After a short break, THE D4 hit the stage, aided and abetted by their affable roadie who looks every inch like he’s just escaped from the Hair Bear Bunch. I wonder if, at the end of the night, the band will escape in an invisible tour bus?!
The D4’s style is undeniably retro, from the tunes, to the battered instruments, to their dress code and hairstyles. The thing is, all this makes them what they are – replace the paint flaked bass with something newer, the cheap guitars with posh new Gibsons or Fenders, buy them new, less knackered canvas boots and the vibe would be lost. They celebrate this style and play with rock gusto. As we said in the album review, variation doesn’t feature much in their set, but so what!? This sort of stuff makes infinitely more sense live as well, so frankly, I know I’m in for a good time.
They blast through the album tracks with a heady mix of precision and enthusiasm for their set. To have such energy on show is unusual these days with bands like Coldplay and Travis – great though they are, pushing out songs in a more relaxed way (although this is by no means a criticism of these bands). The verve and vigour these songs are shot through with and the good time that the band are having giving them to us is highly infectious. They jump, twist and, most importantly, rock.
Songs like “Rock ’n’ Roll Motherfucker” “Party” “Come On!” and “Ladies Man” among others are delivered with sweaty rock and roll attitude. The singers swap microphones seemingly at random – jump into the audience frequently, roll around and swig beer, all the while drummer Beaver pounds out a primal rhythm, shirtless and spraying water over himself to keep a cool head. By the end of the gig, Dion’s fingers are bleeding, but they still come back for an encore! Christ – this band can push it out! OK, so it’s not new, but really, when something’s this good, why change it?
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Indeed, there’s nothing wrong with replicating your heroes, as all the bands tonight have shown, just do it with respect, and, if possible, more enthusiasm than the original exponents, and then, you’re onto a good thing. There’s a definite throwback thing going on at the moment with The Strokes, The Vines, The Hives and all those other bands like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club blasting out riffs and feedback to excited crowds, providing a perfect foil to the more delicately crafted pop songs out there, and a good thing it is too.
After the show, the band hangs out, chatting to people and again being friendly. Lord Of The Rings may be a great advert for New Zealand, but if all Kiwis are this cool then I think I’m booking a holiday somewhere with lots of little bars where bands like this start out, swigging beer and playing to their mates. Wish you were here.
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