The Clash- US Festival 1983- Rock The Casbah

[tadpole430]

Over the night sky a helicopter appeared with a giant spotlight on the crowd. Hanging from the door was The Clash waving a white flag. Best intro to a band ever!

[tazzytoni]

I saw them a few months earlier when they opened up for The Who in LA and they rocked!! Then saw them at the US Festival and they sucked!!!!

[gaae2000]

sounds awful!!!...rather watch the music video.

[masepidesevive]

very good sound and quality

[Kleptako]

LOCKING THE TASKBAR

[thebombdigity14]

I have to comment. They were so rude and disrespectful towards U.S. and Wozniak, everyone walked out, including me and my family. I do not support the Clash to this date, however, I do appreciate this footage.

[MyAccount4TrollingU]

@thebombdigity14 They were fucking idiots.

[Welcome2theChopHouse]

this is a masterpiece

[chutoi26]

O...M...G......I finally twig as to why they banned Mullets in Iran...

JOE...

[ryan25n]

@chutoi26 how is that a mullet far from it get your eyes tested

[ERICWENDYBRIAN]

That was pretty bad....and I like The Clash. it's probably good it was only played live a few times...

[559043]

why did the guitar player get mad at the drummer? did he play it too fast?

[canadianroot]

@559043 He had a false start and had to recover. Speaking of recovering, he was in full-on heroin addiction at this point, and was kicked out soon after. He wound up on the streets and blew all his money on drugs. He has since cleaned up his act.

[pappysmp]

Some of them don't care about this song but at least Kiss played ''i was made for loving you" really well in concert

[minnesotajack]

Topper Headon was the best musician in the Clash. And he isn't on stage here. He was out of the Clash by this time from drug problems. If you look it up, you can see Topper basically wrote and performed Rock the Casbah, so of course it sounds like crap without him. Joe sounds like he doesn't even know the chirds, and gets mad at the drummer. THis is band in the falling-apart stage.

[StokesEmpire]

now i know why its only been played a few times live.... it sounds horrible live but i love the regular one though

[RDBeatnik]

No Topper Headon? That's a paddlin'.

[zigzagbigbag]

What I remember about this show was that the Clash were called out by David Lee Roth who accused the Cash of drinking ice tea out of Jack Daniels bottles.

[orion681]

Everyone keeps saying it's not lip synced or overproduced blah blah...it isn't even the same arrangement as what is on the record. Joe isn't even playing the same chords that he used on the record.  He isn't using the minor seventh voicings and the stuff that made it the funky song that it originally sounded like..I love new wave and any kind of punk, but this is a bad arrangement of the song. Period.

[MyCinder1]

Danm I was born 1983!

[dudits01]

the worst version of this tune I really like... usually... completely out of tune and the quality of the sound doesn't matter

[Urko2005]

@dudits01 as reply to keithbontrager :)

[dudits01]

@Urko2005

Sorry, I can't agree with this.

Even in the 70's, even in the 50's, even before... there were performances.

This one is just awfull 'cause out of the tune. (some years of singing/guitar, a few concerts... my ears are almost bleeding beacause of this version)

[Urko2005]

@dudits01 Punk bands/new wave of the late 70s werent known for their "in tuneness", thats how they were.

[dudits01]

@Urko2005

that's true

[Urko2005]

@dudits01 If in the 70s punks/new wavers had gone to a concert and it was all polished, smooth as in the studio vinyl version , theyd been disappointed i think ( i was only about 14 so never got the chance :().

Its the raw, ok not in tune fully, style that was a new wave band live feel.

Check out other new wave bands of the era playing live , many wont sound like they do on their vinyl as live.

[robram818]

Can anyone say over produced!!!! 

[x1x2x3r]

Good!



[kaboom00]

i like this song but it sounds awful

[keithbontrager]

@kaboom00 Agreed, Rock the Casbah is a great song but it loses so much going live.

[Urko2005]

@keithbontrager This is because what you get in this video like so many groups of late 70s/80s is them playing live raw sound of them playing.

No computer mixing/lip sync etc etc

[kaboom00]

it sounds awful

[Urko2005]

@kaboom00 It aint awful, its a band of the original late 70s playing fully live, no computer mixing, lip syncing.

