LIVE

Rip It Up, Issue 35, 1 June 1980, Page 18

LIVE

BORED GAMES, CLEAN, DRONES CORONATION HALL, DUNEDIN And now more young hopefuls tread the boards of Coronation Hall, Dunedin. The Drones are an earnest five-piece with a smattering of reasonable originals under titles like "Octagon Hoons" and a number of heardbefores amongst them "Sweet Jane” and "Police and Thieves". Considering the virtually non-existent PA and the fact that this was their first public appearance, the Drones are bound to evolve into something much better. And that means they should be worth travelling for. The Clean have had their ups and downs and now they have just re-grouped into a trio after a disillusioning spell in Auckland last year. David Kilgour is back as guitarist/vocalist after his stint with the Stains on bass. His brother Hamish has resumed his original place as drummer/vocalist and new member Robert Scott steps in on bass. They also suffered from the PA and from Hamish's lack of expertise on the kit, but a handful of their songs sounded as if they’d be worth working on. This line-up looks like it could last longer than the others. Bored Games carried the night. Vocalist and general extrovert Shayne Carter fronts this teenage quintet and they lost no time in sliding into top gear. Fraser Batts played unflappable guitar and their repetoire was slick and volatile right down to their accurate inclusion of the Equal’s "Baby Come Back”. If they can continue their present momentum and keep Carter’s flamboyancy channelled in the right direction then Dunedin could well lose another band to Auckland. George Kay

COUP D’ETAT, MODES KICKS. JUNE 1. On this rainy Sunday night, the Modes last-minute replacements for the Spelling Mistakes turned in two sets of predictable covers, including no less than four Cure songs. Maybe a little less posing and a little more rehearsal might pay off.. Coup d’Etat exploded on to the stage with all the vigour and professionalism one would expect. Sounding clean yet powerful, they launched into two sets of refreshingly original music. Sharing lead vocals between Jan Preston (ex-Red Alert) and Harry Lyon (ex-Sailor) emphasised the variety of material. Such titles as “Angola”, "Allende”, "Henri Afrique” and “Mexican Stand-in” indicate their novel approach. They wound up the set with their views on the S.U.P. in “We Want More", which is exactly what the punters yelled when our revolutionaries left the stage. Mark Phillips

SNATCH CLOVERLEIGH, PALMERSTON NORTH

Palmerston North is Snatch’s town. When the new management at the Majestic gave them the boot, the band, their following, and the bar staff migrated en masse to the Cloverleigh. Estimates of the consequent increase in Cloverleigh lounge bar turnover are as high as five hundred percent: a pretty accurate reflection of what is possibly the best "unknown” band in the country. Snatch specialise in covering English new wave hits long before they are ever released in New Zealand, if they ever are. Their delivery is confident, energetic and totally without pretention, and the atmosphere they generate is more like a party'than a pub. Unfortunately, they have no plans of venturing beyond Palmerston North, so you’ll have to go there to see them. A must if you are ever in that part of the world. R. Solez

INTERNATIONAL JAZZ ROCK CONCERT MAIN STREET, JUNE 2 The capacity crowd at Mainstreet Queen’s Birthday weekend, for what was billed as “New Zealand’s International Jazz Rock Concert”.

showed the growing interest in jazz especially among the 20-35 age group and an audience hungry for good live jazz. The main "international” star was an Aucklander Mike Nock who has been living in the United States since 1961 and a member of a wide range of leading jazz groups including Coleman Hawkins, Sam Rivers and the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band. Nock is currently getting five-star reviews in the influential Downbeat magazine and gaining a lot of attention in New York jazz circles. His set at Mainstreet must be one of the highlights of the jazz year in New Zealand, quickly fulfilling Downbeat’s generous description of Nock as “one of the unsung keyboard giants of the day.” <

In the mode of jazzman McCoy Tyner but displaying more harmonic and tonal variety. Nock showed off his extraordinary talent both with a small group and playing solo. It was tragic that the crowd was treated to so little of this international talent. Less than half a dozen numbers and he was gone to be replaced by a long set by the local Tama’s Band whose imitation Santana/Benson material brought some people to the dance floor but saw jazz fans leave in droves. Equally puzzling was the decision to include a performance by two professional dance champions and the bridging of some acts with recorded tapes of Linda Ronstadt.

With Auckland-born musicians like Frank Gibson Jnr, Bruce Lynch, Dave McCrae, Joy Yates and Nock reaching international status, an "international jazz rock concert" deserved to feature more from them. Nigel Horrocks

VAPOUR AND THE TRAILS GLADSTONE. MAY 23. A band that has never achieved what could be termed “popular success”, went out in a style they would all have wanted. The evening wasn't advertised as their last gig, and therefore became a friends’ evening. They played their covers long before anyone else, and they continued to play them long after everyone else had stopped playing them. "New York Shuffle”, "Home”, and "Whole Wide World” were all well received, but it was the originals which had us crying in our beer. "Get Off the Phone”, “Go, Go, Go” and others, whilst sometimes lacking in finesse, are certainly some of the best to come out the Christchurch new wave. Vapour and the Trails gave inspiration to a lot of young Christchurch bands.

JW & PB