The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 20

I was a fool for not attending this show. I know that now. Somebody tipped me off to Rock Art & The X Ray Style about three years ago and played the life out of that CD. I was a late blooming, but no less huge Clash fan and just loved Big Audio Dynamite, but I have to admit I didn't pay Joe much mind as a solo artist. The last Clash record, at least as I understand it, was Cut The Crap, which sure seemed like a contract obligation release at the time. It felt like a Joe Strummer solo record to me so maybe that is why I lost interest. Big mistake. I'm still tracking down everything he has released since.

This show was SICK! Much better than the one a few years later at the Worcester Palladium. What made it so great was that Joe hadn't recorded a lot of Mescaleros material yet so there was plenty of cuts from the Clash song book. You can even find a live version of "Trash City" from this show on a CD released by local punk rag Fat City Magazine. PS, hey Phoenix, Strummer released three CDs on Epitaph. Are you saying the last one sucked?

I WAS THERE, JOE ROCKED, REAL COOL FEELING IN THE AIR THAT NIGHT...DRANK A LOT, AND DRIVING HOME SOUTH ON 93, MY FRIEND SUGGESTED A FEW AT JJ FOLEYS IN THE SOUTH END. I SAID I WAS SHOT, TOO MUCH...FOUND OUT LATER, STRUMMER SHOWED UP THERE AFTER THE GIG AND HUNG OUT FOR A COUPLE HOURS. THE SHOW AT THE PALLADIUM A FEW YEARS LATER WAS ALSO BRILLIANT, AMERICAN FLAG DRAPED BEHIND THE STAGE AS THE BAND PLAYED MINSTREL BOY. AT ONE POINT JOE STOMPED BY, ME SHIELDING MY WIFE FROM TH PIT RIGHT AGAINST THE BARRIER, SLAPPING PEOPLES HANDS AS HE PASSED. HE MISSED MINE AND I SCREAMED JOE, JOE, HE TURNED AND I TOLD HIM I HAD WAITED MY WHOLE LIFE FOR THIS, HE REACHED OVER AND SHOOK MY HAND. NOT TOO LONG AFTER HE WAS GONE. RIP JOE.