Todays groups are so highly polished with technology thats why they sound too perfect to be true and they generally are.

[Technosphile]

Is this seriously the best film of this that exists? I can't believe that a show as big as this wasn't painstakingly documented. That huge skip in the middle is pretty bad.

[gash65]

That isn't Terry Chimes on drums, but Pete Howard. Terry only rejoined to help out when Topper was sacked. The full-time replacement was Pete, who also stayed on when Jonesy left and was replaced by two guitarists.

[gash65]

Thatisn't Terry Chimes on drums, but Pete Howard. Terry only rejoined to help out when Topper was sacked. The full-time replacement was Pete, who also stayed on when Jonesy left and was replaced by two guitarists.

[snakey319]

So fucking great! I miss Strummer

[cartoonfreak15]

no wonder why the clash were legendary!strummer was an elf,look at his ears!they had magic at their side!:P

[hkb1979]

I'm a huge Clash fan but have never heard a good live version of this. I think the piano riff really makes the song, and without it, I feel it just doesn't quite work.

[MOSKII58]

@hkb1979 your right w/o the piano the song just doesn't work, espec " live" w/o a diff tempo..it sounds like a different tune.... the groove just isn't there...

[inchwormgreen]

why does joe start yelling at terry chimes at the end

[degree7]

@inchwormgreen

Because he added an extra tempo count at the start, where he hits the drum sticks together. He made Joe mess up

[inchwormgreen]

@degree7 you know i never did like terry...only if topper wasnt sacked :(

[AvirtualSwitzerland]

Are they playing out of key?....WTF?

[jaggass]

not playing out of key just the wrong chords joe played it in major instead of minor.

[sk8erguy011]

@AvirtualSwitzerland thats what i was thinking haha

[5lowrollD]

Joe strummer yelling and ranting at the drummer at the end. what happened?  anybody know?

[cottox]

@5lowrollD they were all over the place at that time... wiki says that that night was even the last show for mick jones

[5lowrollD]

Topper is awesome, but this guy is really good man. Dont know why people bag on him.

[thunder63]

It dont get any better than this...RIP Joe X

[Harassify]

would like a complete set list from beginning to end

[misterblitzer]

That voice so nice

That energy so nice

[mouthmouse]

0:02, wrong start?

[panhead55]

funny thing about this tune, is that topper (the drummer which isnt playing here due to drug problems) wrote this song and also recorded the bass line for the original album cut.

[strummersbrother]

This was the Clashes highest selling single, #1in the USA, written by Topper Headon, just before he got canned. I agree w/ @Chrisdrumz TH was PERFECT drummer 4/the Clash, and really important to what made them GREAT!!

[amozartii]

Man Joe was pretty pissed at the end of the song..he was actually pissed when he walked on the stage.

[makistza]

junkies....he barely can sing...the studio version of Rock The Casbah must have others musicians. the band clearly are in entry perform level. amateurs.

[jenart1]

@makistza WOW. They weren't junkies you ignorant turd. Their whole sound was supposed to be raw. That was the whole point of punk music to counter overproduced crap that is so popular today and in the 70's at the birth of punk. Read a book.

[makistza]

@jenart1 lol!!!!!

[1960unclemort]

great song on record but does`nt work live to well

[sdangela]

Love The Clash~ I only wish i was old enough to go to the US Festival! I was only a kid...

[willwazzer123]

check out the song on my page

[JohnnyLovelyOfficial]

oh god, what is this talk about Van Halen in the comments? Why would you even compare them at all! They have nothing in common! And Van Halen is gay!! I am 16 and I consider Van Halen old people's music and The Clash still sounds fresh and new and interesting

[mikeyramone33]

no man jump ,now that was a song! no no,how about a kinks cover as best song!

[PartyBoy64]

Gay Sound? Fuck off.

Just because it ain't hard like van halen you shun the fuck out of it.

How is it a cheap band? The fact you want sugar coat a band you hate with idiotic adjectives.

Van Halen has nothing on the clash. NOTHING.

