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Dave Dobbyn Concert Reviews
New Zealand, December 1998-

 

Including:


REVIEW of Dobbyn in NZ's first Islander Tour show
4 December, 1998. Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

By JP Hansen.

Wow.

Before I settle into the report of last night's Dobbyn concert in Auckland, feast your eyes upon the setlist (taken from memory, so it may be slightly inaccurate), which differs a little from the printed list (right);

_____________________________   ak-setlist2.gif (28524 bytes)

Language
Hanging in the Wire
Maybe the Rain
Blindman's Bend
Beside You
Waiting
Lap of the Gods
Belle of the Ball
What Have I Fallen For
--- dave solo x3
Guilty thru Neglect
Belltower
I Can't Change My Name
---
Naked Flame
What Do You Really Want
Hands
Love Over All
Whaling
Loyal
--- 1st encore
Mobile Home
Slice of Heaven
--- 2nd Encore
Hallelujah Song
____________________________

OK, so after an absolutely buggering day at work I whipped home for a quick shower and collected Chris and Sal from their homes. Picked up Shan from her work Christmas party and dealt the best I could with her alcohol fuelled enthusiasm and hard-to-follow tangents.

We arrived at the Powerstation about quarter past eight, and the doors still weren't open. They swung wide about five minutes later, and as those of us with pre-sale tickets were ushered through, just as a family with three teenage kids were being denied entry. It's a bit of a pity seeing the Powerstation has a mezzanine floor where the bar could be easily shutdown. It's not that big of a walk down the stairs for a beer for those of legal age.

Anyway I met up with Ummers Toria & Pip, and their gang who had staked out centre front. After a bit of a chat Shan & I sat down at a table to watch the support band Stellar* featuring Boh Runga. She's as pretty as her little sister, but her sound just oozes attitude. A great rocking set went down well with the crowd, even though the dancefloor remained relatively empty. It could have been the stagger-dancing bogan who was doing his bit to keep the punters at bay.

At the end of Stellar*'s set the floor started to fill up, so the four of us strolled up to the front beside Toria & Pip.

At about quarter past nine Dave and the band; Ian Morris (guitar), Callie Blood (vocals), Wayne Bell (drums) & Mark Hughes (bass) came on to a deafening welcome. Davo was wearing a maroon tracksuit, with a shortsleeved top, for those who like to keep informed of current Dobbyn-styled fashions.

They kicked off with Language, which was a great opener. Right from word go the crowd were vocal & singing along. Dave made mention of being home, and how great it was to be playing to the hometown crowd. As the set list says, Language was followed up by two more singles; Hanging in the Wire and a punchy Maybe the Rain.

Blindman's Bend was amazing, with fantastic ebow guitar by Ian, and a raucous solo by Dave. Still love that song, (which is going to be the next single by the way). The crowd were yelling out "Show us your awards Dave!", which was pretty appropriate given Beside You was up next. More great singing from the crowd.

This was followed by Waiting, which Dave is still having problems getting his lips around live. Too many words too quickly I think! Lap of the Gods turned into a great guitar thrash at the end which had the crowd jumping around enthusiastically. Dave seemed genuinely moved by the level of response he was getting from the crowd; "You're all having a hoot out there!".

One of the big surprises was Belle of the Ball which I loved, and it lost nothing with the lack of the piano melody which drives the studio version. What Have I Fallen For rounded off the first section of the concert.

At the end of Fallen For the band left the stage and a keyboard was brought onto the floor. The biggest surprise of the night was up next, a beautiful version of Guilty Through Neglect. Of course as well as the piano accompanyment, the crowd did their bit to help out.

Dave then plucked up his acoustic guitar and sang Belltower, which he dedicated to all his internet fans, and err, to me personally, which was quite an amazing feeling (and no I didn't finally get to meet him last night. Maybe in Wellington next Saturday, Dave?). Actually, hearing Dave also quietly say "thanks JP" as he launched into the song made my legs shake due to the shock / adrenalin burst. I guess it's just as well I didn't meet him, or I might have vomited on the little fellow.

After my song <grin>, the guitar was put away, and he sang I Can't Change My Name at the keyboard, with the band rejoining him.

The crowd had become a bit subdued, but swayed along happily to Naked Flame. The tempo and energy levels began a bit of an upward slide with What Do You Really Want? and hands, which had everyone leaping around. The chunky plodding Love Over All kept everyone bopping, and then it was singalong time. A slow tempo Whaling with extended call-and-response almost lifted the roof of the old bunker. Those who had been requesting Loyal all night finally got their wish, and again the crowd threatened to drown out the band.

