Live

Rip It Up, Issue 23, 1 June 1979, Page 14

Live

Split Enz The Swingers Auckland Town Hall A grand farewell it was indeed, as the Super Six gave it a whirl once more before winging it away again to those hopefully greener pastures overseas. 'Before an audience like this, Split Enz could do no wrong. Hard-core fans rushed the stage as soon as their heroes appeared, and it was a long time before they let them go. Even sound problems early in the set were borne with good humour. The show was a crowd-pleasing balance of old and new. “My Mistake” and “Parrot Fashion Love” drew their customary welcome, and Noel’s party piece, as always, brought the house down. But the new material holds its own admirably. “Give It A Whirl” is already established as a standard, “Betty” is a personal favourite, and "I See Red" brings everybody to their feet to boogie, Enz-style. Will they make it this time. They certainly deserve to. Bon chance, boys, and don't forget to write. The Swingers, Phil Judd’s new band, aroused considerable interest, taking his reputation into account. Always a quirky performer, his songs in the early days of Split Enz walked the fine edge between genius and insanity. His vocal style has changed somewhat, now recalling Talking Heads’ David Byrne. The new songs are much grittier, with ex-Reps Bones and Buster cranking out a solid driving rhythm to back Judd’s very individual guitar style. The audience was bemused and fascinated all at once, and gave The Swingers a warm reception. A very promising debut, and a welcome return of one of New Zealand's most uncompromising and most distinctive artists. Duncan Campbell

Short Story Mainstreet, Auckland The bouncers tried hard not to let me into Mainstreet because I was wearing jeans, which says more about the place than I’m going to. Kevin Bayley fronts Short Story, and his band shows the same high level of musical ability and professionalism that can be expected of him. Hot dam! they can play. Since, his days as guitarist with Rockinghorse, Mr Bayley’s singing as got a whole lot better, and he was good then. His brother Colin (guitar) is an excellent supporting musician, and provided superb vocal harmonies. Steve Garden (drums) and Leon Keil (bass) are as good a rhythm section as any I’ve seen, so where have they been hiding out? Gary Taylor, a keyboard player beside two solid guitarists, was unfortunately heard only on his synthesizer breaks, which was probably a fault of the house keyboards. They opened blatantly with their single “Julia", a strong contender for the excellence

in every department award among NZ discs. Their two sets included a few Feat tunes (played with feeling) among a lot of Americaninfluenced rockers. It was good to hear some old wave music of this calibre. Bayley's guitar playing was as outrageously effortless as ever, with his old tendency toward the reckless showing up as a rave or two in the second set. They're good. When they get a few more original tunes, they’re going to be brilliant. John Malloy

Proud Scum

HQ Rock Cafe

Jonathon Jamrag is a star. He fronts the young punk combo Proud Scum. They played to a Thursday night crowd reaching the heady heights of the half hundred at a dis-used milk bar, the Headquarters Rock Cafe, i enjoyed myself. “Notice the emphasis on original material. Just like Sheerlux" ... sez head Beagle boy Jamrag. A brace of original songs played loud, fast and rough as rabbits, and a couple of covers from the penultimate Brit-punk band, the Troggs. For a young band the level of their songwriting holds great promise for the future. Proud Scum have enthusiasm, excitement and energy and any other ecstatic cliche starting with E you can think of. Their guiding themes (rabbits and the Beagle Boys) and the presence of Jamrag elevate the band above the ordinary. The guitar and bass rock along on your standard three chord thrash (just like Led Zeps mummy), the drummer is your standard hihat and snare sticksman, but Jamrag jumping around the stage carries the show, fun and surprises galore. They are a welcome change to, too bored to rock’n’roll bands like CB or Sheerlux. Adam Gifford