Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
I was downtown last night near Washington Square Park, crossing Fifth avenue, when I saw a black kid on a skateboard gliding up the street. He was listening to music and singing loudly. I smiled and thought, man, I really don't get around downtown much anymore. You just don't see people uptown expressing themselves with such theatricality--here I am, hear me, love me or screw off, I don't care.
I couldn't make out what he was singing until I heard, "I live by the river."
Ah-ha. That made me smile even more. Wouldn't have pegged him for a Clash fan.
Yeah, you don't hear the Strummer howl in midtown anymore, that's for sure.
It's also the album where there's something for everyone. Turned out my friend's fave Clash song is "Rudie Can't Fail." I never would have guessed that in years.
I read a few days ago (on a Japanese fansite) that a "Live at Shea Stadium" package is planned for release. I wonder if that would be worth checking out?
From what I just read, the disc is their entire set warming up for The Who in Oct. '82. It's their second night at Shea. I actually saw them the previous night. As I recall, the sound wasn't great, so I'm very curious to hear what I missed. I was lucky to see them 4 times in the early 80s, but only once was the sound good. The other times (especially a show at Hofstra University) it was just too loud, and blown out. Had a great time at all the shows though, even if my ears literally buzzed for days afterward.
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