Bonds Residency
Three weeks & 17 gigs that shook up New York and America.

NOTE:

Most of the reviews were written by Steve Morse, the long time rock critic for the Boston Globe and clearly a fan of the clash (he traveled to NY, NJ and Wash DC to review the band). As a native of Boston and a 25+ year fan of the Clash I have always enjoyed and agreed with his reviews. That can't be said for Jim Sullivan who wrote the Sept. 7, 1982 review. I was at that show and I have never had such a disagreement with a review and to this day, I can't hear (or write!) the words Jim Sullivan with out thinking about how far off the mark that review was (call me obsessed!), other's radio DJs at the time agreed. I thought it was a great show. I have included Sullivan's review just for the historical record. If you post it I may send my own memories of the show at a later date.

REVIEW / MUSIC\ CLASH WORTH THE WAIT\ THE CLASH - IN CONCERT SUNDAY NIGHT AT BOND'S IN MANHATTAN.

Author(s) Steve Morse Globe Staff Date: June 2, 1981 Page: ????? Section: ARTS/ FILMS

Wanting desperately to put the sordid events of the past few days behind them, the Clash rushed on stage Sunday and just let their pent-up fury do the rest.

To say they were magnificent is an understatement. They performed like men possessed, churning out two hours of music that rocked the mind with its working-class, anti-oppressor-at-all-costs tone.

This was a political concert to end all political concerts, as the British boys from Brixton laid their leftist ideologies on the line, accompanied by a devastating slide show of napalmed babies, tanks, soldiers, Uncle Sam posters, handguns and gas masks, plus a spot appearance by an emotional El Salvador rebel (not wanting his name used), who'd flown to New York to thank the Clash for denouncing US military aid to El Salvador.

Clearly, the Clash had a lot of frustrations to work out. They'd been subjected to delicate, day-long negotiations about adding an extra week of concerts to their originally scheduled eight at Bond's (required because of the club's admitted overselling and because two shows were canceled Saturday when the city closed the club, citing fire code violations).

They also had endured an exhausting press conference, during which they doubted they'd have played the club at all if aware its legal capacity was only 1725 (manager Bernie Rhodes, not the band, had chosen the club, thinking it held 4000 - the number he'd heard had attended a Plasmatics concert there).

The band also said these controversial New York dates were supposed to be a "bonus" to their fans, and that a forthcoming American tour was being planned, though they didn't say when.

And as to who first called the fire marshals in to investigate Bond's - whether it was a jealous club rival or someone hostile to the Clash's radicalism, singer Joe Strummer shrugged: "That's the $64,000 question . . . I'm just a visitor, and only a New Yorker could get to the bottom of it."

Opening Sunday's concert, Strummer summed up the whole mess by announcing: "For those of you who've been waiting for hours or days, you're here now, so let's get on with it."

The band then blasted into the apocalyptic "London Calling," followed by the furious "Safe European Home" and relentless "Somebody Got Murdered," as slides of a mammoth handgun were projected behind them. Slides were movingly utilized on alternating songs, while the group (just the original four - Strummer, guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon; minus semi-permanent keyboardist Mickey Gallagher this time) unleashed its political vehemence.

The turbulent, machine-gun beat of "Guns of Brixton" (with English bobbies shown on the screen quelling the Brixton riots) led to a militant, unrecorded song, "Radio Clash" (with eerie bomb-dropping noises), then the antidraft anthem "The Call Up" (as Strummer screamed, "It's up to you not to heed the call-up," while Uncle Sam winked on the screen), an overwhelmingly intense coupling of "Ivan Meets GI Joe" (as the Stars & Stripes were juxtaposed with a hammer & sickle, a Cold War metaphor ending with a huge mushroom cloud), and "Charlie Don't Surf" (with a slide of a military coffin draped in an American flag, sending chills up the spine). Throughout, guitarist Jones was outstanding, adding jarring new electronic effects that marked how much he's grown musically.

Letting it all hang out, the Clash roared in with more songs from their "London Calling" and "Sandinista!" albums. They ignored, though, their first album, proving they now want to be accepted as a band that doesn't just vent anger, but merges it with positive faith, as an excellent interview in this month's Musician, Player & Listener magazine points out.

All in all, this wasn't just the boldest, most politically liberating concert I've ever heard. It was also one of the most inspirational.