Despite overwhelming amounts of trepidation at the prospect of a New York Dolls Reunion, it was one those things that irrespective of anything, you still had to be there. Walking into the prestigious Festival Hall on London's South Bank, my friend and I were immediately greeted with the sight of leather, PVC, mascara, cowboy shirts, high heels and cheap cologne - it felt wonderful to feel at home at last! Faces not seen for a decade or more were glanced and many re-acquaintances from the London R'n'R scene back in the day re-made. A small Bob Gruen Dolls Photo Exhibition was in the foyer, containing about 30 -40 lovely huge colour prints of the Dolls back in their prime! Chrissie Hynde was seen relaxed and drinking at the bar, Queen of the Underground and the Kohl-eyed devotees…
Inside the venue, a great layout lending a sense of occasion to a historical event. A huge backdrop was inscribed with the following apposite words by T.S. Eliot: 'We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time'. Finally the waiting was over…. after a short announcement, the house lights went down, the Dolls strolled on stage, and David Jo said 'You best believe I'm in love, l-u-v', and the night began…. and it was fantastic! You know how, on many days, all you want to do is hold your head in your hands in despair?, well today was the day the good guys won and made your heart explode, such is the love and power of Rock and Roll!
Arthur 'Killer' Kane looked great in leather strides and red shirt and played solidly and perfectly, Sylvain strutted around in his Cuban heeled suede stilettoed boots, jeans with turn ups, Fonz-style leather jacket and Bowery Boys hat, and David Jo simply looked magnificent - a femme transparent top, long hair and severe Rock and Roll attitude - excellent!
It was impossible for the drummer (Gary Powell from the Libertines) to ever replace Jerry (Jerry being my biggest drumming hero and in my mind one of the greatest drummers ever), but he did a tolerable job in keeping the beat and creating the right dynamics, Brian Coonan on the keyboards looked dapper, and again filled out the sound (and gave us the big gong sound at the beginning of 'Vietnamese Baby'!) and Steve Conte did his best to fill the side of the stage where Mr Johnny Thunders should be standing. My views on Thunders are well know to anyone who knows me (quite simply, he's my greatest hero, and I consider myself very privileged to have seen him live several times, invariably with Jerry, back in London in the '80s), so Steve Conte was never going to be a replacement - Thunders is irreplaceable plain and simple, but overall, like Gary Powell, he did the best he could filling in, providing the counterfoil to Syl's great RnR licks!
The music just got better and better, like a slow but powerful orgasm, building and building all the time. The Set List was: 'Looking For a Kiss', 'Puss in Boots', 'Subway Train', 'It's Too Late', 'Piece of My Heart' (excellent version of the Janis Joplin Tune), 'Bad Girl', then Sylvain prefacing the next songs by saying 'This one's for Johnny!' and starting with 'You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory' before segueing into 'Lonely Planet Boy' - truly emotional, heartfelt and brilliant!), 'Private World', 'In My Girlish Days' (Memphis Minnie), 'Vietnamese Baby', 'Pills', 'Mecca' (Gene Pitney), 'Who are The Mystery Girls?', my personal highlight 'Frankenstein' (the lighting and sound were brilliant on this and one got a glimpse of the Dolls at their best), 'Out In The Streets' (The Shangri- La's), 'Babylon', 'Trash', and then explosive versions of 'Jet Boy' and 'Personality Crisis'. The Encore was a killer version of 'Human Being', which just laid waste to the Festival Hall entirely...
The band seemed genuinely moved by their reception, with both Sylvain and David Jo repeatedly saying how much it meant to them to receive this welcome after all these years… Truly a very, very, very special evening and inspiring beyond words…Rock and Roll has the power to transcend the terrestrial on it's best nights, and this night it truly shot for the stars……overwhelmingly fantastic…
With love and Respect
Steve P
June 19th 2004
