Sporting the their warn-out wardrobes of vintage T-shirts, tight jeans and long hair, the members of The Datsuns kicked out the jams at a sold-out T.T. the Bear’s last Saturday like it was 1979.
This New Zealand foursome makes the latest wave in the rock revival sound like Alice Cooper and The Saints tag-teaming Kiss (before the reunion) and Motley Crue (before Tommy Lee tried to rap).
Influenced heavily by 60s and 70s glam rock, the group of suspiciously named schoolmates, Dolf De Datsun, Phil Datsun, Christian Datsun and Matt Datsun, started playing together eight years ago under the name Trinket.
‘We started playing when we couldn’t even play our instruments, you know,’ guitarist Phil said after the show. Phil and vocalist/ bassist Dolf would watch punk bands like Nothing At All and Shaft, which Phil calls ‘New Zealand’s version of the Real Kids,’ in their hometown of Cambridge, New Zealand.
‘We used to see a lot of bands playing and we would literally meet them and realize that they were just like us. We’d become friends with them and I was like, ‘Yeah, we could do this.” Five years later the band changed their name to The Datsuns and a friend got them on a local bill in Hamilton, New Zealand, opening for the White Stripes.
When the White Stripes came back the following year, Jack White requested The Datsuns’ presence on their Australian tour. Both bands ended up touring Europe and America at the same time and played more shows together. The bands now share a record label, V2, and the friend that booked them for the Hamilton show is now the White Stripes tour manager.
‘I love the White Stripes. I think the White Stripes are great. I think Jack White is an amazing songwriter, same with Meg. It was an honor to tour with them,’ Phil gushed.
The Datsuns have already received recognition for their own performance, having just won the NME award for Best Live Band, but Phil said that it has not put more pressure on them.
‘The only people who can put pressure on us is us. People can write what they want and think what they want, but we want people to come to the shows and make up their own minds because we made up our mind already. We made up our mind about our music years ago. We just do what we love,’ said Phil.
And the Datsuns love to put on a big rock show. The band played as if T.T.’s was the size of the Fleet Center, bouncing across the tiny stage and playing loud, hard and fast for the Budweiser-guzzling crowd. The only things missing were elaborate stage effects and a high voltage sign bearing the band’s name in flashing lights.
‘Rock and roll to us is doing something that excites you and just having fun, something that turns you on,’ said Phil.
The band more than managed to entertain. Dolf swung from the lights while guitarist Christian raised his guitar towards the rock heavens, and Phil hurled himself from atop Matt’s drum set, barely clearing the low ceiling, all while playing their frenzied brand of recycled rock.
The set included the Alice Cooper-esque single ‘In Love,’ as well as ‘MF from Hell,’ ‘Harmonic Generator’ and ‘Freeze Sucker,’ from their recently released self-titled debut. The band also played new song ‘Cherry Lane,’ which Phil noted as a live favorite.
The Datsuns have already written enough material for a new album. The band has begun recording and plans to finish the album later this year and release it in 2004, after completing their tour.
Although they aren’t reinventing the wheel, The Datsuns are doing more than their share to keep the rock alive.
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