Most music fans were stunned when Joe Strummer passed away in 2002. I’d recently skipped out on a Mescaleros show, thinking I had plenty of time to see the legendary musician. I honestly wasn’t all that into his work with the Mescaleros at the time, but Streetcore is one of the records of that era that’s still in heavy rotation 20 years after the fact. Live at Acton Town Hall is a late recording of Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros, captured on November 15, 2002 in London, one month before his passing. With Mick Jones taking the stage for a handful of songs, it’s also the last recording of the two Clash-mates playing together. This recording was previously released as a Record Store Day exclusive and now gets a proper release on 2xLP/CD.
Needless to say, listening to Live at Acton Town Hall feels a bit like history. There’s a nice blend of Mescaleros songs mixed in with hits from The Clash, and even early renditions of songs that later appeared on Streetcore. The main takeaways for me are how seamlessly the set flows between Clash favorites and Mescaleros songs, though The Clash songs notably have a little more crunch compared to the Mescaleros’ genre-hopping. Another takeaway is hearing those new songs, including their live imperfections. Most of the live Strummer I’ve heard over the years was playing his deep catalog, songs he’d played hundreds of times. They’re usually perfect, so it’s a welcome change to see some humbling flubs and flaws as he works out the new material.
So how is this recording? It’s really crisp and clean -- one of my complaints is actually the crowd. Crowd noise is always tricky with live records. You don’t want to hear people chatting or make out individual voices but, at the same time, you need to feel their presence. And you definitely don’t want that canned auditorium cheer you get on MTV Unplugged recordings, for example. On this record, the balance is tasteful. I like the cheering elements you get that kind of fade at the start/end of each song. But the stage banter feels weirdly alien, as you hear Strummer joking to seemingly no response. When he introduces Jones, you’d expect a roaring arena sound but instead you get muffled applause.
Overall it’s a potent set that balances new and old material, delivering a powerful energy that lets new songs soar when you know half the crowd were just there for the classics. Using the 8-minute “Bankrobber” as an example, it also captures the essence of live music. This song, while an underappreciated Clash cut in my opinion, suffers from its pacing on studio records. Here, the 8-minutes flow by as you feel the rhythm more powerfully, along with the song’s underlying soul. And, while I still love Streetcore, the record also has a few moments where I’m reminded why the Mescaleros didn’t always strike gold for me, occasionally (but not often) dabbling dangerously close to jam band sounds. This is a nice memento of a life taken too early, and a fitting tribute to Strummer (and his bandmates). It feels both in the moment from 2002, yet timeless in its own way.
The cd comes with a succinct but lovely personal note from the Fire Brigades Union general secretary of the time (the show was a benefit for striking firefighters), along with personal photos that make it feel like an intimate, once-in-a-lifetime show. Also available on double clear vinyl.
