Know Your Rights Tour
Supported by Double Trouble (Stevie Ray Vaughan)

updated 1 Aug 2011 - added full review and photos

Audio 1 -
Sound 2.5 - 1hr 27mins - unknown gen - tracks 21 -
speed corrected version

Clash City Rockers

The only recording in circulation is of unknown generation.There’s some distortion but plenty of detail in the instrumentation and vocals. An upgrade nearer to the master would be very welcome.

The Clash in Austin 82; armadillos and MTV video, Stevie Ray Vaughan heckled, Clash = Cash demo, Joe Ely and 2 sold out shows in an old aircraft hanger!

The band arrived a day early in Austin to film a promo video for Rock The Casbah and as tickets for the scheduled concert has sold out fast, a second night was added.

Decent audience recordings circulate for both nights although the first night’s needs speed correcting; as it runs very slow. Well worth seeking out as the performances are strong, committed and energetic. Almost uniquely though the band only played one encore on the first night and played for less than 80 minutes. The fans shouting for more at the end of the encore must have felt somewhat short-changed and receptive to the Clash=Cash leaflets! 

Rock the Casbah video  

The making of the video directed by Don Letts is well documented in the books and articles on The Clash. The video was of course highly significant commercially for The Clash. They had made low budget promo videos previously but now MTV had emerged as a major marketing force and when they showed the Rock The Casbah video on rotation it blew the US market wide open helping it to go Top 5.

Arguably their most memorable video, certainly the most humorous it depicts an Arab, played by Austin actor Titos Menchaca, and a Hasidic Jew, played by local stage director Dennis Razze. The two befriend each other on the road and skank together through the streets to a Clash concert at the City Coliseum, often followed by an armadillo! It’s interspersed with the band performing in front of an oil well and then shots of the band live on stage from the Coliseum. The US Air Force became an unwitting participant in the video. Two RF-4C aircraft landing at Bergstrom Air Force Base (near Austin) from the east are featured in the portion of the video with the lyrics “the King called out his jetfighters”.

Support bands and Stevie Ray Vaughan  

Rock the Casbah video - Clash on stage at the Coliseum

Austin Chronicle music columnist Margaret Moser article at:   

"It was traumatic," recalls Chris Layton about Double Trouble's first-night opening slot for the Clash at the City Coliseum in 1982. "We were warned that the Clash's audience hated everyone, but we figured, 'Hey, this is good ol' liberal Austin!'"

Indeed, watching rising star Stevie Ray Vaughan being heckled mercilessly on theKnow Your Rights Tour was depressing and embarrassing, but it was a bad move fromthe start to book the local blues trio. The Clash cultivated a punk audience whovalued passion over precision, and Double Trouble was too slick for their rawstandards.

The Clash rolled into town early to scout opening bands. It was their m.o., amove that won them much respect. The day before the show, management representative Stuart Weintraub sat at the Sheraton Hotel and fielded tapes fromlocal bands vying for the opener -- D-Day, the Lift, 5 Spot. That night, the Clashwere scoping out reggae bands, dropping by the Opera House to catch Stevie, andsweeping into the Continental Club to see a rockabilly outfit called the TroubleBoys. Double Trouble got the now-infamous gig that began as badly as it ended.

"To walk out into the lights and see people throwing shit at us and shooting usthe rod, yelling 'get fucked' and 'get off the stage' was awful," remembers Layton."At Montreux, there were four or five people booing, and it felt like 400 or 500. Iremember [the Coliseum] as being venomous. Stevie was like, 'What is all thisshit?'

"Afterward, Stevie thanked Joe [Strummer] and said, 'I guess I don't understandyour audience. We're not accustomed to this, and we can't do tomorrow night.'Strummer was real apologetic, a great guy. But I'm surprised they found anyoneto open [the second night]."

Alice Berry faced the same atmosphere with decidedly different results."I was standing backstage after Double Trouble's sad departure," explains Berry."Stuart Weintraub turned to me and said, 'So, what are you doing tomorrownight?' -- like maybe asking for a date. 'Seeing the Clash?' I answered. 'How'd youlike to open for them?' he asked."