[petarst]

he is a NOOB...simply

[petarst]

u are idiot  just take complete control and i fought the law and telll me honestly to which band to compare it ?

[CyNN82]

are you really THAT STUPID or are you just too wasted???

haha what an f-ing old bastard

there no way to compare Van Halen and The clash... they're amazing in their own genre...

haha "DLR and Van Halen is about 100 times better" haha LMFAO I'll never get over what u said haha what an idiot LOL

[lacika67]

shut the fuck up bitch, not me who started to compare the two bands idiot, I was just answering to people below who did, go and suck dick fucking fag

[madder128]

Two Totally Different Bands Brilliant In Their Own Ways. You cant compare them.

Clash performed this awesome !

I think also people forget how much more difficult it is to play a song live, an album you get as many takes as you want, live you get one.

Good Performance !

[bonfirejovi]

this live version is really quite bad

[dontheedthecallup]

van halen were a good band but unfortunately for you halen fans the clash piss and shit all over them

[Winonasalibi]

Were Baked on dope or just baked from the heat?

THIS CLIP is proof that, as good a band as the Clash were, this was NOT their night...they were off by a mile...Van Halen were sloppy too but kicked a thousand shades of ass over the clash's performance. The best bands of the Weekend were Motley Crue (believe it or not),Scorpions, U2 & Oingo Boingo

[HarmonicsExplorer]

Missing Persons - US Festival - the best performers at the gig

[shaholidyvideos]

this is my ship

[AdamRamone1234]

the clash>van halen

[potpierulez]

@AdamRamone1234 your highh

[TheEddster]

@AdamRamone1234 The Clash > Everyone

[Hippy777]

@AdamRamone1234 ha funny.

[simzima74]

van halen would of been better if they had a better front man...mybe a joe or even a mick

[Pr0xyfl00d3r]

WTF does Van Halen have to do with the greatest band ever?

[mrtom72]

David Lee Roth? Are you actually fucking serious? He sucks donkey balls!!

[rjs15]

david lee roth is fuckin awesome. hes got so many more girls than these stuck up political minded brits who hate america because they dont know how to be free and have fun and we do. so yeah dlr and vh are fuckin cool man.

[cpj93070]

yeah i watched the vid of that cunt slagging off the clash hes one drunked up prick no the clash lads had quite a few girls around as well, lol not being gay here but paul had girls after him front right and centre and hes better looking than that prick u tosser.

[rjs15]

im not hating on the clash, im just supporting van halen, cuz everyone else is dissin them. i like the clash and van halen . geez. and btw, VH got waayyy more chicks dude. sorry.

[AdamRamone1234]

what does getting more chicks prove?

[potpierulez]

@AdamRamone1234 that ed, mike, alex, dlr, and sammy got pussyyyy

[Slushyyy639]

@AdamRamone1234 it proves ur a sellout, clash forever!

[Warren4rock4now]

what has the amount of women you can carry on your shoulders in a sleazy night club have to do with a bands' performance? Van Halen are a good band granted but I still think The Clash, because they're a punk band and they were protesting about the wrongdoings in the world, have more passion in their music. Punk wasn't advanced technically but it had that gritty feel to it that made people inspired.

[potpierulez]

@rjs15 VAN HALEN IS THE SHIIIITTT

[canadianroot]

@rjs15 VH, aside from the fact that they had a good guitarist, and an over the top egomaniac as a lead singer, will be a footnote on rock history compared to the clash. joe strummer was a poet, and we won't see the likes of him again. this isn't a pissing contest, i realize, but the clash were at the forefront of a movement. VH had a bunch of guitar god worshipping stoners in the audience.

cheers.

[simongagne33]

@rjs15 jonas brother get more chicks than van halen ? lol

[PBANDSNOW]

@rjs15 it just means he has more ladies, whats th point

[thunder63]

Whatever Joe says goes~ hes a legend x

[zSoLrAk94]

da risa komo joe se haza xD

[Traveller1612]

...well I was also at the US Festival for all 3 days and went to Cal Jam2 as my first concert at 16...

