Ralph - you dig the boot of the May 15, '84 St. Paul gig? I was at that show (and the two earlier St. Paul gigs from '79 & '82).
Kinda surprised a chap such as yourself only got to see them in the Mark II era; I just turned 53, aren't you a year or two older?
Yes, I've always loved that one -- for me, one of the highlights is "Junco Partner," which has that sloppy, Rolling Stones-ish, "could fall apart any minute" vibe, but somehow, it hangs together.
To answer your other question: I'm the same age as you, actually.
I didn't get to see the four-man Clash lineup for one simple reason -- when they came here in 1980, I was too young to get into most of the venues they were playing at the time. Also, they usually came to Chicago and/or Detroit, places that I didn't start seeing until I made it to college.
I
could have seen them on that summer '82 tour -- which included more mid-sized metro cities, like Grand Rapids, which isn't terribly far from my neck of the woods -- only a) I didn't know about it at the time, and b) my family was struggling financially, so I was preoccupied with that business.
By the time I got to college, fall of '82, I had another chance (theoretically) to see them at the old Pontiac Silverdome. I
could have snagged a ride with somebody, I'm sure.
But I let it go, because a) I've always been allergic to enormo-domes of any sort, and b) that came during their tenure of supporting of the Who, so I didn't think it was worth trekking out to see what would have amounted to a 45-minute set.
So that's why my lone Clash concert experience came during the Mark II era, which was more than ample enough for me, especially since it marked the first glimpse of my future alma mater (Michigan State University).
If you had time or money to see everybody you ever wanted, you'd probably get nothing else done...
So I saw Black Flag, the Clash, the Meat Puppets, New Order, Public Image, all "back in the day" -- didn't get to see Husker Du, The Replacements, X. To me, these all things all come out in the wash, at a certain point.
And that, incidentally, is why I find live tapes so important. Because, years later, I did get a copy of the Clash's '82 gig in Grand Rapids, and made a copy for my compadre, Tony Salazar, who eventually died at 39, from a brain aneurysm. I can't tell you enough how overjoyed he was to have it, because he wanted to go, and couldn't make it, either.
So it really does come out in the wash, and then some, in more ways than one.