found these. One is a review of The Clash by Brian Goslow, the other is just a regular cut and paste job. I don't think either was ever published, for whatever reason. It was 29 years ago, and sometimes I don't remember what I did 29 minutes ago.
But thanks, Brian, sorry if it never got to press.
A Riot of Our Own pg
A collection of articles, interviews, reviews, posters, tour dates from the Clash's first US Tour covering the period of the Pearl Harbour Tour.
Toronto Interview 2-20-79 Paul Topper Canada
part 1 - (5mins)
part 20 - (5mins)
Candian Radio Interview (20mins)
Toronto - 20 February 1979
The Clash 1979 Canadian TV backstage interview
Complete interview segment of the Clash backstage at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada with the Undertones which was originally broadcast on CITY TV's New Music Program in 1979.
The New Music was hosted by J.D. Roberts (aka CNN's John Roberts) and Jeanne Bekker (later host of Fashion Television). This clip includes the infamous concert aftermath with Cosmo Vinyl counting the ripped out seats at the venue.
This rare interview was shown/re-broadcast during the Joe Strummer death coverage.
Bo Diddley talks about his experiences opening for the Clash on their 1979 US Tour. This interview took place in November 2002 at the Rock Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota.
Bo Diddley opening for the Clash At Ontario Theatre, Washington DC
If you know any please let us know
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