LIVE

Rip It Up, Issue 122, 1 September 1987, Page 39

LIVE

Music Centre Work Trust Gluepot, July 30 Well sorry, but the proposed late licence didn’t eventuate so the bands were on early and I missed the Doubting Thomases. Fish for Life weren’t half as bad as rumour had it, displaying a tight guitary sound with vigorous vocals from singer/guitarist Matt, accompanied by an adroit lead guitarist and controlled bass and drums unit. They were nearly very good but fell down in the lack of diversity of their songs which tended to be similar in structure and tempo. And less wailing in the lan McCulloch vein would have moved the songs along at a better pace. The more dramatic Jack Pudding initially didn’t sound too promising and the repetitious lyrics and anguished singing did nothing to endear them to the crowd. Limp heckling from the numerous leather-jacketed cropped heads in the audience produced some sharp witty retorts from Graeme Pudding. Then they seemed to get their act together and thrashed out some excellent tunes such as the funkish ‘Blind as Me,’ the catchy ‘Dead Meat’ and ‘Scared of the Sun.’ There were some harmonious backup vocals from the drummer and Graeme dabbled round on a Roland, but it was a more gimmick than a worthwhile addition to the overall sound. He saved most of his energy for his singing and performance, which was better than that of your average bashful frontman. Let’s hope the Music Centre Work Trust will hold more events for young aspiring Auckland bands needing exposure.

Susan Camden