The band retired after Loyal, but the frenzied encore call soon had the band back on the boards. They breezed through Mobile Home, and then raised the stakes again by playing Slice of Heaven which absolutely went off. The bassline has been funked up, but it's essentially the same (sans the wind  instruments) Dave had the crowd singing the Dah-Dah Dum lines, while he ranted over the top, even slipping in the chorus of the Rolling Stones' "She's So Cold", whose rhythm Dave has claimed he ripped off for "Slice". That really put a smile on my face.

The band left again, the crowd screamed again. The houselights came on. The crowd booed. The house lights went off. The crowd screamed. The keyboard was but back on stage. The crowd roared. Some started yelling for Bliss. The band came back. The crowd went mental. Dave started talking about the next song. Shouts of "Hallelujah" were echoing around the venue. A pocket of bogans began singing Bliss, but they soon shut-up once Dave started singing "When the Pope kissed the ground...". The crowd even sang along to Hallelujah Song, and went crazy during the Gospel Honky-Tonk jam at the end. And then, over two hours after it started,  it was over.

Loved it. Absolutely loved it. My voice is shot, my legs ache, my ears are ringing and my clothes smell like an ashtray. All in all a small price to pay to have your soul rocked in the bosom of Abraham.

Footnote: According to the printed setlist, the following songs were also scheduled; Lament for the Numb, Be Set Free, Rain, Love You Like I Should, Standing Outside. I hope Be Set Free gets played in Wellington! I also met Chris Bourke after the show & we chatted for a couple of minutes. He felt the vibe didn't really reach the back of the room where he was standing until the last hour. Damn glad I was up the front then! Dave also mentioned a "New Zealand Christmas Tour". More details as they come to hand.

Still Grinnin'
JP


REVIEW of Dobbyn in NZ's first Islander Tour show
4 December, 1998. Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

By Pip Devereux.

Hi there everyone

After having lurked on this list for the last 3 weeks, and having promised JP on Friday to introduce myself to you all, I thought I'd better get around to posting something! Anyway, I'm the Pip, of the 'Pip and Toria' mentioned in JP's last message. I've been a Dave fan forever. My main claim to fame is that I'm Darryl Ward's cousin, the photographer who has exhibited with Dave in the past and has also been connected with the Finn brothers. Not that I've ever been gutsy enough to take advantage of those connections.... Oh well!

Anyway, on to Friday... I got there with fiancee Hamish at about 7, expecting to see Toria and friend Kylie floating around somewhere.  Noone was in sight except Dave and a friend, standing outside, so we walked past, trying not to look like we were about to spend 3 hours screaming his praises, and headed off for food and a drink. By 7.30 we were back, with still noone insight. Stellar were inside practicing, and I was certain Toria and co must have already wriggled their way past the rather uncooperative  doorman and gotten inside.  However they turned up just after 8 and we were the first inside. I was surprised at the lack of the crowd, noone seemed to turn up until halfway through Stellar's set, so we were somewhat conspicuous leaning against the centre of the stage! However I was not surrendering that position to anyone!

A few words on the crowd. At first they seemed to be quite old, something I noticed at Neil Finn's last concerts. Someone mentioned that they'd been advertising on Classic Hits FM, so that might have had something to do with it. An interesting choice of stations on which to advertise, I thought. By contrast student radio BFM, normally huge Dave supporters, didn't even have the concert listed on their gig guide that evening and thought it was at the town hall! A review in the Herald today (which I don't have unfortunately) was critical of the crowd. Once Dave came on the oldies seemed to fade into the background and the bogans seemed to take over. They loved the loud sing-a-long numbers, but chattered loudly through the quieter ones, especially when Dave was at the keyboard. As for the constant screams for Bliss... The bogans aside, I have to say the singing and crowd atmosphere was superb. Dave always seems surprised at how enthusiastic we all are. He should be used to it by now! When he opened for Sheryl Crow a few years back he nearly stole the show!