The best part about THIS concert was the next night after The Clash played, when David Lee Roth of Van Halen came on stage and basically said: "We're not the FUCKING Clash man, we got REAL booze and NOT fucking colored water in our JACK DANIELS BOTTLE !!! *as he starts to guzzle and the crowd roars!!!!*

oh yeah...goood times....

(ps- clash fans, dont reply to me - I dont wanna hear it)

[cft08]

hm, I think van halen sucks independent ftom the clash

[rjs15]

van halen is awesome.

[cft08]

than jump rjs xD

[Nimlas1]

I fail to see how ones ability to consume mass quantities of liquor makes you a better musician or person. All it is is s extremely immature display of false macho prowess.

In summation, DLR is a fucking twat.

[AdrianAtTheDisco]

someone's bound to reply to you if you're gonna say shit like that.

oh well, you're probably just some middle-aged alcoholic who talks about the "good old days" all the time.

[wisesatyr72]

They sounded super tight and on a mission to conquer America, yeah kick his ass Joe, you're the man!

[punxlifegod]

peace musilman peace juif fuck the u.s.a and uk system

[Twiggy1307]

Haha, love Joe going mad at Peter Howard at the end!

[envaneo]

why was Joe Pissed at Howard? He's a great drummer

[hangin10]

bad count that threw Joe off at the beginning.

[danny355]

Is that all? Hes going f-in nuts!

[danny355]

Is that all? Hes going f-in nuts!

[quartzhillian]

I was at the U.S. festival fr the whole event. The best was the SKA to me. It was all exciciting and one of the most memrable experiences of my life. I was to young for Cal- Jam and way to young for woodstock. I cannot believe it has been as long ago as it was. I remember sneaking into Van Halen garage parties in Pasadena,CA and also for Motley Crue. Via California and to growing up in California

[Traveller1612]

I love the contrasts:

a): I was to young for Cal- Jam and way to young for woodstock.

b): jrbortel : i was at this show in devore ca what the fuck are all of you talkin about? punk ska reggae? all music is fusion sounds like none of u are old enough to have an opinion ..."

[jrbortel]

i was at this show in devore ca what the fuck are all of you talkin about? punk ska reggae? all music is fusion sounds like none of u are old enough to have an opinion

[johnnybgoode58]

i dont care what people say peter howard was a great drummer listen to live tapes from this era and you'll see what i mean

[wendel88]

bad drummer. bad flow. great band and grea song, but horrible drummer

[Chrisdrumz]

Good drummer,just didn't fit the Clash. Topper was better both in style AND attitiude.

[midgy]

Why does it matter if The Clash were a "Punk" band or not? They were a great band no matterwhat genre of music. They were great. Even much better than most "punk" or whatever kind of bands we have today. Let's respect them for what they were, for what they are. They wanted all people to open their minds and ears. Let's PLEASE respect thatt. Okay?

[firesnk]

you're right ;)

[laststand4]

@midgy echo echooooo

[hautakivi94]

@midgy I think that even though Clash started as a Punk band and changed their style on London Calling they still got their attitude and opinnion like a punk band! Their lyrics mattered much, their music mattered much and they were rock band of all times. Beats Sex Pistols even though I like their music.

Sorry about my bad english... I'm from Finland where punk bands are growing in trees :D

[RancidPunk93]

The First two albums of the clash are punk, the others a mix or other thing. i just like the punk clash except for rock the casbah and london calling.

[rock100pre]

THE BEST OF "the clash"

JOE STRUMMER is a legend from ROCK PUNK

number 1

the LIVE ROCK

[greendayfreak248]

mick's jumpin around in the backround, lol

[AlessandraKoo]

best band FOREVER

[codnose]

I love that he was so pissed of by the end of the clashes career that he chanelled it into these great speeches. a true prophet. we need him now more than ever. 

R.I.PUNK JOE

[pauloOrpheusvocals]

Is he given out to the drumer at the end?

[mrbrightside42]

they're one of my favorite bands,but they are playing it too fast here.

[lukesweatherlight]

Because this is the fucking 80's.

Surprisingly good quality tbh!

It's recorded on VHS, played HOW MANY TIMES then transitioned onto You Tube! :P

[sunshinethetyrant]

i love the way it does that...

makes this video so good...

