Dobbyn meets Crazy Horse

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 500, 24 August 1993, Page 13

Dobbyn meets Crazy Horse

By

Bands

Rotunda

'Melancholic' was my first reaction to walking into Ohakune Junction's new Crazy Horse to hear Dave Dobbyn on Saturday night.

It was probably to do with finding that nothing of the familiar Hot Lava nightclub that used to be within the old picture theatre building remained. The huge mountain and

cloud murals that used to adorn the walls. are gone - diminishing the memory of the now-nameless artist who was full of ideas when Hot Lava was being born.

I'm getting old. So is Dave, but he is the powerful and professional performer still. He put a lot of work into giving people something for their money. His press release calls his new album Lament for the Numb confrontational - which sums up the early mood of his performance. It was good to stand and listen to him, and look around the new Crazy Horse and its people, but it felt like being preached at. "Intense" and "edgy" were other words in the press release, which also summed up my feelings. But things began to step up and the slow-to-start crowd began to get into it. Things started to feel like a good night out,

but then far too soon it was "thanks and good night". A decent sized encore gave us what we wanted and saved the night, finishing it off on a positive note. We'd had a good night out and heard one of New Zealand's finest musicians. Despite Dobbyn it seemed like a quiet night for Crazy Horse, but the place looks set to go forth and multiply the good times had by those who've been there so far. As a footnote, its good to see the Crazy Horse guys have made it through the council redtape, but more importantly done all the bits required of them to ensure our safety so we can relax while we have our good times.