The Datsuns

First up were The Volcanics who, despite hailing from Perth, didn’t seem at home on the Amplifier stage. They still put in an impressive performance, but they seemed to be feeling the effects of a hiatus from the live scene. They slowly won over most of the crowd however (a few hecklers aside [“you’re not Mick Jagger mate!”…since when was decent stage presence something to be heckled?]), and by the end of their set the room had filled up considerably.

I first saw The Datsuns sometime around early 2003, just after the release of their self-titled debut LP. Times were good for The Datsuns back then. It was the height of the ‘The’ band era, and they – along with The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives, The etc… – were being hailed by the NME as the saviour(s) of rock n roll. Fast forward to 2006, and The Datsuns have hardly set the world alight in the meantime. However after riding the bumps of their sophomore album slump, their third album, Smoke and Mirrors has been heralded as a return to form for the Kiwi quartet.

The band took to the stage after the impatiently waiting crowd had been chanting and stomping their feet for some time, and appropriately began with Smoke and Mirrors opener Who Are You Stamping Your Foot For?, followed by Such a Pretty Curse, again taken from their most recent album. This set the tone for the show, with nearly every track from Smoke and Mirrors getting an airing. It soon became clear what the crowd was here for however, when older songs like Sitting Pretty and MF From Hell were greeted with a rapturous response. The whole set felt like somewhat of a tradeoff however, where the band played tracks from their debut album in return for the crowd listening to a few of their newer tracks.

The Datsuns are an extremely tight live band – years of touring has ensured that. They are renowned for putting on an energetic show and tonight was no different. Singer Dolf Datsun has a huge stage presence, yet guitarists Christian and Phil manage to hold their own up front, going head to head when a solo comes calling – although Christian manages to win out in both the shred-fest and the hair stakes. And the tight jeans. Boy, they’re some tight jeans. (Oh yeah, the drummer is up the back banging away…you know, like drummers do).

The set finished on a high with a mix of old songs, and a cover of The Ramones’ The KKK Took my Baby Away thrown in for good measure, all of which left the crowd with smiling faces and ringing ears (not me though – I wore earplugs).

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