LIVE

Rip It Up, Issue 19, 1 February 1979, Page 16

LIVE

Ken Williams

Toy Love -a furious promise

TOY LOVE The Windsor Since they made their curiously impressive debut in Auckland four months ago The Enemy, from Dunedin, have experienced mixed fortunes. Currently attempting a comeback after personnel changes they were playing at The Windsor under the unlikely new name of Toy Love. From the start it was obvious that the name is the only thing that has changed. Despite the addition of keyboards and a new bass player neither the music nor the performance has noticeably altered. But no one was complaining about that. Aided perhaps by recent television exposure, the band's selection from its own hard rock repertoire went down well with the Saturday afternoon crowd. Once again displaying the roughhewn power and off-beat style which are their greatest assests (they seem) to be returning to form after recent faltering. Alec Bathgate’s impeccably tough guitar and the jack-hammer rhythm work of Mike Dooley on drums and Paul Keen on bass kept up the furious pace at which this band works best. Though not at his overwhelming best, vocalist Chris Knox was flaunting his numerous obsessions with nasty vigour. The only regretable feature was that Jane Walkers were often drowned out. Still, enough was heard to promise interesting developements for the future.

Toy Love’s formula is potent but limited. Their strengths Chris Knox’s outright weirdness and their uncompromisingly hard-edged sound are also their greatest limitations. No one can doubt that the band has got something. How far they can go with it is still an open question. Dominic Free.

re all n 1 and rockin 1 CHUCK BERRY/BO DIDDLEY Trillo's A rock and roller’s dream come true: Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley on the same stage. Well, almost. Two shows were scheduled at Trillo’s cabaret, but Berry was present for only one. Money hassles sent Chuck winging out of the country before the late show began. But for those lucky enough to catch the early show it was fantasy fulfilment. First, there was Big Bad Bo working through his bad tricks. Opening with his signature "Bo Diddley", he went into an elongated “I'm A Man", teasing the audience with humorous use of guitar trickery and culminating in a very funny monologue, “Shut Up Women." A standard part of his show is a doo-wop dedication to fifties rock and roll. It could have been cornball, but this night it was affecting. Diddley seemed to be singing to himself as much as to his enthusiastic audience. Bo broke a string in a roaring “Roadrunner” and Berry strolled on stage, immaculate in three-piece brown suit. "My Relief man is going to do a number,” cried a welcoming Diddley, and they roll into- a cacophonous “Roll Over, Beethoven". Tunings and sound balance are hastily adusted and the two do their famous gunfighter jam (remember the climax of Let the Good Times Roll?). Berry’s section of the show starts with a medium tempo blues a la Jimmy Reed, changes gear for "Carol," “Little Queenie,” "School Days,” and “Johnny B. Goode” with the audience shouting the chorus ("all my children, all singing my song," grins Berry, who radiates good humour throughout. Of course, he's the only one who knows he’ll be doing only one show). An extended jam on “Reeling and Rocking” has people dancing on stage, with Chuck duckwalking and tossing off lick after lick. He's the man who made that style and tonight he’s on top. Despite the clamour, there’s no encore. “We got to go,” pleads Berry. "We got to do a second show. There are 14,000 people waiting outdoors,” and he’s gone, long gone, in a flurry of lawsuits.