Wednesday 02/06/04 Carbon/Silicon @ Academy 3, Liverpool

There’s not many legends around no more.  John, George, Jimi, Kurt… even Joe ("the Peter Pan of my Never-Never-Land", as I once drunkenly told him at some gig).  Mick Jones is still very much alive though.  In fact, he’s very, very much alive.  Shitfaced, even.  Staggering around the stage at Liverpool Academy 3, stabbing away randomly at his out-of-tune guitar; and generally having a great old time with new compadre Tony James.  Collectively, they’re called Carbon Silicon.

There's something unbelievably shit about this lot.  I mean really shit.  But you know what? It’s compelling as hell.  It’s basically Mick, Tony (formerly of 80’s village idiots, Sigue Sigue Sputnik), and a load of people who seemingly failed the Alabama 3 tribute band auditions.

All the way through, it’s the same thing.  Relentless drum loops (come on, surely the cowboy ain’t really drumming?!?!), Jones’s god-awful guitar, James pretending to play'n'sing (though it all appears to be coming from the laptop), and the gonzos at the front of the crowd shouting about how brilliant it all is.

In case you haven’t realised yet, I had no idea what to make of it.  A week later, I still don’t.  In tunes like ‘The National Anthem’, we’re told all about what Mick believes in.  It definitely ain’t three chords and the truth no more.  More like seven minutes, one loop, some guitar stabs, and a nice onstage lie down – cradling a bottle of stella.

Is he taking the piss? Or just having a good time? Or both? There’s an inexorbitant amount of bonhomie on stage, as the pair welcomingly accept various drinks from t’punters, and it all seems very, very cosy.  Too cosy...as if they’re all in on this grand old wheeze, and… we’re not.

Answers on a postcard.

Photos by Stuart Antrobus