A Local Joe Strummer Tribute with Glass Heroes

I had December 27th marked on my calendar since early November. A Joe Strummer Tribute & Benefit in my own hometown? Yes please! I headed down to my favorite small club in Phoenix, the Rhythm Room, and caught the last two bands, the Jeff Dahl Band and headliner Glass Heroes. Keith Jackson is the lead singer and guitarist in Glass Heroes (that’s him with Joe Strummer above), and this is the fourth year in a row he has organized a local Strummer tribute to benefit Strummerville.

I was impressed by both bands. They’re both veterans of the Arizona punk scene, which is alive and well. Dahl’s four piece power combo tore through their set, the rhythm section of Jason Smith (bass) and particularly Russ Covner on drums laying down some ferocious punk beats. Really impressive. They kicked off the set with “Janie Jones”, then concentrated on their own material for the next 35 minutes or so.

Keith Jackson and his Glass Heroes were next. They offered up great versions of “What’s My Name”, “Tommy Gun”, another “Janie Jones”, and “Police on my Back”. Their originals definitely showed the Clash influence. One of my faves was “Kick Down the Doors”, which I grabbed off their MySpace page. Check it out below.

Kudos to Keith for keeping Joe’s spirit alive, and gathering the local Strummer faithful for a great evening.

Glass Heroes – Kick Down the Doors (mp3)

Links: Glass Heroes Official Site | MySpace | Jeff Dahl Band’s MySpace

Have you guys and gals checked out imeem yet? It’s a social music site where you can stream music & videos. The extra bonus is that they have licensing agreements with 2 out of the 3 major labels, so you can find and listen to full songs, make your own playlists, and basically waste several additional hours of your life on another music site. Here’s a lil’ Strummer / Clash mix I put together.