live

Rip It Up, Issue 45, 1 April 1981, Page 22

live

Michael Higgins

Blind Date Gluepot, March 25 _ ' When Street Talk split, guitarist Mike Caen and-bass player Andy McDonald set out to find the right drummer. It took them until February to find Lyn Buchanan, but he was a rare find. Technically. superb, he's still young enough to be full of enthusiasm. Blind Date's repertoire is full of straightahead, no-nonsense rock songs. Sure there are a few old Street Talk tunes, Andy's 'Feminine Minds' and Mike’s ‘She's Done It Again' and 'Queen of The Party Line’ all receive blistering reworkings. In the end, though, it’s their new material which is more impressive. 'Crushed', 'Local Dance’, ‘Dreams’ the list goes on and on. Without Hammond to hide behind, Mike is forced into the open. His guitar is pure perfection. The question mark is in the vocals. Although Mike keeps his end up well, Andy has not yet learnt to project fully. Considering the Short time he has been singing up front, it is definitely no cause for concern, though. When it comes to ideas and ability, Blind Date have plenty to spare. The rhythm section is complementary and inventive-. Put Mike Caen’s guitar over that, and the result is a band guaranteed to cause excitement in the masses. This is one Blind Date that’s going to be worth it. Mark Phillips C.H.A.P. Concert Arts Centre, Christchurch Feb 8 A free concert featuring six post 1977 bands, part of a childrens holiday programme amongst the gothic arch ways and courtyards of the Arts Centre proved an enjoyable Saturday afternoon of a holiday weekend. The Volkswagens started proceedings with a set that displayed more purpose and cohesion than the last time I saw them. A three-piece, they did 'Louie, Louie’, ’Gloria’ and assorted originals in a quiet Velvets sort of way, with pleasing if straight-forward results. A plus. . System X were also a vast improvement. They did the lime warp, summer of '77 style ferocious drumming, disaffected guitarists and 'Borstal Breakout', ‘Nine To Fiver’, and ‘l'm A Voidoid’ (original). A bass, drums and vocals original was brave and rewarding and Paul. Keen and Jane. Walker seemed sufficiently impressed with their 'Sheep’ to sing along. They were my personal favourites. The Narcs, however, are not my favourite band by any means. They were ’ragey’, 'tight' and all those other words that I don't understand. ‘Don’t.Wait Up', two Pretenders (predictably ‘Precious’), a Motels, and that 'De Do Do' thing so obvious, so boring, so 'now' I’m afraid that the bare chest and ‘Last Train’ original failed equally to move me. But everyone else says they're a good pub band and who am I to differ from consensus You either like the Newtones or you hate them. Today’s evidence would have shifted opinions little. Their half hour was 'Drive You to Tears’, 'New Way', ‘Mack The Knife', ‘Christchurch' and ‘Paint The Town Red' with the last two taking the honours in a set that erred on the side of : flatness. Still not an entirely unattractive proposition. The afternoon drifted away. The dogs roamed, the skinheads grew progressively more and more bored and an audience that encompassed every cult from hippy.through punk through ' mod, and back again, sat and slowly cooked in the heat of the day. That heat and another engagement enticed us away. As it turned out, we missed little! The Androidss finished off the PA early, and the last act, Twenty Five Cents, missed their twenty five cents worth!^B|&|gjgjf Still, all credit to the organisers for putting some life into an otherwise dreary, hot Saturday afternoon.