A five-piece rockabilly outfit with a chick singer, the Trouble Boys featured Berryand possessed what SRV did not: street cred in the punk community. TheTrouble Boys were untried, unrecorded, unheralded, and unknown, perfectcandidates for an audience for whom throwing beer cups and spitting meant "welove you" as often as it meant "fuck off."

"I have a vivid memory of this fellow shooting the bird at me," laughs Berry. "Idecided to 'make love' to him from the stage, doing Patsy Cline's 'Walkin' AfterMidnight' with as much gushy ooze as I could muster. At the end, he was justsmiling, and I felt we did our job. Nobody hit me with a beer cup or can. No onegobbed me. Just a guy shooting the bird."

Opening bands weren't the only political tune being played on Clash's CombatRock shows in Austin. "Clash = Cash" screamed one of the hand-scrawledanti-Clash posters, as some of the band's fans felt they had deviated from theirrevolutionary form. Neither as groundbreaking as the earlier Armadillo show noras MOR as their accompanying show at San Antonio's Majestic Theatre, theColiseum shows were full-bore Clash. They stormed the stage both nightsenergized by their increasing success and making a place in local lore by filmingthe "Rock the Casbah" video in Austin.

SRV and Double Trouble took the lesson on the chin, going on to platinum fame.The Trouble Boys had a brief run and broke up within a year. As for all the Clash audience's attitude, the highly successful Combat Rock marked the beginning ofthe end.

Terri Lloyd wrote of her experience in seeking a support slot for her band and her personal encounter with Mick also here 

Career Opportunities ‘I have never worn a Clash T-shirt. No Clash poster has adorned my walls. I did, however, possess a Clash battery-operated clock once, constructed by myself, commemorating the first time that Mick Jones and Joe Strummer appeared onthe cover of Rolling Stone. The clock existed for many reasons. Certainly, in my circle, the regard for their music was worshipful. In fact, an earlier band I had been in had shunned their guitar tuners, preferring instead to tune to the opening chord of "TommyGun" (a perfect "E") before our shows. Joe and Mick were the punk rock Lennon/McCartney, and with their newfound status as Rolling Stone cover boys, they were in a position to be the punk rock ambassadors to the world. This was, of course, secondary to the fact that Mick looked really cute in the photo.

It was 1982, and Margaret Moser, Austin Chronicle music columnist andscenestress supreme, called to let me know that the band was coming to town aday early to shoot a video. I'd never been on Margaret's "will call" list, but in thiscase she was privy to a piece of information she thought I might find useful. TheClash's concert had sold out so quickly that the band had decided to add a secondnight and were looking for an opening band.

She suggested I go to the Continental Club that night and give a cassette of my band the Jitters to their manager, Kosmo Vinyl. When I got to the club, it was obvious that the word had spread, since the place was crawling with other hopefuls. I'd just given my tape to a very disinterested Kosmo when the Clash's road manager struck up a conversation with me.

Hearing I was a drummer, he introduced me to the band's drummer, also named Terry. At some point, I realized that Mick, in a big Panama hat, had joined us and was smiling at me. Yes, my heart stopped. Having had, as a 10-year-old, an entire wall papered with Bobby Sherman posters, this was the perfect culmination of all my post-post-adolescent fantasies. We talked for a good while. He seemed pretty interested in the clock, though I tried to gloss over the specific placement of the actual timepiece in proportion to his crotch in the photo.

After the concert the next night, having been given a backstage pass by Margaretafter being sequestered in a room with her and two members of the StandingWaves, I found myself sitting in a row of empty chairs directly behind the stage.Gradually, the chairs began to fill with beautiful women that I recognized fromthe scene. Could they be the legendary Texas Blondes? Several of them gave mecritically assessing glances so withering I felt obligated to assure them that wewere not there for the same thing. Sure, I found Mick compelling, but I wouldnever go up against a Texas Blonde and kid myself that I would get the guy. I hadno spike heels. I had no miniskirt. I was there for my band, and truth be told, Ifound some of the Blondes to be as compelling as Mick.

