Gig Reviews - July 5, 2002 Shoreline Ampitheatre - Mountain View, CA

The sun was shining very brightly in the sky as Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros came into Mountain View, CA. The crowd at the first show of the Hootenanny included many Rockabilly guys and gals and the open area where food and music vendors were, there we all kinds of suped up automobiles, some with flames on the sides, others with the shiniest chrome bumpers you'd ever see. Joe and the Mescaleros did a signing for fans at the Epitaph booth at about 3pm where rockabilly kids and punks stood in line to talk to Joe and get autographs from the Mescaleros. They graciously stayed there for about 45 minutes signing and talking to fans, but then had to get ready for the show. They were set to take the stage at about 5:15. The Hootenanny had two stages - on one a band would set up while the other band was playing making for non-stop music. The minute one band would end, the next would begin.

Again they started with "Shaktar Donetsk" against the backdrop of bright green trees and a chrome-like blue sky. They then kicked into "Rudie Can't Fail" which was a big hit with the crowd. "Mega-Bottle Ride" came next and absolutely rocked. I noticed that a lot of audience members were excited to hear Mescalero songs as well as the Clash numbers. At the end of "Mega-Bottle Ride", Joe said he's been talking to Professor Banchoff (of the Banchoff-Klein Mega-Bottle Ride) and that they are going to make a concept album about squids in space.

It was good to see a return of Max Romeo's "Quater Pound of I'cense" in the set. The band have an excellent way of making this number absolutely rock the whole way through in a superb tribute to it's original performer. Simon Stafford's bass rifts add to the magic. "I'cense" was followed by "Police & Thieves" containing a great build-up with Joe on electric guitar and Tymon on classic guitar exploding into the final chorus. "Johnny Appleseed" performed in a tribute to Independence day in the US according to Joe, was consistently one of their best numbers throughout the west coast shows and received a very enthusiastic response from the crowd. If you get a chance to see them live, watch drummer Luke Bullen during this tune as he plays the chorus - you can tell this guy loves what he's doing and plays the drums with a great passion!

Though there was some trouble with the sound and Joe's mike stand breaking more than a few times, the band was able to overcome this to put on an excellent set. After "Johnny Appleseed" we were treated to a mini Clash covers set with "White Man in Hammersmith Palais", "I Fought the Law", an unbelieveable cool version of "Pressure Drop" and "Police on My Back" where Joe asked for vocal assistance, and got the best from Scott Shields and Simon Stafford. After "I Fought the Law" Joe gave props to the Hootenanny organizers, noting that when he looked Hootenanny up in the dictionary he found that it meant an Italian naked orgy using dictionaries as a sexual aid. The crowd loved this an applauded and whistled correspondingly.

They ended the short set with "Walk on the Wildside", where Tymon Dogg and Martin Slattery steal the show. Tymon's violin solo in the beginning and Martin's sax solo in the end make this a whole new song. Before this last number Joe states that this was the first tune to start Suave-abilly. He then stamped his foot defiantly and exclaimed "I hear-by lay claim to be the King of Suave-abilly!" If this is the first tune to start Suave-abilly then I can't wait for entire movement. They have one loyal Suave-abilly fan right here!

- The Web Princess

For pictures of the fan signing and this show go to my Pics page!