The Clash's opening-night concert of a three-night stand at Pier 84 last Tuesday was everything that last year's debacle at the Bonds International Casino. The sound system made the band's leftist political slogans relatively clear and open-air setting gave both them and the audience room to breathe. Last year the Clash's hand-picked opening act, the New York rap group Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, was booed off the stage on opening night. This year, Kurtis Blow, a New York rap star who served as master of ceremonies, was treated politely. There were virtually no signs that the Clash had been having its usual share of troubles. Recently the drummer, Topper Headon, left after a dispute about the band's political direction. And their latest album, "Combat Rock," has been roundly trounced by a number of East Coast critics who had originally championed the Clash.
But for all the Clash's troubles, Tuesday's concert seemed downright jolly. One was impressed by the zany humor of its dance-rock hit, "Rock the Casbah," which pokes fun at politics in the Middle East. And its hard-rock rap song, "The Magnificent Seven," holds up as a landmark rock-funk hybrid. Terry Chimes, the group's original drummer, who has replaced Mr. Headon, more than held hid own, keeping the rhythms tight and militant while avoiding tedious rat-a-tat-tat, and Joe Strummer's raspy good-hearted singing reminded a listener of the Bob Dylan of the 1980's. Despite all its problems, the band seems here to stay
Article contribution by Steve Mereu
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