Eventually, they opened up the huge backstage area, and everyone milled around,mingling with the crew till the band came out. Mick told me that there were twovans, one of which was going to Malibu Raceway, and did I have any otherentertainment suggestions for the evening? I remembered that reggae band theTwinkle Brothers were playing that night, so Mick, Terry, and Karla, the singerfrom Toxic Shock, along with assorted crew members, all piled in the other vanand headed over to Liberty Lunch.

Brazen American woman that I am, I offered to buy Mick a drink. Vodka andorange. He asked if there was anything else going on that night. If he was tryingto pick me up, I sure wasn't getting it. I mentioned that Charlie Sexton wasplaying at the AusTex Lounge, so the whole group went there and had drinks tillit was decided that it was time to return to the Sheraton Crest.

As we entered the lobby, Karla and Terry and the rest walked to the left towardthe bar while Mick and I walked to the right, toward the elevator. My moment oftruth and realization came as the elevator doors began to close, and Karla lookedback at me in wonderment. That's what remains in my memory most indelibly --her face as the elevator door closed.

What went on that night is probably what goes on in most hotel rooms. There wassome of that, and there was some political discussion. There was some channelsurfing for news of England, which had just invaded the Falklands. One thing wedidn't discuss was my band. Whether the opening slot for the next night hadalready been decided I'll never know. Call me naive, but I didn't think to bring itup. Once I got the opportunity to actually spend the night with him, I don't thinkI even remembered I was in a band. Given the choice between "career" and"heart," I saw his puppy-dog eyes and chose the latter. Some feminist.

Yet it was truly like something from a dream. He shyly mentioned that the nextnight he'd like to see what I looked like in a dress. My subconscious had a heartylaugh at that since I only owned one dress, and I didn't think Mick would enjoyseeing me in my Flying Nun Halloween costume. Suffice it to say that I waswearing my leather jacket and black jeans the next time he saw me, and save fora smile from the stage, he paid me absolutely no attention. I guess his interest inpolitics didn't extend to the sexual. Then again, I wasn't all that informed aboutthe government dole and the guns of Brixton. I think that we both got what wewanted out of the situation.

The clock battery ran down, and I never replaced it. I guess I didn't need to.”

Terri Lord

Clash = Cash protests

The flyer was handed out by a group calling themselves “the gutter snipes” voicing the same arguments as in Atlanta, that the band had sold out and that their ‘political’ lyrics were just a calculated marketing angle to boost sales. 

An amended flyer was also circulated in Seattle see link with similar arguments here; Pistols were the real thing, The Clash a fake

Ironically the flyer quotes Situationist Guy Debord (1931 -94) a big influence on Bernie Rhodes.Bernie gave Joe and Mick Situationist literature as part of their ‘education’ back in 1976. Debord was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, hypergraphist and founding member of the groups Lettrist International and Situationist International (SI). He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.

In the 1960s he led the Situationist International group, which influenced the Paris Uprising of 1968 (in turn a big influence on Joe). Some consider his book Society of the Spectacle (1967) to be a catalyst for the uprising.

More recollections   

(Almost) 30 Years Out: The Clash, Austin 1982.

‘I was in Austin for a movie junket and saw a bunch of people milling about the hotel who looked out of place.  You have to understand at the time, movie people had a “look” about them - feathered hair, nice clothes, fancy shoes, the whole bit.  These other people were, well, rock and roll.  Turns out they were with the Clash, in the area filming a video and performing a couple of shows at the Austin city Coliseum.  We were able to talk briefly with Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon as they came through the hotel lobby - but their management knew we were reporters so they swept the musicians away rather quickly. 

Anyway, even though the show was apparently a sellout it was easy to score a ticket (10 bucks, face price from a roadie) and I was off to the Clash’s second show [from the songs mentioned below probably the first night] Apparently Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble opened the first night but they weren’t used to being booed (in Austin, no less) so they opted out of the second show.  No matter: the Coliseum ticket taker ripped my ticket just as the last notes of the opening act were fading away. 

The Clash hit the stage roaring, with “London Calling.”  Ripping through some of their early numbers and swinging right into “Train In Vain,” I realized this was truly one of the few rock acts I’d ever seen that really did live up to the hype.  They had kicked out drummer Topper Headon and had their original basher, Terry Chimes.  Some people believed the Clash had sold out for greater fame and fortune, and unbelievably, they showed up at the concert to yell at the group.

