The Who + The Clash @ Oakland, CA 1982-10-23

 


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The Who
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Oakland, CA
October 23, 1982
Master tape from the ML Archive via JEMS

Recording Gear: Aiwa CM-30 stereo microphone > Sony D6 Walkman

2019 transfer: master cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted transfer > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.3.2 (24/96) capture > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 FLAC > Audacity 2.3.3 (tracking and finishing)

mjk5510: production assistance on “Eminence Front” and “Magic Bus”
musigny23: patches graciously provided for “Five-Fifteen” and “Magic Bus”

Run time: 2:10:28

Musicians:

Roger Daltrey (vocals, guitar, harmonica, tambourine)
John Entwistle (bass, vocals)
Kenney Jones (drums)
Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals)

with Tim Gorman (keyboards)

01_Intro
02_Substitute
03_I Can't Explain
04_Dangerous
05_Sister Disco
06_The Quiet One
07_It's Hard
08_Eminence Front
09_Behind Blue Eyes
10_Baba O'Riley
11_I Can See For Miles
12_Drowned
13_A Man is a Man
14_Cry If You Want
15_Who Are You
16_Pinball Wizard
17_My Generation
18_See Me, Feel Me
19_Five-Fifteen [patched from 5:08 to 5:28, see note]
20_Love, Reign O'er Me
21_Long Live Rock
22_Won't Get Fooled Again
23_encore break
24_Magic Bus [patched from 4:14 to 4:19, see note]
25_Let's See Action
26_Naked Eye
27_Twist and Shout

Welcome back to the beginning, the eighth ML Master Recording of The Who’s Farewell Tour. I say the beginning because this features my first Who concert: October 23, 1982, in Oakland, California. It’s also the day I met Jared. 

Previous ’82 ML Archive masters include recordings from Orchard Park, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Tempe, St. Louis, Syracuse, and Houston. Oakland is remarkable because two established masters circulate. The first to torrent: the stereo recording made by musigny23. On the concert’s 35th anniversary, Jared’s mono capture hit the tracker. 

Now, ML’s terrific version joins the line-up: like the first two, it makes the most of the crisp and loud sound that day. Software removed scores of whistles, exclamations, and other Who-induced hoopla, helping make the music even more delightful to hear. Meanwhile, the set list is exceedingly well-rounded, making for one of the more thoughtful assemblings of the tour.

Here’s an edited version of my recollections, originally included with Jared’s master.

Late on a beautiful autumn afternoon, The Who took the stage in Oakland for the first of two concerts. Loosely billed as Day on the Green #3, T-Bone Burnett and The Clash opened. Two nights later, the band performed across the way at the Coliseum Arena, probably at the behest of promoter Bill Graham.

The Who played great that year. This gig, while brisk and occasionally transcendent, had its flaws: Roger Daltrey was getting over a throat ailment that had caused difficulty in Portland two days earlier. "I find it hard to call any Who show where Roger sits out 'See Me, Feel Me' on the drum riser a good one," Jared wrote in Who's News.

The rest of the band, however, were in great form: on playback, you might think The Who were the best damn band on the planet in 1982. Top-notch versions of "The Quiet One," "Cry If You Want," "Five-Fifteen," and "Naked Eye" feature Pete Townshend stepping out on lead guitar. And how.

Five songs from "It's Hard" make the set, as do "I Can See For Miles" and, for the only time on the tour, a good bit of "Let's See Action." A surprise “My Generation” lit the crowd up, as if they were being treated to something special. And maybe they were. 

I remember this day vividly, both for the music and the people. Meeting Jared helped set in motion a whole series of events, without which our scene would be different. Whatever the grand, cosmic reason, I’m grateful. And to have three incredible master field recordings to call on? Praises be!

Of course, I met ML two nights later: we all sat together for the best gig of the tour — that’s a whole other story. Thanks a million, ML. 

Once again, I send my gratitude to BK, my great friend of 37 years, who serves as executive producer. Key assists: mjk5510 provided technical help, and musigny23, whose recording set the pace, green-lit its use to patch this one’s missing parts. Thank you, friends! Ongoing spiritual guidance: A Morg and Dr. Billy

And shouts out to Jared and Stan, who got the tapes rolling. Until we meet again, friends.

Now then: chapter one, Oakland, 10/23 — my ears are ringing just thinking about it.

Share it freely, and for free!

