Big Audio Dynamite's Sunday night gig at First Avenue was 17 years in the making. If my memory serves me correct, 1994 was the last time ex-Clash member Mick Jones and his band of eclectic jungle beat and ska loving misfits last graced our fair Minneapolis (as part of defunct 93.7 The Edge's Twisted Christmas, which also featured Hole, Grant Lee Buffalo, Dada and Love Spit Love...all sharing a too-giant Target Center stage). That holiday night was my first live taste of BAD, and almost two decades of patience paid off last night as the quintet played a blistering 90 minutes to an elated audience.
Starting off with an extended version of "Medicine Show," the five-piece shattered the eardrums of the eager crowd, who instantly reconnected with songs of decades past, all sounding decidedly more modern than half of the stuff Pitchfork has been declaring 'Best New Music' this year. "V Thirteen" was an early highlight, and saw the Transmission-centric crowd really start dancing for the first time...dancing that didn't stop. Their go-to theme song "BAD" and the brand new "Rob Peter Pay Paul" were equally connecting, the latter of which was not the least bit out of place amongst its mid-1980s counterparts.
As far as seasoned rock veterans are concerned, Jones could be considered one of the least jaded. For anyone that has seen The Hold Steady in concert, you've heard Craig Finn proclaim "there's so much joy in what we do." Mick Jones obviously lives by that same credo as well. Throughout the night, he had a beaming smile and the look of youthful exuberance, something that the aging crowd also shared. He introduced each and every song with accomplished positivity, showing real pride in the music he and his rock brethren have created.
While it could easily be assumed that Jones would be the center of attention, the entire band was eye-catching, bouncing around the stage with the energy one would expect from a bunch of teenagers, not some heavily-traveled group well into their 50s. With dreadlocks hanging as low to the ground as Martin Landau's testicles, multi-instrumentalist and scat virtuoso Don Letts repeatedly ran the whole length of the stage (and up the stage left stairs to the sound booth) spitting out indecipherable but engrossing interludes.
The second half of the set saw BAD elevating their game even further, pounding through the upbeat and in-your face "Sightsee M.C.!" and "C'mon Every Beatbox," before ultimately closing the 70-minute main set with a spastic rendition of "Rewind." With that, they left the stage to one of the largest, continuous ovations I've heard in Mainroom over the past two years. I think we all knew we were in for a treat, but were given more than we could have imagined.
As their guitar techs did some quick tuning in anticipation of an encore, BAD pretty much just hung out stage right at the base of the stairs. I made quick eye contact with Jones as he waited, then reached out and 'cheersed' beers with him, which was an obvious fanboy highlight for me. The troupe took back to the stage and delivered the crowd-pleasers "The Bottom Line" and "E=MC2," before exiting the stage once again. As the applause became even more deafening, they sprung to the stage one last time. Jones stared blissfully into the crowd, grabbed his mic and boomed 'If I had my time again,' busting into a raucous version of "Rush" that worked the appreciative crowd into one last frenzy.
We waited this long once, so let's hope we're not on hold for another 17 years before their next local performance.
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