Gig Review: Mister Unit @ San Fran, Wellington – 18/08/2026

San Fran was packed on a Tuesday night for a celebration of one of the most important bands to emerge from the British punk explosion, with London Calling delivering a set packed with the greatest hits of The Clash. From the moment they hit the stage, it was obvious this was going to be less a gig and more a communal celebration, with a crowd that seemed to know every word, every Strummer howl, every guitar line and every opportunity to throw themselves around the dance floor.

But before London Calling took the stage, Wellington’s own Mister Unit had the unenviable job of warming up a room full of people waiting to hear The Clash. Fortunately, they were probably the perfect band for the job.

Mister Unit are a high-octane rock’n’roll outfit with enough punk attitude, tasty guitar tones and sheer volume to make the transition into London Calling’s set feel completely natural. Their roots in the Wellington underground, with members having played in acts including TAB, Budokan and Flash Harrys, are evident in their confidence and no-nonsense approach.

Opening with True Intentions, they immediately established the mood before launching into Shoot the Messenger, Citizenship and Swamp Witch. Their sound is broader than straight-up punk, however, with the band’s weaving double-guitar attack bringing a distinctly heavy edge. Curtis’ lead guitar work in particular occasionally ventures into full-on heavy metal territory, with solos that would be considerably more elaborate than anything Joe Strummer and Mick Jones would have expected.

And that’s part of what makes Mister Unit work so well. They’re not trying to sound like The Clash. Instead, they capture the attitude, the rawness, the swagger and the sense that rock’n’roll should be slightly dangerous, all while filtering it through their own influences.

Crawl, Satan Keyed My Morris Minor, Monkey Spank, Backwards and The Windup brought their set to a suitably chaotic conclusion. Having opened for London Calling three times previously, there’s clearly a mutual appreciation between the two bands, and Mister Unit once again proved themselves an excellent choice for the occasion.

Then came London Calling. The band has an interesting history of its own. Originally formed in 2003 for a one-off charity show, the band performed the year after Joe Strummer’s death. That first gig became something of a legend, with the band repeatedly playing their short set three times as an increasingly enthusiastic audience sang along, while the tiny stage apparently threatened to give up under the pressure.

Thankfully, London Calling decided afterwards to take things a little more seriously. More than two decades later, that decision has clearly paid off. Reg Shaw and Dave Devonald share guitar and vocal duties, with Abel Markou-Inglis on bass and vocals and James Wise behind the drums. Together they have taken their tribute to The Clash across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Europe and the UK, and their experience showed.

The set was a trip through the band’s extraordinary catalogue, moving effortlessly between the punk aggression of the early material and the more ambitious, genre-blurring sounds that made The Clash so much more than just another punk band.

The real measure of a tribute band, though, isn’t technical accuracy. It’s whether they can make a room full of people feel something. The crowd sang along to virtually every song, while the dance floor remained in constant motion. There was an infectious sense of collective enthusiasm throughout San Fran, with people of all ages united by songs that have somehow managed to remain as relevant, exciting and rebellious as they were when The Clash originally released them. That’s the remarkable thing about The Clash’s music. Decades after the original band ceased to exist, these songs still sound like they have somewhere to go. London Calling understand that. Their performance wasn’t an exercise in nostalgia so much as a reminder that great rock music doesn’t really age.

By the end of the night, San Fran had become less like a Wellington bar and more like a sweaty London club transported across the world. Mister Unit had set the scene with their own brand of hard-edged rock’n’roll, and London Calling finished the job with a performance that had the entire room singing, dancing and celebrating The Clash. For a tribute band, that’s about as good as it gets.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Clark