Nonetheless, the boys ripped through the tunes and hit the homestretch with “Clash City Rockers,” an early song I remember being surprised they performed.   They also did “Brand New Cadillac,” a rockabilly throwback, and wound up the night with “I Fought The Law.”  The Austin punkers trashed the Coliseum - it was pretty run down to begin with - and provided an epitaph for the punk era.’ 

‘In the summer of 1982, I met the Clash in Austin, TX. It was a brief hello facilitated by some French rockabilly cats who had befriended Paul Simonon. The band was in town to shoot the video for Rock The Casbah and play two crazed shows at the City Coliseum and handing out beer to a bunch of kids at the hotel's pool was perfectly cool by them.

Surprisingly, in hindsight, hanging with a famous punk band seemed a simple matter of course, nothing to even write home about. We weren't jaded culture junkies, we were interested. No autographs requested, no photos snapped. Meeting idols today is so different. TV and gossip rags don't make you more familiar with celebs they sadly differentiate you from them. Punk in theory was never about that. I've often thought about those shows at the Coliseum and how fucking violent it was, fighting and screaming "fuck the casbah" in the sweltering heat but I've never reflected much on the Clash sharing a poolside beer with me at the Crest Inn. That was just so normal for Austin in 1982. Things were cool. The Clash were cool. Time flies, airplanes crash.

After the intro music Joe asks “So what you doing then today ha?” before the band kick into London Calling. Joe is in good voice, there’s plenty of energy as in almost all the performances but even speed corrected Terry’s drumming remains leaden! “Who knows eh?” and the band slam immediately into Career Opportunities; urgent and very effective. 

Looking out at the cavernous Coliseum Joe asks “Can anybody here tell me what this building is built for, what? Rodeo? OK now Know Your Rights” Mick’s guitar is clear and impressive; another very strong performance. Guns of Brixton with fine guitar fills from Mick is followed by his Train In Vain.

There’s plenty of detail in sound despite being several copies off the master adding significantly to the enjoyment of a guitar heavy Car Jamming. Then Joe says “Yeah we feel a bit lonely up here so we’re gonna sit down at the back and have a look at you whilst the lights are on” After a pause they kick into Magnificent Seven. Longer than recent performances the band stretch out on the instrumental breaks; not the often inspired improvised sections as in 81 but enjoyable nevertheless. A lack of Joe adlibs though keeps it in the good but unexceptional category of Mag 7.  

Joe’s in great voice on an exceptional Ghetto Defendant; Paul’s bass booms, Terry’s cymbals and percussion crash and Mick’s guitar licks add up to an effective soundscape for Joe’s lyric of lament.

Should I Stay has plenty of energy and Joe adds his Strum/Spanish with gusto.

Spanish Bombs though is rather leaden and unexceptional. But with a “Please welcome Mr Terry Chimes on the drums” the energy levels kick back up with a stirring Janie Jones.  1977 still for Complete Control; no build up intro ala FHTE but extended repeated opening riff. Again mucho energy and Joe screams out the “I don’t trust you…” 

Rock The Casbah after an edit also has energy and edge and then there’s a change of rhythm with Bankrobber with inventive Mick guitar work. Mick creates yet another variation to the beginning to Somebody Got Murdered; not especially effective but confirmation of Mick’s commitment to his guitar playing tonight. His interest in his guitar playing was waning in 82 as his interest in dance/rap and electronic sounds grew further. Some nights like tonight he is into it other nights it’s obvious he’s just doing enough. Underrated as a creative guitarist it’s Mick more than any of the other band members who’s ability and commitment to improvise musical variations that kept the songs fresh night after night. Thus it’s Mick’s drop in interest coupled with Terry’s limitations, which make a number of the later 82 shows in particular too similar and uninspired. 

Joe’s guitar is the cue to Mick and the band to tear into Brand New Cadillac; the band on fire now almost. Clampdown though again is disappointing; intro is not explosive and with no Joe rant the  ‘engine room’ finale is an extended instrumental, which Terry brings to an end with some thunderous drum rolls. Ensuring that the main set ends on a high the band add a passionate Clash City Rockers before leaving the stage.