Our little group had the premium position from which to enjoy the concert, and I was well protected from the more drunken jumping around by Hamish standing behind me. I'm sure Dave opened with Language just to get a good bite from the crowd. Even so I think he was overwhelmed at how vocal we were so early on. Going back over the concert mentally, Whaling was as usual a highlight. Beside you was deliciously emotional, even the bogans shut up. Lap of the Gods just shone. Guilty Through Neglect was ruined only by the noisy crowd. Dave's voice was in better form than I've heard it in a long time, breaking only on the last few songs. He was obviously glad to be back, stating early on that he was going to try and make the concert last as long as possible. Given that the estimated finish time was given as 2 am, and the set list was a lot longer, I'm surprised it finished at 12.30. Whether it was because of the voice, the more drunken (and occasionally offensive) factions of the crowd, or some other reason I can only guess.

That was three glorious hours of singing at the top of my voice (appologies to Shan if I was occasionally too loud, I've never been able to help myself), chin on the stage contemplation, and enthusiastic jumping around. Roll on the mentioned Christmas concerts! I see this message has gone on for quite long enough... Nice to meet JP and Shan (drop me a line for help with wedding plans), and talk to you all again soon!


REVIEW of Dobbyn
10 December, 1998. Arc Cafe, Dunedin, New Zealand.

By John Jarvis.

Our first visit to the Arc Cafe in Dunedin was certainly memorable. Why they chose such a small place was an insult to our Kiwi King of Music. Arrived at 8.10pm and only just managed to secure a good handy spot amongst the immediate stage area and surrounding sound equipment that gobbled up 30% of the floor area. The poor sound mixer guy had to squeeze into an 8 inch gap after clamouring over gear. No backstage access at this place, instead Dave and crew arrive from a fire exit then have to force their way through the crowd including rubbing shoulders with "mwha" to get to the stage. No chance of heading back to the bar for another Speights but handy enough to the ladies loo. Anyway enough of the moans.

Dave arrives at 10 pm (on time for a change) after Stellar blasted away, for about 35min, looking very dapper and hardly the "damp firecracker" that he was referred to in some girly mag this week where he was described as one of NZs "worst dressers". He immediately launches into the same first few songs as Auckland, starting with Language. Despite the sardine can atmosphere, the vocals were probably the best and clearest I have heard. His cleaner image since knocking the bottle certainly showed, and as always the only musician you can actually understand and hear between tunes :) Dave is no fool when it comes to local knowledge down here in NPC Country and even making references to well known local icons such as "Speedy" helped get the crowd going. The band was generally good but a few sound problems with feedback "Dave blamed the curry" got the "Lilliput Venue" trembling at about 20 on the Richter Scale at times.

The Belltower was not played JP and he didn't make direct reference to us UMMERS :( The other Auckland song deleted was "Mobile Home". Instead we had "Lament For The Numb" and the final final track (second encore) was the great Beatles classic Rain.

Standouts for me:
1. Blindmans Bend
2. Guilty Through Neglect (where Callie Blood appeared to be spellbound watching Dave do this superb solo) I had not heard this live for some time but he was absolutely brilliant. Even the young chicks in the crowd were obviously impressed. I could have sworn they were playing my old favourite "Deep in the Heart of Taxes" version.
3. Rain, likes playing this in Dunedin wonder why :)
4. Slice of Heaven great new beefed up version.

Really they were all brilliant except "What Have I Fallen For" which is a favourite of mine from the CD but the band made a real mess of it.

The big surprise for me was how well "Hallelujah Song" went down with the young crowd. I really could not believe how well this song sounded live. (First time I have heard this live).

Poor Dave had nowhere else to go at the end of the show before the two encores, so he was forced to squat and hide behind the speakers while the capacity crowd of (est 250 including those out in the bar area that wouldn't be able to see anything) breaks out into song "Dah Dah Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah Dah Dah Dah" etc etc.

Although the cost was only $18, Dave deserves to have a much more suitable venue than this place (although I must admit it would be great for smaller shows).

Looking forward to the next gig down this way.


REVIEW of Dobbyn
10 December, 1998. Arc Cafe, Dunedin, New Zealand.

By James Green.

Just a few more notes in on the dunedin concert.... I arrived rather later than John, having been at work until 8:30.... I did actually attempt to send a live report.... arc being an internet enabled joint.... but due to excitement or issues involving the consumption of alcohol.... it arrived back due to a typo <grin> I still managed to get fairly close to the front.... probably much to the ire of those who got there a little earlier (sorry) As reported, the sound quality was generally great, in that it was clearly audible.... compared to Head Like a Hole, who had played there the week before, during which most songs were totally unrecognisable.... and while it undoubtedly sucked further back... it seemed very intimate up the front due to the small space. to the point where between songs Callie Blood commented to me, "You really want to hear that song don't you" <grin>

> The other Auckland song deleted was "Mobile Home".
> Instead we had "Lament For The Numb" and the final final track (second
> encore) was the great Beatles classic Rain.

