A sparse crowd didn’t dampen Mick Jones’ spirits at the Bluebird on Thursday. Photos and text by Matt Schild.

In Carbon/Silicon’s lead single, “The News,” front man Mick Jones bubbles with optimism: “Good morning, here’s the news/And all of it is good,” he croons in the song’s chorus. It’s the sort of feel-good sunshine that’s almost too saccharine for the charitable fans to swallow when it pumps out of the band’s debut, this year’s “The Last Post.”

Seeing the onetime Clash guitarist and Big Audio Dynamite main man on stage with his new act, it doesn’t take long to figure out “The News” isn’t just a happy-pill catch phrase. It’s a way of life for Jones. He and the rest of the band (which also features former Generation X guitarist Tony James and BAD bassist Leo “E-Z Kill” Williams) had to face a potentially mood-ruining fact: For a while, it seemed like you couldn’t give tickets away to the show. (Rumor has it promoter AEG, desperate to fill the venue, was comping tickets left, right and center during the day.)

Here was a guy whose guitar riffs helped take punk rock from London’s 100 Club to Shea Stadium in a matter of years, walking in front of a crowd with which a minor-league hockey team would even find disappointing. And he does it with a gleeful grin on his face.

Decked out in a sharp jacket and vest combo, Jones led his crew onto the stage to a warm, if underwhelming, welcome from the meager audience that left at least half the space at the Bluebird unfilled. Carbon/Silicon still played as if it was having the time of its life — and if the expressions on Jones, James and Williams’ face was any indicator, they were. And why not?

The band’s sound, which comes off in the vein of Big Audio Dynamite’s dying-days albums, presents itself much better live than recorded: Jones and James’ riffs, which often seem grinding and repetitive on tape, mercilessly harp on a dance-rock grooves that hint at Jones’ roots with BAD in the nascent rave-rock scene. Williams’ bass became a towering presence, filling up every nook and cranny in the house, as the act’s five- and six-minute song lengths not-so-subtly underscored the notion that Carbon/Silicon’s songs are meant to sustain a club groove as much as nurture a pair of garage-rock guitars.

The 10-song set drew exclusively from the band’s debut, and gave Jones ample opportunity to good-naturedly dodge requests for Clash anthems — the closest he came was a couple choruses of “Police on My Back” slipped into a jam at the end of closing number “Why Do Men Fight?” And, after a mere song or two, Jones’ high spirits carried into the audience. Cuts like “Tell it Like It Is,” “Really the Blues” and “What the F**k” pulled a crowd filled with grizzled, tattooed punks out of character enough to get them smiling and dancing as well. Maybe a good attitude is all you need after all.

It wasn’t a monumental night, but it was a fun one. Maybe that’s all Jones is there for anyway: He already played the star and rock legend in a pair of high-profile bands. Now it’s just time to have fun.

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Reverb contributor Matt Schild edits Aversion.com.