New York Dolls @ Amplifier,Perth (7/10/11)

Mon 10th Oct, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Original protopunk rockers from the 70s New York Dolls are rediscovering their love for touring the world and recording, despite age and years of abusing the lifestyle that comes with being a rockstar, the Dolls hit Perth for the first time on Friday night.

The Painkillers were on first bringing an eclectic fusion of garage rock and folk. It was refreshing to see a duo that didn’t need the support from more band members. They just rocked out with a sense of urgency and threat for the half an hour time slot and drew in a breaking age range of audience members.

The Volcanics squashed onto the stage next, having only a third of the space to use, the five piece still emphatically delivered a stand out performance. Singer John Phatouros, looked as though he wanted to leap off the stage and let loose his inner rock star. As the set went on, he morphed into a simulacrum of Iggy Pop. The quick-paced tunes, accented with a Flying V, delivered raw, real, rock ‘n’ roll guitar solos that sent cheers from inside to the street.

Strolling to the stage in sunglasses; amidst the sound of thundering bass lines, New York Dolls to this day are the epitome of rock stars. Oozing cool attitude and rock and roll hearts, the band are as glam rock as all hell and as enticing as they were in the 70s. It was disheartening to see a band of this calibre to be playing on a stage as small as Amplifier, but it kept it intimate enough for fans to dance up close and even reach out and touch their guitars. Diving straight into Looking for a Kiss it was just a mere taste of the extravaganza the next hour and a bit would hold.

We’re All In Love put David Johansen in multi-tasking mode, bringing out his harmonica as well as singing, and the cymbal smashing Dance Like a Monkey influenced the crowd to swing their hips, jump around and sing in ecstasy. Old as they may be, Sylvain Sylvain and Earl Slick can pull off guitar riffs so well-defined they are incomparable to new bands these days.

There was a decent amount of tomfoolery between songs, from crowd interactions, taking breaks and actually forgetting songs, which killed the mood in parts. This along with Johansen’s file of song lyrics proved they aren’t exactly in their prime time. The crowd obviously shrugged it off and it couldn’t stop them clapping in time to his hip thrusts as they regrouped and picked up the pace for Private World. Who Are The Mystery Girls produced a song of hard rock at its finest, with Sylvain’s bellowing , rhythmic power chords and Johansen’s women’s blouse swaying for an eye capturing performance.

Talk to Me Baby showed Slick’s ego as he played throughout the song – and the night – with a sense of ease and cockiness. He was on the stage, he owned the stage, he owned hearts in the crowd and he knew it – completely opposite to Sylvain’s ability to amuse the crowd vocally throughout the set. Pills hit the crowd like an adrenaline shot, as one of the first incarnation of the Dolls, the performance was as vital and full of panache as it would have been back in their days of youth which carried on through the highlight of the night, Trash.

Obvious favourite Personality Crisis ended the set with a thrill of ecstatic emotion pouring through the room and the tired, yet insanely impressive Dolls formed up and bowed in unison.