[deweyfinn123]

y are there no good versions of this live on utube.. I mean w/o the BLUE

[theclashfan3149]

this is a bab version

[longshortman]

Seems impossible to catch the vibe and sound of the studio recording live. Even the Mescaleros version feels a bit 'naaah .. I don't know'.

[Alex73013]

this was terrible.

[RACCAMAN]

on the combat rock tour they played it every night

[FunkKing]

Oh MAN this is nasty, those chorus chords are BAD!

Still, weird to see this live, never seen it before by the Clash. There's a much better Mescaleros version on YouTube mind you.

[djangone]

I was amazed while watching the show as a 19-year-old how poorly they sometimes played their instruments, especially (if I remember right), Train in Vain. I put it off to it all being about the energy rather than technical skill. That night they were amazing on certain songs, dismal on others.

[FunkKing]

Yeah, I've seen other footage from this gig which was good. And I've never seen them do a decent version of Train in Vain live. I just don't think they have any groove live. You're right though, their energy is through the roof...

I just don't get why they played this at all if they couldn't get it sounding half-decent, and it's not just the fact that it's missing piano (not a big deal), but the ridiculous speed, wrong chords all over the place...

However! love the Clash anyway.

[Geffles]

They didn't play the wrong chords they wrote they song they can play it however they fucking want !

[FunkKing]

Okay, well I suppose you're right, but the chords are different at the chorus than they are on the original recording. And they sound nasty.

So I would define that as being the wrong chords. But your interpretation is up to you.

I hate this version so much, lol.

[Geffles]

they're supposed to be a punk band they sound more punk here than in the prissy commercialized "orginal recording" do you really think they had a keyboard in the original song when they have no keyboard player ?

[FunkKing]

I'm not taking issue with their having no *piano* in this, I'm saying that they are playing the wrong fecking chords. That's just a musical fact; they're substituting major chords where there were previously minor chords.

And the Clash are much, much more than a punk band. They defy classification in their later recordings.

[Geffles]

Your an idiot

they are a punk band

too be honest being a part of a band once myself you don't always play the song the way you wrote it it's how you feel at the time

They wern't playing any wrong chords because it was their song and the way they chose to play it. Also if you honestly think a punk band know the differance between a major chord and a minor chord your fucking dense

[FunkKing]

Wow, so here it seems I've made a mistake; I was under the impression that you were equipped to have an intelligent conversation.

Having realised the error of my ways, I won't be responding to anything else you have to say. You are very obviously the idiot in this exchange.

Also, for you to imply that the Clash are just a punk band, and that they don't know the difference between major and minor chords, tells me all I need to know about you.

It's been fun; goodbye.

[Geffles]

You don't know shit about punk do you

go back to orchestra 101

[udreksuh]

You don't know shit about the CLash! They combined elements of classic rock, ska, reggae, punk and even country like no other band at the time. Their recordings were precise and sometimes featured very sophisticated progressions and percussion.

[Geffles]

Your obviously and idiot, Since Reggae and Ska are all popular fusions with the punk genre, Saying that doesn't make them stand out. ever heard the transplants ? are they not punk because they mix LA rap into their songs? Og course they are are girls aloud no longer a cheesey pop group because they have electric distorted guitars in their songs of course they are lern2 fucking argue

[hgldypgldy]

the transplants blow.

[ssunshiinee]

the clash weren't all punk.

they mostly were but they belonged to different music genres as well, that was part of what made them so good.

and since punk is actually an attitude, you could say that they did have that their whole careers.

and the other people are right, its their song, they could play it however the fuck they wanted.

[DanielKnott]

You cut off the best part at the start :(

[AdamRamone1234]

that part is at the end of the previous video. see the playlist

[DanielKnott]

Ah okay sorry :$ I didn't know there was a playlist. All these youtube things I am unaware of haha.

[xXVIx]

Why joe gets angry with the drumer at the end ?

[TheTollundMan]

It was towards the end of the band, and the relationships in the band were pretty tense.

Pete Howard and Strummer never got on well to begin with anyway.

[harveybullocks1281]

i actually heard that they played this song live quite often in their waning stages. Joe Strummer also performed it often as a solo artist.