can't get enough, can't get enough, no.

THE DATSUNS, THE BLOODY SOULS and DJ SKINNY

Fri 12 July, Diggers Bar, Hamilton.
Sat 13 July, The Kings Arms Tavern, Auckland.

By St. Lucy

Fair enough, you can’t win ‘em all. BUT, what they never told me in High School was that, perhaps, you CAN win some of them. This weekend was, I guess, an example of this. The cool part about Hamilton having just as much Rock ‘n Roll talent as Auckland, is that it’s only a fucking hour away…
Y’know those shows that you walk away from going “Man, I wish I could do THAT again!”? WELL, lucky for me, The Datsuns played “Diggers Bar” in Hamilton on Friday night, and then followed with a show at “The Kings Arms” on Saturday, so I could “do that again”! Perfect for the wannabe groupie with bugger all else to do, wouldn’t you say? Let’s compare notes shall we?

 The Datsuns, Cambridge based guitar rock band with a sound and stage show reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, Cheap Trick or even (MOST Importantly to this humble writer from Invercargill) AC-Fucking-DC. Dolf (Bass, Vocals), Christian (Guitar, Vocals), Matt (Drums, Vocals) and Phil (Guitar).
 The Bloody Souls, 3 piece Auckland act fronted by Andrew “Hasselhoff” Tolley, sounds like an evening at the stock cars in Huntly when the locals discover that the “Waikato” has run out and the bar will now be swapping over to “Macs Gold” kegs. Wicked rhythm section, scary stage presence, 100% Rock ‘n Roll.
 DJ Skinny. I dunno. I’m sure he is a big hit in Auckland but I, in my supreme ignorance, have never heard of him. At first I thought it was some kind of joke. But this guy has an ear for vinyl, and I’m not talking about that shit that Mickey Havoc and co. flog off under the rouse of “E-Culture” either. Imagine if “Moby” had grown up out west, owned a valiant and worked at a wreckers yard, put him together with Sally Ridge and the bastard child they would produce would play music along the lines of “D.J Skinny”. Fucking rock DJ in the truest sense of the phrase, but we’ll get to that later on.

So there we have it folks, all the ingredients needed for chaos. Couple that with a healthy dose of local interest in “The Datsuns” after recent overseas successes, and the loyalty that these 3 acts seem to have inspired in their fans and you have the makings for a local Rock ‘n Roll show to match any of the shit “ZM” plan to throw at us this summer.

I guess we’ll start with the Hamilton show. (There was also a show at “Indigo” in Wellington, but does anyone REALLY care about Wellington at the moment? Nah.). Punters arriving early were treated to the kind of last minute soundcheck situation that is commonplace amongst local productions. At this point, I should probably point out that Scott Newth, of “Rumpus Room” fame, handled the live sound for the tour with what could only be described as “inspirational” embellishment of an already sharp lineup. The show sold out within about an hour, no surprises there I guess. Diggers back bar is a pretty good-sized venue as far as Hamilton goes but I’m sure there were more than a few disappointed punters THAT night. DJ Skinny did his thing and all was good in the world. (Note to local venues: Put THIS bastard on nights when you have no bands! Save us from the “Top 40” shite.) “The Bloody Souls” produce an engaging set of furious, throaty noise that not even a whole fucking BOX of “Lemsip” could cure (not that you’d want to). Despite a broken string in the middle and a handful of fuckwits chanting for covers (Hamilton, go figure), they rock, no doubts about that. I get the feeling they couldn’t care less who thinks so anyway. I mean, having had a decent amount of support from local radio in recent years, Tolley exuded confidence and capability.
After taking a suitable amount of time getting on stage, the lads arrive. After a brief “It’s good to be home” blerb, they rock. I dunno what to say really. I have had an interesting 12 months and have seen some of the best we, as a nation, have to offer. Tadpoles’ Summer Tour (Well, 3 shows of Tadpoles seemingly ENDLESS summer tour), Che Fu, The Feelers, Rubicon and Renee and friends at “THE EDGE SUMMERJAM”, Seven Worlds Collide and True Colours at the St. James. Not to mention a handful of others including “Baxter”, Greg Johnson and Hammond Gamble/Graeme Brazier. Not since “Supergroove” have I seen a bunch of people ON stage, MOVE a bunch of people OFF stage the way that these boys do. They are, without a doubt (in my mind), THE finest live act that are performing out of New Zealand today. Some arsehole managed to climb up onto a steel rafter and shake the shit out of it untill a diplomatic Dolf culled the brays for blood with an invitation to “Kick the shit out of him if he does it again”. Indeed, “that’s not Rock ‘n Roll!” Charismatic and a full head of greasy hair! What more could a budding Rockstar ask for? Remember that some in Hamilton haven’t seen these boys play for a year. Lots of new fans in the crowd as well, and also an element of “Blindspot-esque” moshpit wankers. Waste of time in my opinion. But, fun. One barman tried to subdue the crowd and found himself sitting on his arse on stage looking stupid. There was no need really, The Datsuns had the situation in hand and they were fucking loving it. Bravo, bravo. “Lady” and “Super Gyration” were my favourites but I guess you could really pick any song from the set. It was ALL great. One encore, no fucking around, thank you very much!
The next evening found me standing in the public bar at “The Kings Arms” Tavern waiting for the doors to open in the next bar. It’s funny how a simple game of rugby can bring together two VERY separated groups of people. Same line up, pretty standard format I guess after 2 nights on the road. Every one seemed tired, sick and sore but fairly well pleased with themselves. The Datsuns seemed a lot more relaxed about things than they had the night before. I guess the hometown gig is always gonna stress a band out, especially after all the recent attention. But tonight, is another story. Unlike the previous night, the AC/DC track before The Datsuns take the stage has the standing room only crowd singing along and grooving with great expectations. There was a funky scent of “I’m too fucking cool for this” coming from the back of the room, but I think, for 90% of the crowd, it was showtime! Full on, from the beginning. Stage diving, whirling arms, finger pointing, nipple touching, you name it, they did it. And loud? They were loud. Newth excelled again in bringing the band to life with an amazing mix. This sets a new standard for local shows I think. After all, if we raise airplay quotas, invest with grants and pay more attention to NZ music, surely the standard of live shows will be raised as well. A band that feels like they are valued and admired are gonna PLAY like a band that is valued and admired. Dig? This band rocks, we should expect great things from this band. Scary, greasy RAWK things, but great.

xxx St. Lucy

www.mp3.com.au/StLucy/
www.thedatsuns.com

© “St. Lucy Presents” 2002

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