Spoon cover The Clash’s “Clampdown” at Beto O’Rourke rally in Dallas: Watch

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With midterm elections just around the corner, campaigns on both sides of the aisle are operating in full force. For Texas Senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who is looking to replace former Office actor Republican incumbent Ted Cruz, that has included rubbing elbows with some of indie rock music’s elite. O’Rourke did some of that just last weekend at the inaugural Buffalo Tree Festival in Dallas, where he shared a bill with the likes of Spoon, The Polyphonic Spree, Sarah Jaffe, and At the Drive-In off-shoot SPARTA.

As the one-day music event doubled as a political rally for the 46-year-old former punk rockin’ Beto, Spoon included an especially appropriate cover song during their 11-track set. The Austin-based outfit dished out The Clash’s London Calling cut “Clampdown”.

The protest anthem urges young people to not give into the status quo — specifically “the clampdown”, a system which sees them forced to take certain jobs just to make ends meet. “I’m not working for the clampdown,” the lyrics declare, “no man born with a living soul can be working for the clampdown.” According to frontman Britt Daniel, Spoon were motivated to learn the tune after Beto specifically referenced it during a previous debate with Cruz.

Check out fan-caught footage (via BrooklynVegan), followed by photos of the band hanging backstage with Beto.

Last weekend at the Austin City Limits Festival, The National dedicated their song “Mr. November” to Beto. The young politician also moved the Willie Nelson to hold his first-ever political performance last month, where he debuted a new song called “Vote ‘Em Out”.

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