First, a little rant that I need to get off my chest. I saw the Strokes and the Datsuns for the first time at the 2002 Reading Festival, and despite being the more critically acclaimed of the two, the Strokes were (and still are) one of the most boring live acts I have ever witnessed. They just stood there like mannequins, with their instruments at chest level, and if you’d closed your eyes, you’d have sworn that it was just the band’s CD playing over the PA. And this was supposedly a rock n’ roll band? Jeez…
The next day, I couldn’t really see the Datsuns, as the little 3rd stage tent was absolutely rammed for their mid-afternoon appearance. They sounded pretty impressive, though – certainly closer in both sound and spirit to the unhinged mania of what rock n’ roll should be about. And they looked like they were having the time of their lives.
Fast forward six years, and although the mainstream music press have long since abandoned their love affair with garage rock, the Datsuns’ power doesn’t seem to have weakened any. If anything, they seem to be more comfy in these smaller, sweat-soaked bar room conditions, with all amps cranked to 11 and the crowd going utterly nuts.
These boys don’t fuck about with stage patter or dramatic entrances; they get up, plug in and rip into ‘Sittin’ Pretty’ like they wrote it last week. From then on, there’s no let up in intensity – ‘Girl’s Best Friend’ is the closest thing they have to a ballad, and it still rocks like a bastard – and enough raw riff action to get even the most churlish of punters pogoing and air-guitaring shamelessly.
In keeping with a tradition laid down by the Ramones, most of tonight’s songs are played even faster than on record, so it seems entirely appropriate that they slot a cover of Joey and co’s ‘The KKK Took My Baby Away’ into the encore. By the time they sign off with a raucous ‘Freeze Sucker’, it’s hard to imagine a more fun way to spend an unusually warm October evening. The flame of rock n’ roll continues to burn brightly.
Alex Gosman