Carbon/Silicon
Saturday, March 29
The Record Bar
Photos by SCOTT SPYCHALSKI
Words by CRYSTAL K. WIEBE
Ha ha, Chicago! Kansas City got to play host to a pair of honest-to-God punk grandpas last Saturday night. Mick Jones (the Clash) and Tony James (Generation X) stopped at the Record Bar with Carbon/Silicon. The tour was supposed to stop in Chicago tonight, but according to the band’s Web site, that gig has been “posponed”. Some die-hard punk fans in Chi-town are probably pretty pissed about it.
Unlike Architects drummer Adam Phillips, they won’t get a whole stack of old Clash albums autographed by Jones. Apparently, Jones left his plush tour bus to hang out at Record Bar on Saturday afternoon and planned to mingle more after the show. When Phillips gushed about his newly signed booty, I started wishing I’d worn my vintage Clash T-shirt. (Since I hadn’t, I decided not to stick around.)
Oi, Mick.
Alas, Carbon/Silicon is hardly the Clash. Saturday’s performance lacked the fire and grit of traditional punk. But passion belied the jangly guitars and laid-back rhythms. Songs title like “Why Do Men Fight?” and “The Global War on Culture” reek of politicized punk spirit. I salute Jones and James for continuing to wave that flag into their 50s. But I'll pass on buying the CD. New songs by old rock dudes are almost always doomed to sound dated. And I guess that’s what prompted my buddy Jimmy, who’s older than me (but not as old as Jones and James), to turn to me about halfway through the show. “This any good to you?” he asked. “Or is it old man rock?” I didn’t have to answer.
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They had to cancel the Chicago show due to being on Conan later this week I was told.
More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/s...
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