According to a set-list that i acquired... had we yelled a bit more, and had it not been so damn hot we might have got standing outside, mobile home and be set free to finish up with. However, the area being up a flight of stairs, the solitary ventilation being a window which must stay closed for noise control reasons.... I'm not that surprised that we didn't get right through.

> Poor Dave had nowhere else to go at the end of the show before the two
> encores, so he was forced to squat and hide behind the speakers while
> the capacity crowd of (est 250 including those out in the bar area
> that wouldn't be able to see anything) breaks out into song "Dah Dah
> Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah Imboo Dah Dah Dah
> Dah Dah Dah" etc etc.

From where i was i could see dave behind the speaker in there, quietly sipping his *V* which he gave a bit of a plug for half way through. He also made the comment that dunedin was the source of most of the country's best poetry... which is undervaluing himself a bit..... Anyway.. what i was trying to say is that I think just quietly he was really stoked by the crowd singing the slice of heaven intro there, judging by the look on his face...  Afterwards he asked me if i had enjoyed it..... well i mean really... i don't think what i said to him... or what i could write now would really some it up.... hopefully the ecstatic grin on my face told him : )

James <still grinning!>


REVIEW of Dobbyn
12 December, 1998. Indigo, Wellington, New Zealand.

By Richard Tait.

Well, I managed to spend most of the Wellington concert about 6 feet away from the stage, where the crowd was really into it (except the compulsory bogan next to me who kept muttering something about the absence of Dudes songs). What a great gig - the man is becoming more of a troubadour as he gets older. He was sipping periodically on a Red Bull, and clearly having a good time.

Can't remember the set list exactly but it was pretty similar to Auckland. The encores consisted of Slice of Heaven, Hallelujah Song, and the Dudes' anthem Be Mine Tonite. I thought the addition of the latter was excellent, given that Dave was on stage with Ian Morris.

Of the Islander songs, I personally felt that Hands stood out, although all of them were executed well. One of the highlights was the piano-only Guilty, which I've always thought was a beautiful song. It was fantastic as a stripped-down version. My jaw also dropped when DD broke into the Honkytonk piano thing in Hallelujah song. I had no idea that his piano skills were that well-honed!

Anyway, no doubt JP will add all the details that I have missed. As a footnote, I would add that Boh Runga is a vocal talent to watch. her voice is very similar to Bic's - they could make a living covering each other's songs if they wanted!

All in all a great concert, surpassing the one I saw several years ago just after the release of Twist.


REVIEW of Dobbyn
12 December, 1998. Indigo, Wellington, New Zealand
.

By JP Hansen

wgn-setlist.gif (51783 bytes)
Language
Hanging in the Wire
Maybe the Rain
Blindman's Bend
Beside You
Waiting
Lap of the Gods
What have I Fallen For
Belle of the Ball
Lament for the Numb
Guilty Thru Neglect
I Can't Change My Name
Naked Flame
What Do You Really Want
Hands
Love Over All
Whaling
Loyal
___________________
Hallelujah Song
Slice of Heaven
___________________
Be Mine Tonight
Standing Outside
___________________

Firstly, Richard wrote;

> except the compulsory bogan next to me who kept muttering something
> about the absence of Dudes songs


Yeah, that was me. <wink>

After a splendid drive from Taupo to Wellington on Saturday morning Shan, (who's neck was steadily improving, but still rather sore) and I hit Helena & Julia's about 12:30, and immediately took off into town to see a free concert including bands such as Dana Eclair, Dead Flowers & Eye TV with Ju's boyfriend Jamie. Had ourselves quite the picnic too. We managed to convert our one impliment, a corkscrew, into a tomato cuttin', avocado scrapin', chicken pullin', brie slicin' wondertool. Headed back to the house for an hour our two.

Anyway, after Jamie & the twins had cooked us a wonderful chicken curry for dinner ("mmmm, noodles"), we headed off to the  venue. We arrived a little way into Stellar's set. They sounded much  crisper than at Auckland, which bade well for the sonic quality of Dave's set.

I'm loathe to push my way to the front on late arrival to any gig, cause I'm fairly tall. The de Bres's & Jamie spotted someone they knew up front, so squeezed their way up there, while Shan & I hung back a little and stayed right in front of the left speaker stack for the rest of Stellar's songs.

