Live

Rip It Up, Issue 95, 1 June 1985, Page 38

Live

New Order, Verlaines Logan Campbell Centre May 23 The FACTS: 1. It was a dark and' stormy night. 2. The atmosphere there was no atmosphere. . 3. New Order keep their songs on floppy disks. The rest: The Verlaines. Always a rivetting live band, the Verlaines seemed to go a little bit rock 'n' roll, off the usual track of 60s pop, but it was still all well-executed. The songs I’d heard before were good and the songs I hadn't heard before were good all with dominant, clear guitar coming through the PA. But oh-so-little crowd reaction seen crowds go apeshit at 'Death and the Maiden’, but here the only big cheer was for “this is our last song". Strange. The New Order roadies. They did well, wandering around looking * busy after everything seemed prepared after five minutes, while New Order kept everyone waiting for an hour. Head roadie Slim

deserves special mention for also spending much of the New Order set wandering around looking busy ... New Order. Always notoriously self-indulgent, and the LCC gig was no exception. Steve Morris drummed brilliantly and pushed buttons and things with his head

bowed, as did Gillian Gilbert, who also played a bit of guitar. Peter Hook played his bass with it hanging so low that I spent the set fretting in case he should trip over it and fall off the stage, which he looked likely to do. But not as likely as Bernard Sumner, who was pissed out of his tiny skull by the

end he wandered round, sang (in a much improved voice), played (mostly rhythm) guitar and abused the crowd between songs. Although I couldn’t see him, the little man in the drum machine played well and got through a fair amount of work in a machine-like manner, but the real workhorse was C. Quencer, who made many of the sounds coming through the excellent PA and starred in an instrumental with the drum machine and Peter Hook while the rest of the band stood watching admiringly and thinking how much it reminded them of a Pink Floyd song. The crowd. They heard 13 songs from New Order, including two in a belated encore. They heard the singles Temptation) ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Confusion) which were all good; the racing, pounding ‘Denial’ from Movement•; ’Age Of Consent) ‘We All Stand’ and seven new songs, including new single The Perfect Kiss’. They stood in awe. Well? New Order were good, but the earth didn’t move and more importantly, neither did the crowd. That, along with New Order’s apparent lack of interest in proceedings, was what stopped this night from being more than just "good”. Paul McKessar The Rip The Pulse. May 18,19 The Pulse reverberated to two different beats on May 18 and 19. One band had a vision. The shape of sounds to come. The other had crawled out of 1980 to remind us of what was once but worked no more. The Disney Boys, a local fourpiece, were proficient. They could work their instruments. The ambience, however, was past pure. The spirit of mid-period Echo, New Order/Joy Division filled their songs. The band sweated and the faithful grooved. Ultimately, music has to succeed because it had that elusive spark of originality. Apart from rare sputterings on Friday’s opening instrumental and moments where the performance pulled the band above its music, the Disney Boys lacked that vital spark. The Rip, but contrast, were born in flames. Formed in Dunedin several years ago, they got their break when last year they released A Timeless Piece, an excellent four track ER Alistair Galbratih (guitar, vocals), Jeff Harford (drums)

and Robbie Muir (bass) have carried forward their torch. Songs like ‘Once I Was) ‘Ether) ‘Blackout) ‘Life At Its Best’ and ‘Entropic Carol’ cry out for recording. This is music from the garage, wedding the trash thrash sensibilities of the late 70s carried forward from Bored Games by Jeff with Alastair’s classical melodic sense. Robbie’s rhythms subtly hold the whole together. Beyond the rush of the music lie lyrical sensibilites at once personal and scorching. When Alastair blazes lines like "And now I worship things profane,” or croons “When I’m alone I think of death,” you believe him. Although the Rip may not be

messiahs, they’re certainly not gravediggers. They deserve your attention. David Taylor The Last Crossing Zanzibar, May 30 The Last Crossing had the benefit of a party crowd for their second Zanzibar gig. It was Matthew's birthday, I think. Anyway, it certainly doesn't hurt to have people up dancing by the second song of your set. I missed the early days of Car Crash Set, but I imagine it was a bit like this. Two young guys producing dance rhythms in a synth and guitar arrangement that went down well with the audience. Vocalist Martin O’Neill swaps between bass and rhythm guitar, while partner Adam Read controls a sequencer unit, keyboards and a cassette player which he uses to throw in the odd effect.

While the band certainly pleased the crowd I’ve heard them sound better. With few public performances under their belts the Last Crossing should still know better than to turn up without a sound or light man. Clive did the best he could with three colours, but for those not dancing the band were not much to look at. The band didn't really care of course and O’Neill partly made up for it with his humour (frequent asides about New Order).

While the band at times wear their musical influences on their sleeves, they do have some good songs. A couple still need work finishing a song by speeding up or slowing down the drum machine doesn’t do much for those dancing. Still, with their certain rawness and likeable enthusiasm, the Last Crossing are worth checking out.

Simon van der Laan