"White riot, I want a riot of my own," Joe Strummer raged on the Clash's first single. It will be a riot of a different sort than he had in mind when the Punk Rock Orchestra String Ensemble saws the Clash classic, chamber-style.
On Saturday the ensemble will premiere its tribute to the late Clash leader, who died last month at 50. The group makes something of a living recasting the masterpieces of punk -- Dead Kennedys' "California Über Alles," Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized," Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge" -- as somber classical meditations.
Like everyone else, old punks can't help but mellow with age. Either that, or they die too soon.
Tom Jonesing, Punk Rock Orchestra String Ensemble, Duckmandu, 9 p.m. Saturday at Voodoo Lounge, 2937 Mission St., San Francisco. $6. (415) 285-3369 or www.voodoolounge-sf.com.
- SF Chronicle