The venue reminded me of Auckland's long lost Gluepot. ie, the  shape of a shoebox, and about as much character. And stinking hot. At least the Gluey had windows along each wall, and a stage to speak of. This place had the band elevated maybe two feet. Which is never a good idea when the main act is only 3'4" tall.

Because the left speaker stack is en-route to the toilets, we were getting a lot of traffic pushing past us, and all the bumping was aggravating Shan's neck, so we trotted off to the right hand side of the stage during the break, and secured a reasonable spot, about 3m back from the other speakers.

Dave came on to an enthusiastic welcome shortly after 10pm, and  followed the same first set as Auckland and Dunedin; Language, Hanging in the Wire, Maybe the Rain, Blindman's Bend (awesome, awesome rendition), Beside You (huge roar from the crowd, and much singing along). Before the next song some guy up front told Dave to hurry up (he was swapping guitars). This launched Dave into a tirade about slowing down & taking stock of one's surroundings. He said waiting can be very rewarding. Then of course launched into "Waiting" itself, which he got right pretty much this time (he's changed some of the phrasing to give himself room to breathe). Lap of the Gods was great, though he did fluff one of the lines (karma for getting Waiting right, I suppose!). What Have I Fallen for was cool, and Belle of the Ball was fantastic; it seagued into some jazzy rant about "Six Billion Satellite Universes", and then Dave played some sweet jazzy guitar lines, exclaiming George Benson had just walked in. He then sang some cool Bensonesque scat lines over the guitar, and strode across to Callie, where she scatted over Dave's guitar. Lament for the Numb rounded out the first set quite nicely (he didn't play that at Auckland).

Shan was getting bumped around a bit and decided to head back a bit, and we found her a chair. I thought I'd see if I could squeeze up with the others for a few songs, and managed to head down the gap beside the stage towards the loos to watch Dave sing Guilty Through Neglect which was awesome! I was in front of the mixing desk, and the damn roadie asked me to "move along". So I went back to stand beside Shannon as Dave sang "I Can't Change My Name". I was a bit bummed top see the setlist had "Keep a Light On" between Guilty & Can't Change My Name. I haven't heard that since the Tabac gig in March- where it was sung as a real rocking number.

Naked Flame was the only disappointment of the night for me. The twin electric guitar attack of Dobbyn & Morris drowned out all the subtleties that that song deserves. It all got lost in the noise, though the bassline was slinky and groovy. What Do You Really Want is a surprising crowd pleaser, with its "oh Oh OHHHH" buildup to the choruses. As Richard has said, Hands is the standout live song from The Islander, with the crowd just going wild. I think I heard him say "Mothership Shipley Down" at one point, confirming my initial interpretation of the song. An earlier between-song comment about getting the current government out of the Beehive surprisingly went down like a lead balloon!

Love over All was OK, but seeing it's a pretty unknown song, it's odd it seems to be a regular in his current setlist. It didn't come close to the version he jammed with Nathan Haines on at Tabac, but it kept the crowd bopping.

Then it was Whaling. An obvious crowd pleaser, and it was great to be well back in the crowd to watch and listen to them all getting into it. The mid-section ramble was very cool, and the call & response a lot of fun "It's just bravado"... 'Desperado...". The only downer is that Dave keeps playing & doing the call & response after the lung-defying Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaling call, which I think rounds the song off perfectly. It just seems to limp on a little at the end  these days. Loyal next, the crowd even singing louder than for
Whaling!

Some amazing encore shouting had Dave back for Hallelujah Song, which he claimed came to him via Jimmy Stewart & God. Uh, sure. He actually started playing Guilty again by mistake, which was pretty funny! Anyway, as in Auckland, Hallelujah Song was greeted with incredible enthusiasm. A future live staple I think.

Then came Slice of Heaven, which was quite fun, and the audience loved it, but I still think it's lacking something, probably that reggae beat & whistle thing (which could be emulated by Ian Morris on slide, I reckon).

The band left again, and the "We want Dave" chant was deafening. Incredibly a lot of people started leaving, so I slipped up the front beside Jamie & Helena without any problem. The band came back and launched ito Be Mine Tonight, which was a huge treat! Seeing Morris & Dobbyn up there singing a Dudes song was a blast! During one of the solo's Dave did his customary rant, and even slipped in "I don't wanna say I love you... that would give away too much.." which cracked me up. The crowd were LOVING it. Finally they played Standing Outside. Morris's country slide guitar was spot on. Anyone who has heard his Tex Pistol album will realise he's quite the country fan.