 - slipkid68






The Clash
October 23, 1982
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Oakland, California
JEMS Master Tape

Musicians:

Terry Chimes (drums)
Mick Jones (guitar, vocals)
Paul Simonon (bass, vocals)
Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals)

Recording gear: Teac M-100 mic > Sony D-6

JEMS 2022 Transfer: Master cassette > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.2.1 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample to 16/44 > FLAC > Finishing via Audacity 3.2.1 and TLH

01_Kosmo Vinyl introduction
02_Joe Strummer remarks
03_London Calling
04_Police on My Back
05_The Guns of Brixton
06_Janie Jones
07_Spanish Bombs
08_Magnificent Seven > 
09_Armagideon Time > 
10_Magnificent Seven
11_Rock the Casbah
12_Train in Vain
13_Tommy Gun
14_English Civil War
15_Clampdown
16_Brand New Cadillac
17_Should I Stay or Should I Go
18_I Fought the Law

This file set features Jared Houser’s fabulous 1982 recording of The Clash, performing in Oakland, California, one of eight shows opening for The Who. Transferred to digital from his master cassette tape for the first time, the music reminds me of a highly anticipated Saturday afternoon and everything that happened afterward. 

It was, in a word, the beginning: the day I met Jared and AMorg, heard The Clash and The Who perform live for the first time, and first saw someone make a field recording.

Standing beside Jared in shallow left-center field, I watched as he set up. I was instantly curious about how it all worked, impressed in particular by his brand-new Sony D6: this was the age of the Walkman, and that deck was tops. Naturally, my mind wandered to how I might get a copy of Jared's tape.

I was a newly-minted collector, having gotten my first tape a few months prior — a 2nd or 3rd gen. from Persic’s capture of Bruce Springsteen, performing on October 27, 1980, across the way at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.
 
In a stroke of luck, my copy of The Clash tape came from AMorg. Nevermind that it was 2nd gen. — I didn't know much about all that anyway. It sounded great and added to my growing collection. 

Not long after, she suggested that I get in touch with a fellow she knew who was also into live tapes, and, in early ’83, BK and I began to correspond. When the stars aligned, JEMS took shape, and here we are today. (Full disclosure: I am not an official member. Rather, I am JEMS-adjacent, a watchful ally who recalls being in the same room with all of them on many occasions.)

To mark the 40th anniversary of the music and a moment where a key piece of the puzzle fell into place, we reached for Jared’s master — stored, perhaps fittingly, with his master Who tapes. This was, after all, the tour where Pete Townshend was passing the torch to the young punks.

The Clash was enjoying commercial and pop culture success: the LP "Combat Rock" had spawned three singles, and its videos were all over MTV. Adolescents mimicked Joe Strummer’s mohawk. But tension within the band saw Terry Chimes replacing Topper Headon (Chimes left after the band’s final 1982 date); by early ’83, Mick Jones would be out, too. Which still makes no sense.

It was a farewell tour, alright. For The Clash.

Whatever the turmoil, the music played and recorded in Oakland sounds great, with a set list designed to get the job done in just under 50 minutes. Gears shift as the band slips seamlessly into a reggae beat for “Armagideon Time,” then back into “Magnificent Seven”; otherwise, the band plays a whistle-stop through upbeat numbers, whether hits of the day or rockers from previous LPs.

Though I came to appreciate The Clash a great deal, I didn't know much about the band at the time. Its set was straightforward and got the blood pumping. Did its well-earned cred exceed its capabilities as a live band? Maybe. Was the playing solid? No question. Exciting? For sure. But punk is an ethos, and I have always favored studio recordings (like its 1977 debut) over ones of its stage shows. 

Preparing Jared’s tape has caused me to reconsider that. What I hear now, like guitar interplay between Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, and Terry Chimes’s drumming, is first-rate and original. If The Clash had gotten better as a live act, Oakland really was the place to be on this day.

Jared’s recording is excellent: after exuberant cheering during the opening remarks, the ambiance settles nicely, contributing to a super-fine capture. That’s advantageous, as the other seven Clash appearances with The Who were a mixed bag sonically, due to relatively poor acoustics of places like the Pontiac Silverdome or the Kingdome. Jared’s mono capture in Oakland gains from BK’s studious transfer and mastering, making it sound more like stereo.

Today, with the focus on tape conservation and file sharing, I’m motivated by two things: first, the idea that from the time you began to read this note, the music in this file set will have traveled to multiple countries around the world. Before that? Perhaps its only place was on Jared's master.

Second, I am mindful of some 14-year-old kid out there somewhere, much like myself in 1982. I hope this recording reaches them, and others, too, for a long time to come.

Thanks to my friends at JEMS, AMorg, Dr. Billy, and fellow enthusiasts. Here’s to 40 years of friendship, road trips, countless trades, many good memes (Mr. Slate!), an enduring commitment to taping, and to Jared and Stan, wherever the music reaches them.

Share it freely, and for free!

- slipkid68