Pearl Harbour Tour supported by The Rentals & Bo Diddley

updated 8 March 2007
updated 7 July 2008 - link to photos by Cathrine Vanaria
updated August 2022 added new article from Tufts Uni.
updated August 2022 -added artcile JimS

Audio 1

Unknown gen - sound 2.5 - 1hr 7mins - 20 tracks

Audio 2 - master

Sound 3 - 1hr 21mins - 20 tracks

Tommy Gun

Audio 3 - different source

Sound 3.5 - 1hr 24mins - upgrade - 20 tracks

Tommy Gun

Sound Quality

The recording in circulation is a quite listenable audience recording. This one suffers some tape wear and better copies may exist, though this came from a good source.

Clearest part is the percussion, the vocals are reasonably clear as well and the lead is there as always, but the bass is buried as the sound edges toward the top end. There are also some distant problems resulting in some slight echo and some very faint noise/hiss. The atmosphere is captured well with the audience responding in loud appreciation to each song.

we're gonna try a bit of funk a bit of blue beat

Guns On The Roof is now the second song, brought forward in the set list at Washington the night before, as the song was getting the bulk of limited airplay The Clash were getting on US radio.

The Clash are fired up throughout, delivering great intense performances. Joe has a few digs at the elitism of the nearby University "We want to move the town to the Clash City Rockers…fat chance!" and " we're gonna try a bit of funk a bit of blue beat, entitled White Man in Harvard University". Police & Thieves and Capital Radio are the usual highlights; the drama before Police & Thieves gets a new twist with mountains of echo filling the theatre and Joe includes "revolution rock, it is the brand new rock" demonstrating the popularity of this song in the Clash camp months before the London Calling sessions.

Capital Radio is introduced as Neil Diamond's latest and Joe ad libs at length at the end of the song about "trains, tracks and dead heroes". Joe Strummer very rarely repeated his ad-libs throughout The Clash, just going with whatever inspiration came to him. There was none of the pre-planned show biz of other acts producing supposedly off the cuff moments night after night.

Clash drives home their point with anger

Clash, Diddley rock out square

The Tufts Observer, Tufts University -
Medford, Massachusetts

23 February 1979

The New York Rocker magazine

March 1979 - Page 6

Boston

Diamondz Fanzine

Harvard Square Cambridge
Review by Brian Goslaw

I was all ready to jump into the 80's and while going through the archives I found these. One is a review of The Clash by Brian Goslow, the other is just a regular cut and paste job. I don't think either was ever published, for whatever reason. It was 29 years ago, and sometimes I don't remember what I did 29 minutes ago.
But thanks, Brian, sorry if it never got to press.

Give ‘Em Enough Hope: Joe Strummer at 70

Celebrating the life of the man called the "backbone" of punk

August 21, 2022
Jim Sullivan

... "I was fortunate enough to catch The Clash … it's February 1979 and a soldout crowed is packed into the Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge, Mass" … Link

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THE GREATEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE

Peter Rustin - I was at this show in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 1979, on their first USA tour.  THE GREATEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE. Awesome. WE LOVE THE CLASH | facebook.com

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16th Feb, 1979, The Clash perform at Har... - 

Setlist

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	I'm So Bored with the USA Guns On the Roof Jail Guitar Doors Drug Stabbing Time Tommy Gun City Of the Dead Hate and War Clash City Rockers White Man In Ham Palais English Civil War Safe European Home Stay Free Police and Thieves Capital Radio Janie Jones Garageland Julie's / Drug Squad Complete Control London's Burning White Riot