Gig Reviews - July 4, 2002 House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV

It was a dry hot day, topping off at about 106 degrees in the Nevada desert when Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros played inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. The opening act was a band called Flogging Molly, and due to a late plane we unfortunately missed most of their set, but the little that I did hear reminded me of the Pogues and Dropkick Murphys.

The crowd was smaller than the last time I'd seen Joe and the Mescaleros stateside, which was the Saturday night show at St. Ann's Warehouse back in Brooklyn, but the floor filled in nicely once they took the stage. There were general admission ticket holders on the main floor plus about two levels of balcony seating. From the balcony area, one might think they were getting ready to watch a play given the height from the stage.

The curtains opened and they kicked it off with what was to become the opener for all of the shows, "Shaktar Donetsk". Other songs played included "Johnny Appleseed" where Tymon sported some glasses that spelled out "2002", "White Man in Hammersmith Palais", "Pressure Drop" and a number of others. The surprise number for me was "Message to you Rudy" which I hadn't heard them play live since their Irving Plaza show in NYC in October of 2001. This song came off with excellent success and the crowd loved it!

While most band members sported the traditional Mescaleros gear, Tymon Dogg took off his suit jacket to reveal a sparkling glitter shirt with a picture of Jesus on it. This made his violin bits in "Johnny Appleseed" that much more impressive!

At one point during the set, Chico made it to the gig with his trademark posterboard sign. This one read "Get Lucky With the Mescaleros" and had a picture of dice on it. Upon seeing it Joe said from the stage "It can't be, it can't be, the man from Mississippi" while beckoning towards the audience to have the sign passed forward. Upon receiving it, it sat in front of the drum kit with a small American flag Joe had put there for Independence Day. This sign travelled with the Mescaleros the rest of the tour. Chico also handed out his fan flyer called "Mescalero Magic" at every gig. Check it out by clicking here

The band ripped through a number of tunes before doing an encore and retiring to the casino area where they were hanging out at a local bar and chatting with fans. It was an interesting venue and a good show, and you could tell they were just getting started.

- The Web Princess

For pictures from the this show go to my Pics page!