After they left again, everyone started heading for the exit, and like in Dunedin there were two songs still on the setlist which remained unplayed; Be Set Free & Mobile Home ( I can't believe I missed out on Set Free *again*) <sigh>.

On closer inspection of the piece of paper which Helena nabbed for me, I saw it had "setlist 10/12/98 Dunedin Arc Cafe" written on it. Lazy bugger!

Most people left the venue pretty quickly, and I could see Dave standing just inside the backstage door. The rest of my group cajoled me into heading back there to introduce myself, but there was a big queue of fans clutching CD's & posters waiting for him, so I ignored their urging.

I quite like being a Man of Mystery, actually :-)

JP


REVIEW of Dave Dobbyn and Band, with Greg Johnson
8 January, 1999. Sawmill Cafe, Leigh,  New Zealand.

By Jon-Paul Hansen.

After a hectic, sweltering Friday racing around town with Shannon to organise all the "small" wedding details (suits, dresses, flowers, licence, shoes etc) we finally headed north to Warkworth at about 5pm. We met Chris & Sal in Leigh at about 6:30 and had some great fish'n'chips at the local takeaway bar- along with the other three or four hundred concertgoers, it seemed.

We went into the Sawmill at about 8:30pm and were pleasantly surprised to find the show was outside in a small "garden" amphitheatre under the stars.

Greg Johnson & his band came on at 9:30, and as well as playing a few of the old hits (You Stay out of Your Life and I'll Stay Out of Mine, Don't Wait Another Day, Swagger, Liberty, Chinese Rockets & My Ship is Sitting Low) we were treated to four or five numbers from Greg's next album. These new songs included a great ditty called The Meter's Running, about having sex while the taxi cab's outside, waiting, with it's... err... meter running. Also there was a catchy song about a wasted opportunity with a girl who's "Living in New York City Now", and the fairly scathing Revellry of "The Matinee". I was quite concerned when Greg announced this was his first gig ever when he was sober and not stoned. First Dave, and now Greg a teetotaller?? It was with much relief that I saw Greg take a few swigs of beer between songs.

After the Greg Johnson set the crowd remained seated on the grass, until Dave & his band took the stage at about 10:30. We stood up along with about 20 others at the front as the band launched into Language, much to the annoyance of those sitting on their picnic blankets behind us. The stage was typically low, and I was about eye-level with Dave. We crouched down for a while to allow those
behind a decent view, but in the end thought "to hell with them" and stood up again. At this point the whole crowd stood up and surged forward, starting what would be a night of squashing, pushing, & shoving up front. In a fun sort of way, that is. The mild discomfort felt as someone's elbow goes into your ribs or jabs a cigarette in your eye was worth it, just to be part of a jubilant holiday crowd who were totally getting into the music.

The first set was fairly reminiscent of the other concerts on the Islander tour; Language, Hanging in the Wire, Maybe the Rain, Blindman's Bend, Waiting, Mobile Home, Lap of the Gods, Belle of the Ball, Beside You & Lament for the Numb.

Dave was in great form, rambling on between songs, much to the delight of Ian Morris & new (temporary?) backup singer Jackie Clarke.

The piano set gave us some reprieve from the excitable crowd whose leaping about had reached fever pitch during "Lament for the Numb" and set us at the front falling forward onto the monitors on a number of occasions.

The piano set consisted of the best version yet of Guilty Through Neglect, Keep a Light On, I Can't Change My Name and the band's first ever public performance of a cover (of the Joe Cocker version) of The Boxtops "The Letter", which really had the crowd in great vocal form.

As the roadies were packing up the keyboard after "The Letter", Ian played the opening bars of "Stairway to Heaven" with a big grin on his face. I yelled out for "Game of Love", which Ian had had a #1 hit with back in the late 80's. He & Dave cracked up as he played the descending riff a few times on his guitar.

While the roadies were still mucking around, Dave introduced Jackie Clarke as having a better set of lungs than our fair Dame Kiri. Jackie went forward and belted out a stunning version of Pokarekare Ana, with the crowd helping out most enthusiastically.

Once Dave was sorted out again the band played What Do You Really Want and Standing Outside, then came the bouncy Hands where I sustained a few bruises from those leaping all over the place. The momentum kept up during Love Over All.

