What a tremendous gig, worth the £17 admission fee just to hear White man & Police & Thieves sung by the master again. I missed them last year at the Colston Hall in Bristol and was slightly surprised he played Bridgwater this time round, having said that I enjoyed the venue greatly, reminded me of a smaller version of The old Locarno/Studio in Bristol (take note SLF).

The evening started with a couple of warm up acts, missed most of the first ones (still in the pub), followed by a fairly good blues type band, who looked to have borrowed the drummer from Weston-Super-Mare band Eastertown.

Some guy who looked like Don King introduced Joe and the boys around 10.00/10.30 pm ! and Joe proceeded to fire through the set with a good mixture of songs from his last Two Mescaleros albums and Classic Clash songs.

I'm still not to sure about some of Joe's new stuff, but enjoyed hearing it live, more so than on CD, especially Yalla Yalla, Jonny Appleseed and the new song Get Down Moses.

Even at 50 (looks younger than most of the 40 year olds in the crowd ! ) Joe still shows great energy and enthusiasm just as in the old days, he still has that presence about him.

Back to the music, what a treat to hear White man, Bankrobber, Rudi, Londons Burning and I Fought the Law again. But the highlight of the evening for me was the encore and Joe singing Police and Thieves backed up by some brilliant guitar work by the band.

Can't wait to see them again, makes a change from the annual trip to see Stiff Little Fingers every year, how about a double bill next time. - by reviewer Mark Elvins