This show was a double launch night. The first was to toast the latest comeback album by the New York Dolls, 'Dancing Backward in High Heels' and the second was for the venue, Kevin Spacey's
alleged Old Vic Tunnels beneath Waterloo station. It's a place I know very well indeed having worked at the place one way and another on and off since about 1979 and these "tunnels" are actually the undercroft of the station. Far from being at the
Old Vic end of the station, they are at the Westminster Bridge end and while he may claim they had been unused for eons, where the gig is taking place used to be the car wash!
That said it has a proper sleazy feel to it as you enter through what is currently known as the graffiti tunnel, where anyone can legally paint on the walls. Shame so many idiots only manage a
tag. This tunnel used to be the exit road from the Eurostar taxi rank and after making a short video for www.winkball.com we made our way in from the confusion of lines to the cold dark interior. The arches are still very sparse and cold indeed, although the tickets are a whopping £35 each, yet this venue doesn't even have toilets fitted yet so it has portaloos instead. For that kind of money, you don't need a pre-season glimpse of festival loos.
We hung out in the bar arch and got our photo taken with Paul Ronny Angel from Urban Voodoo Machine and evenutally support act SHOESTRUNG came on. They were utterly forgettable Indie Shmindie
landfill. Imagine sixth-rate copyists of the Yardbirds and Animals but would probably claim Cast and Embrace as their influences. If that wasn't bad enough, the Bass player copies Mark Kings bass position but not his playing ability. While the songs sounded well rehearsed I don't remember a tune they played! 'Nuff said.
After the break it was time for the latest line up of the NEW YORK DOLLS. Former Blondie guitarist Frank Infante appeared on the album, but now he's nowhere to be seen. Instead, we have
the legendary Mr Earl Slick (David Bowie) along with the new album's producer Jason Hill on Bass and ridiculously bad shirt and Brian Delaney remaining on drums as he has for most of the
reunion period.
They open with a blast of Looking For A Kiss that injects some warmth into the tunnel we are standing in. Earl Slick looks every inch a Doll. He is almost as gaunt as David Johansen who according to Jet is looking more and more like Cliff Richard rather than Mick Jagger. Thankfully he still sounds great.
They then rip into Cause I sez So and the sound is not too bad, but you can't afford any quiet moments with the trains rumbling over our heads. I'm So Fabulous is the first new song of the night and comes complete with an extension of the rant on the CD! Sylvain had a big grin on his face for much of the set
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as he obviously is loving the chance to be out getting the creit. His Private Worldstill sounds mighty and I think this was the tune that had a Keyboard solo from Sylvain after his guitar packed up!
Not all of the new songs stand up live. StreetCake wasn't quite there, though it may improve while they are on the road for the next few months. Still it wasn't long till another old classic turned up and good old skinny David Johansen was on about
the Mystery Girls again. Fool For You Baby lost something in the acoustics of the arch as it needs a bit more subtlety, though David's intro to Kids Like You made me smile as there were very
few kids indeed at this gig.
Still we all wanted our Pills and they delivered them in fine style and let us Dance Like A Monkey for sure which is what Syl and Earl were doing across the stage, Earl Slick is still one hell of a guitar slinger as was proved again on the old David Johansen tune Funky But Chic: a song I always loved for its absurdly funny lyrics and nowadays David really emphasises the words in a real Noo Yawk drawl as they wind towards the close with the primal blasts of Trash and Jet Boy, both of which
get the whole place singing along before they closed with End Of Summer.
That was just about so so but we still went mental and even though they didn't actually leave the stage they encored
with Personality Crisis. It was the perfect end to a cool gig that would have been better in a real venue that had those things we like, not least proper toilets and no trains rumbling over our heads and maybe even a little heating. Never mind, these are minor grumbles when you get the chance to see any line up of the New York Dolls, no matter how distant they are from the original seminal line up!
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