US Festival warm up gigs

updated 12 April 2011 - added photo
updated 12 Feb 2012 - added master tapers comments

cdr - Sound 4 -
93min - low gen? - 23 tracks


A pretty decent recording free of any distortion. Very similar in sound to the San Antonio gig 4 nights later.

The best of these pre US Festival recordings. It has good range and good clarity. All the instrumenst are clearly audible. Death or Glory, Lost in the Supermarket and Sound of Sinners were only played a couple of times.


From: Mark Kirklin <mjkirklin[a]gmail.com>
Subject: I'm the taper of the 1983 Texas shows

Hi,
I wanted to commend you on a fantastic site I've used for years as the key Clash resource. Also, wanted to let you know I was the taper of the 1983 Wichita Falls and San Antonio, TX shows.

I have a pretty vivid memory of both shows, I was living in Oklahoma City at the time and the Wichita Falls show was my second taping attempt. Memorial Auditorium was built in 1927 and I believe holds about 3000 people.

Elvis Presley played the venue in 1956 but in more recent times I don't think any big names had played there leading up to the Clash show.

I drove down the day of the show from Oklahoma City where I living at the time meeting a friend from Dallas at the show, we then drove down to San Antonio to catch and tape that show.

I remember pulling up to the Memorial Auditorium and the adrenaline starting to flow as I saw the Clash's tour bus parked next to the venue.

Getting the recording gear in was a snap there was no security to speak of, all the ticket takers and ushers appeared to be over 60. The crowd was for the most part 20 somethings most likely from Dallas.

Once the lights went down and the Morricone intro began the majority of the crowd rushed to the front of the stage to the pit between the stage and the first row. It didn't appear to be sold out and as the faithful rushed to the front the people there out of curiosity only stayed back in their seats.

I parked myself about 30 feet back from the stage dead center standing on one of the seats, no other crowd was within 10 feet of me making a fairly quiet recording overall. I remember a middle aged family down the row from me that looked bored out of their minds through the show, mom, dad and young teen son.

I don't think they were really sure what they were seeing. The vibe of the show was good, the band looked to be having fun playing in such a small market. They looked to be stress free and sounded fantastic, both tight and loose at the same time.

I also remember thinking at the time how great the unique songs sounded live such as "The Sound Of Sinners" and "Death Or Glory".

The San Antonio show 4 nights later had a different vibe to it, where the Wichita Falls show had a relaxed carefree feel to it, the San Antonio show was much more controlled and a bit uptight security wise.

There was lots of security and if I remember correctly a frisk to get in the door. Crowd was pretty rowdy throughout the show. The venue was an old theater holding about 2500 people and they did not allow smoking inside so ushers and security roamed the aisles looking for anyone lighting up. We had seats somewhere around the 10th row dead center.

There is a muffled spot in my tape where an usher spotted either me taping or someone lighting up as he made a bee line directly to our row and started making frantic hand motions in my general direction. Since I noticed him coming my way I hid my mic until he gave up. Where the unique songs were the highlights in Wichita Falls, the encores with with local Texas legend Joe Ely were a real treat.

They were really having a great time with their good friend, they really seemed to feed of of each other.A fantastic version of Joe Ely's "Fingernails" and really reached a frenzy on "I Fought The Law".Two of the greatest shows of my concert going/taping time.

As a side note I got to spend some time with Joe Ely in the early 2000's and asked him about his time with the Clash, he tells a funny story of when the boys were visiting him at his south Texas ranch and were fascinated with the lightning bugs/fireflies in the area behind Ely's house. Apparently, Strummer couldn't believe there were flying bugs that lit up and thought Ely was pulling his leg and somehow had the back area lit to do that.

Anyway, I've been meaning for a while to give you a mini show review, love your site, keep up the great work. I've shared the masters of my recordings via the internet some time back if you don't have copies from the masters I'd be more than happy to send them your way.

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Garageland
This is Radio Clash
Train In Vain
Rock the Casbah
White Man in Hammersmith P
Lost In the Supermarket
Spanish Bombs
Death Or Glory
The Guns Of Brixton
Clampdown
Know Your Rights
Somebody Got Murdered
Sound Of the Sinners
Brand New Cadillac
Police On My Back
I Fought the Law
London Calling
Straight to Hell
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
The Magnificent Seven
Police and Thieves
Hate and war
Bored with the USA

Lost in the Supermarket

Any further info / reviews
appreciated
May 18 Amarillo, TX Civic Center Auditorium
May 19 Memorial Auditorium, Wichita Falls Texas
May ? Juarez, Texas ?
May 22 Majestic Theatre, San Antonio Texas
May 23 Omaha, Nebraska
May 25 El Paso Civic Center Theatre, El Paso, Texas

supported by the Little Charlie Sexton and the Eager Beaver Boys

Salim Nourallah/ getting back to the Clash...
"Brad Austin had lent us the Clashís 1st record from 1977 but it was now actually 1982. We soon found out their 5th record Combat Rock had just come out. We got that next then all the rest too and became obsessed with the Clash.


We found out the Clash was going to play the El Paso Civic Center on the way to play the US Festival in California and on May 25, 1983 we road in the blue Monte Carlo with our 24 year old 1st cousin Maad Okko

Maad was from Algeria and spoke broken English with an ear to ear grin he sported a healthy afro and woolly mustache
plus parachute pants and a tight sleeveless shirt he listened mainly to disco music. He had never heard of the Clash or punk rock music and was baffled by it all.


To document this momentous occasion i planned on smuggling a micro-cassette recorder into the Civic Center
i donít remember how this plan actually worked. I only remember being convinced id surely be caught and potentially arrested thus, missing the Clash my favorite band


Neurosis aside, once inside we took our position about 20 rows back and in the middle a perfect spot, the lights dimmed and Spaghetti western music came over the PA song. The Clash finally took the stage. We jumped to our feet and cheered. they kicked in with London Calling.


Mick hopped around like an elastic Mexican jumping bean. Paul bobbed, ducked and weaved like no bass player you've ever ever seen. Joe attacked his beat up Telecaster with ferocious intensity wearing a white sleeveless military jacket/vest and black straight to hell t-shirt.


Maad looked to us and yelled 'you like this?'. I nodded my head and thrust the micro-cassette recorder to the sky
soaking in Death or Glory. The show plays out for me now in a haze of nostalgic slo-mo bliss.


My memories afterwards are of laying under the sheets at night with the micro-cassette recorder pressed to my ear trying to re-live the moment by listening to the shittiest recording imaginable. We also begged our Mom to make us a black straight to hell t-shirt because they were sold out at the concert. She tried valiantly but after wearing her iffy labor of love to school one day i decided it just didnít look right i retired it to the bottom of my t-shirt drawer and never wore it again.
May 26 Tuscon Activity Center, Tucson Arizona
May 28 Glen Helen Regional Park, San Bernadino CA
...US Festival, and Mick Jones last show with The Clash