Then it was time for the singalongs- Whaling, with a great improvised verse about the fish in the nearby marine reserve "Goat Island" and smoked snapper sandwiches. And then Loyal-( dedicated to those from "The Belltower"), complete with an intriguing verse about finding Him in the patter of footsteps in New York, finding Him in the gardens in Chicago, and finding Him in the Palms of Los Angeles".

Dave and the band then left the stage, and the encore shouts started up.The keyboard was dragged back to centre stage as the band returned.

Dave introduced the song as one which is amusingly all over the radio stations, even though he'd released other songs as the singles. He then said "and this one's for Jon-Paul Hansen, winemaker extraordinairre", at which point Shan and the other Ummers clapped and pointed me out. Dave said "Is that him there? <laughs> We'll have to discuss vintages later on..." then he sang Hallelujah Song. It was all pretty cool.

leigh-set.gif (19428 bytes)Slice of Heaven rounded out the first encore, and was dedicated so some fellow in the audience who was having his 21st birthday. Dave even managed to slip in verses from the Beach Boys "Kokomo", and the chorus of The Stones "She's So Cold", much to the crowd's delight. He looked me in the eye & with a big grin as he sang "Yeah you have a lot of fun, don't you"

The band left again, and after a bit of a quiet patch, the encore calls got really loud and impressive. They all came back with half of Greg Johnson's band in tow, and they belted out a real crowd pleasing "Be Mine Tonight".

As Dave left the stage at its conclusion around 1am he gestured to me that he wanted a chat so to stick around.

So after about 20 minutes Dave came out, and we managed to corner him & had a great little talk about all manner of things, including the virtues of Red Bull energy drink, marriage and the internet. He asked me to teach him how to use the WWW properly. I said it was a deal if he teaches me few chords. We chatted about a kiwi winemaker who Dave knew, Jason Winter, who was killed in the Port Arthur tragedy a few years ago. I tried getting some scoops about where Dave would be touring next, and he said it's all a big mess & doesn't really have any confirmed plans for the rest of the year other than he's going to be rather busy. I think he said he's got a release of The Islander lined up for Ireland. He mentioned making The Belltower an official site and said we'll have to get together after he returns from his holiday next week on Waiheke Island.

So there we have it, all the gossip! And I finally met the guy <grin>.

PS: Still no Be Set Free :-( and again it was on the setlist!


REVIEW of Dave Dobbyn and Band
24 February, 1999. Orientation, Otago University, Dunedin,  New Zealand.

By jAMES gREEN

2:10am, Dunedin.

Dave on Fire.

Are you old enough? Tonight's ori gig started out in a bit of a scary way, being crushed by too many 18 year old freshers, so after loosing a shoe, and generally feeling afraid for my personal safety I made my way a bit further back, which was about as difficult as staying put. However, to talk about that is to kind of miss the point. Over the years I have been to numerous concerts, and I have lost count, but my dave quotient is in double figures. AND I can honestly to say that I think this evening's gig was one of the best. The crowd were really into it, and dave was just feeding off the crowd. Beforehand, I met up with a guy who I tutored for math when i was still at school, haven't seen him in several years, but I remember telling him about a concert I'd been to way back then, and talking about how great dave was live, and thinking how lucky I was to be being paid to talk about how great he was in concert <grin> I also met a guy who was still raving after the concert in masterton.

But back to tonight. I guess that the crowd were just really into it. Dave was fully like playing on the dunedin thing which was cool. To cut to the chase, among other things he said "you don't forget nights like these"; "this sure beats playing WOMAD"; "Albany was nothing compared to this"; "the other campuses have a lot to live up to". He played for around two hours, and had the shortest break before the encore that i have ever encountered; probably due to the hysteria.

Language
Maybe the Rain
Blindman's Bend
Hanging in the Wire
Waiting
Lap of the Gods
Belle of the Ball
Beside You
Standing Outside
Mobile Home
----
Guilty Thru Neglect
Can't Change My Name
----
What do you really want?
Hands
Love over All
Whaling
Loyal
Be Mine Tonight
Slice of Heaven


Hmmmm and Bliss was in there too, although it wasn't mentioned in the set-list, and to be fair, he didn't sing the chorus, but let the audience do it to. Cool moments included Ian Morris playing some lead guitar over Guilty. And following that he was goofing round and ended up playing something which sounded a lot like Lost at Sea (from Footrot Flats) before seguing into I can't change my name. He also played a reggae song, One World, to which we knew the words and were singing along; and another spanish one, which I know but can't name <grin>. And there was a goofy version of "The Entertainer". Loyal gained some extra more overtly political verses in the style of "Don't Hold Your Breath"; and after that prior to the chorus he sang some of Porno for Pyros "Pets" (We'd make great pets etc).