The extended drum and bass intro to Armagideon Time begins the only encore but its unexceptional and Joe adds a short adlib about Coca Cola. A rousing Police On My Back, is much better and is followed by I Fought The Law; Terry’s intro is getting better. But with a “Thank you very much, adios” from Joe the band leave the stage not to return. The taper and the audience keep going expecting more even for minutes after the PA music has come on with the house lights.  Why only one encore? It’s not in keeping with The Clash at all to short-change their fans especially as the audience were clearly very enthusiastic and demanding more. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Did you go? What do you remember?
Info, articles, reviews, comments or photos welcome.
Please email blackmarketclash

First off, the  Red Rockers from Louisiana opened the gig with a strong set featuring cuts off their debut album, Condition Red (this was before the second album with 'China' hit big). I remember remarking to my friend Matt Yaeger, who I attended the show with, that the Red Rockers' drummer looked like Jim Reilly from Stiff Little Fingers, and low and behold we found out during intermission that it was him! All in all the crowd  seemed to enjoy the Red Rockers obviously Clash-influenced set.
 
During the 45 minute or so break, my mate and I decided to try to make it down to the first few rows (known at the Bronco Bowl then as 'the golden horseshoe') where we spied some empty seats. Much to our amazement, the security didn't check our tickets and we snagged two seats on the second row center, which were never claimed.  Also during intermission, I remember that some old guy who appeared to be in his 60s with curly hair and glasses had a reel to reel tape deck out in the open and was holding a large mic in his hand to record the show fromn the front row. I also rememeber that even though we were on the second row, we had to stand on our seat s to get a good view of the stage as this place was packed to the gills.  

So the lights dim and the Clash come out amist very bright white lights (and white heat) and Joe Strumer is wearing a white towel over his head as the band launches into an incendiary London Calling. As he comes up to the mic to begin singing he throws the towel off to reveal a seemingly recent mohawk much to the crowd's delight and amazement. My friend and I had discussed on the way to the gig whether or not we would get a chance to hear much from the first 2 albums, and as I sat there thinking that Joe's mohawk was a good sign, the band stopped and launched into Career Opportunities which had the whole building po-going with a frenzy.  

As the band started to do material off of Give Em Enough Rope, London Calling and Sandinista!, I was struck how well Terry Chimes rattled off some of Topper's best chops on the drums. He was particularly hot on Wrong Em Boyo and Brand New Cadillac.  

The Clash proceed to play a manic and high-intensity set for the next 100 minutes, which touched all the albums very nicely and made it difficult to guess which direction the band would veer off into next. They seemed to be in very good spirits and rumors we had been hearing in the weeks leading up to the show about the band splitting were untrue, as far as we could see.  

Highlights for me included 'Somebody Got Murdered,' 'Clampdown,' 'Safe European Home' and a truly awe-inspiring Garageland. After the show we were deafened, drained and damp, in the best sense.  

The next day my other friend called and said that he was about to go down and interview the band for his school paper at the Dunfey Hotel, near downtown. Apparently the band had a day off and were enjoying some Heinekens by the pool before taking the tourbus down to Austin for the next show.  

Venue location

‘Near the southern shore of Town Lake, City Coliseum looked more like an aircraft hanger than a special events center. The reason for that is that is WAS an aircraft hanger, at least until the city of Austin purchased the structure from the US government in 1940 and converted it. The homely old building would go on to host many a gathering over the years and saw some up and coming artists play there. 

In recent years the number of events staged there had dwindled as other venues sprang up. The nearby Palmer Auditorium, Austin Convention Center and even the Burger Center presented a nicer surrounding than the aging hanger. In recent years the city-wide garage sale and Carnival Austin were the major users of the facility. 

The last event to be held at the Coliseum was the Austin Lyric Opera's production of "Rigoletto" on May 20, 2002. The destruction of City Coliseum did not raise any outcry. Still, some Austinites had some attachment to the place and the city saw a way to satisfy citizen interest and fiscal responsibility. So, on Saturday, October 19, 2002 the city and demolition company held an open house and sold for bottom dollar anything that was not bolted down. Well, anything that was not bolted down too tightly. A section of one of the brick walls was knocked down and bricks were made available for the taking.