So wow. It was HUGE. I don't think my rambling is probably conveying how wicked it truly was. He is in great form, so I think it bodes well for future concerts :)

Yours elatedly
James

PS: WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


REVIEW of Dave Dobbyn and Band at WOMAD NZ
28 February, 1999. Aotea Square, Auckland,  New Zealand.

By JP Hansen

Well what a wonderful, colourful, eventful WOMAD Auckland just experienced. It was New Zealand's second, and my first.

Dave had a lot to compete with, from Che Fu's incredible set on the opening night, through to Baaba Maal, Ernest Ranglin, Phil Manzanera and the Aftrican Gypsies, and the treasure of Bill Selesi.

The venue itself wasn't lost on the MC when it came time to introduce Dave to the crowd; he recalled as a teenager seeing then Prime Minister of New Zealand, David Lange, vowing that "this man will never play in Aotea Square again...", but it gave him great pleasure in proving the ex-PM wrong..."Ladies and gentlemen, Mr Dave Dobbyn!".

Dave came out alone, wearing his red hawaiian shirt, and strapped on the black acoustic and took a seat at stage centre, briefly apologising for the lack of band for the first half hour, and generally making less than complimentary comments about the state of architecture bordering Aotea Square. Immediately to Dave's right was the redevelopment of the Civic (see "Palace"), which looks quite good from the Victoria Street end, with the restored facade, but it is an ugly hybrid of classic and modern architecture from the Square end.

Dave opened his set with Mobile Home, which was a bit of a treat seeing he doesn't always play it in his current concerts. This was followed by the similar vibe of Hanging in the Wire.

It Dawned On Me was reworked splendidly, with the last word of each line drawn out to increase the emotional impact of the lyrics. This song was the set's highlight for me.

Before the next song Dave noted that it was from an upcoming record; a double a-side with Urban Pacifica's version of it... Beside You got a small cheer from the typically non-vocal Auckland crowd.

Belltower was also a nice surprise, dedicated to Dave's wife, 'Leisja who he had spotted standing in amongst the audience somewhere. A number of lines were improvised, especially towards the end of the song, which, much like the subtle rephrasing of It Dawned On Me, really gave the song a little lift.

Dave then moved to the keyboard for a splendid version of Guilty Thru Neglect, adding extra keyboard flourishes at will, and giving his tonsils a huge workout up and down his not inconsiderable range.

During the next song "I Can't Change My Name", with Dave still on keys the other three bandmembers Ian Morris (guitar), Wayne Bell (drums) and Mark Hughes (bass) joined in one by one. I still think Don't Hold Your Breath is the ultimate song to start solo, and have the band join in on slowly (a-la Tabac, a year ago).

The vibe which was very low key, due to the extended solo acoustic set, never really took off despite the usual crowd pleaser Language. Lap of the Gods was excellent, with the guitar maelstrom at the end really abusing the ears of the fans.

Slice of Heaven really seemed to drag after that, despite Morris's great riffing & flute mimicry using the tremelo arm of his strat. The crowd weren't really into "Dah dah dah"ing at all. And after hearing the amazing storytelling of Archie Roach & Ruby Hunter on the other stage, and being exposed to 2 prior days of rich musical experiences, who could blame them?

After Slice, Dave announced another singalong for us all to get into. Obviously it was Whaling, a very interesting slowed down version, where Dave improvised most of the verse lyrics. Thankfully he'd sussed the crowd and didn't allow a call and response section at the end. He trailed each "whaling" holler out slowly and never tried to encourage the crowd to join in, which I truly was pleased about. After the now-obligatory lung-defying final "Whaaaaaaling" the song wrapped up promptly.

Dave was advised from side stage that there was time for one more. He chose Hallelujah song, sung at the keyboard with the full band accompanying him. He finally seemed to have captured the audience, and had them in raptures during the extended Honky Tonk outtro.

As is usual during festivals such as this, or indeed opening slots for other acts where there is a strictly imposed time-limit, the band really only seemed to be hitting their stride as it was time to vacate the stage.

More's the pity, and once again I managed not to hear Be Set Free performed live.


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