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Dave Dobbyn Concert Reviews
New Zealand, 1996-1997.

 

Including:

REVIEW of Dobbyn at the Council Flats Benefit Concert
19 Dec, 1996. Powerstation, Auckland, NZ.

By JP  & Chris Jack.

 

Without further ado, here's what we've all been waiting for- new Dobbyn news, new Dobbyn facial hair, and new Dobbyn songs.

Over to you Chris...

About the concert; we turned up at 8:30pm eager and expectant but a little disappointed to see that Dave was scheduled to play between 11:50pm-12:15am only with 5 or 6 no-names to play before (excluding Emma Paki who we had actually heard of). Still, at least we knew when he was playing. So off we skipped to the local for a few brews and a feed to while away the coupla hours before the main event. Back to you JP....

OK, so we amble back to the Powerstation about 10:30, and catch the end of some no-name. Then Emma played a shambolic set- the songs were great, but her stage presence & banter is endearingly awful. And we knew some of the songs. The advertising and promotion of the show was very low key- there was a bit on the student radio station bFM, and a paragraph in the Herald's entertainment guide, and it seemed only about 100 Aucklanders had actually heard of the show, and bothered to turn up... this is the venue where Crowded House held their only Auckland "Together Alone" concert, and can hold about 2000. So we had plenty of room! No-one braved the empty confines of the dance floor, and just perched on the rim.

Everything seemed to be running ahead of schedule, and of course we were delighted when Davo wandered onto the stage at about 11:35!- JP

CJ here again-you guys following this? The man ambles on resplendent in bright red satin shirt and op shop trousers down below his ankles. Endowed with goatee and guitar in hand the man cut a striking pose. The crowd cheered. Dave went "Hi, howareya going, thanks for coming" and launched into "You will be set Free", yep you guessed it, a NEW SONG! It went something like this:

Muddied up the river
Panning for golden dreams
You and I walking steady
Right across the hot sand dunes...

Belltower was next, we all know what that one's about.

Then, ANOTHER NEW SONG, and as Dave said "This is a story for ya, its not a religious song, its all about community...a little waltz." Its called "Hallelujah Song", and it starts a bit like this:

When the Pope, kissed the ground
Sniper fired, an angry round
but it missed him, by a whisker
and the guilty man could not be found...

Up next a familiar set, starting with "Language", onto "Love you like I should", "Loyal", complete with ad-libbed lyrical ending, "It Dawned on me" was up next, then "Lap of the Gods" which broke down during the first verse when Dave exclaimed "Oh shit, I've forgotten the lyrics", so he plunged into an impromptu rendition of "Stand by Me", great stuff. Finishing up his extended set with a crowd pleasing "Whaling" complete with "Look at the Spanish Gold" and "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaling" outro. - CJ

Ta for that Chris... The set was unrehearsed & rough around the edges, and all the more endearing for it. Chords were fluffed, lyrics missed, and the hundred or so people utterly charmed...

REVIEW of Dobbyn at WOMAD AOTEAROA
Feb, 1997. Western Springs Park, Auckland, NZ.

By Chris Jack.


It's never quite the same without sharing these experiences with others but committed to obtaining more live Dave Dobbyn experiences and reporting back to the Ummlist I set off, a man alone.....

It was a wonderfully clear and still evening, against all predictions to the contrary (Cyclone Gavin was on his way) and I arrived at the venue for WOMAD shortly before sunset at Auckland's oasis in the city, Western Springs park.Surrounded by landscaped gardens, a large swan infested lake (they bite) and bordered by Auckland Zoo it was a marvellous venue for such an event, as long as you kept away from the swans.

Dave was scheduled to play shortly after 10pm so I set about soaking up the atmosphere that is WOMAD, ethnic food, markets, art, buskers, music workshops (you can bang on lots of bits of metal and stuff) and of course live music. Shikisha were performing on my arrival, three native African singers/performers/percussionists/dancers with a hankering for techno and Sex Pistols. Starting out with traditional songs in their Native tongue they quickly moved to a techno backed energy packed dance routine and finally finishing with their own unique version of the Pistols "Pretty Pretty Vacant". Marvellous stuff that.

Maxi Priest was one of the major drawcards for the evening and the crowd forming around the stage proved that with easily a couple of thousand or so people swarming over the grass embankments. It was an entertaining concert although the Shaggy fill in couldn't quite equal those low notes on "Who's that Girl". Not wanting to miss Dave's performance I snuck off from Maxi and the multitudes for a good position at the stage where Dobbyn was to perform.

I needn't have worried. Not a soul in site. The good news was that the band was tuning up and it was a good opportunity to find a good spot and check out optimum viewing conditions. As Maxi Priest wound up his performance numbers started to increase around Dave's stage and by the time Dave wandered out a little later than scheduled numbers were reasonable though less than I expected.

After a typically conversational few opening words, (you get the feeling you have been invited over for tea and bikkies), Dave proclaims "Let's Rock!" and he launches into Lap of the Gods backed by his three piece band and minus his favourite acoustic guitar - DD was plugged in!

A punchy "Maybe the Rain" followed and then "P.C." forming the perfect compliment to the opening set. In between songs someone yelled out for "Slice of Heaven" (I was fully expecting a request for Bliss) but Dave was quick with his retort, "Forget it man!" and then his Randy Newman quip.

The pace changed somewhat and Dave pronounced that the next song was for "...you lovers out there..." Ohhhhhhh isn't that sweet. Of course the song was "Loyal" and sounding none the worse for being played on electric guitar and essentially the same version he played at the Tenants concert.

Keeping with the mood and tempo Dave went all poetic on us and said "this is a song from over there..." (Dave pointing off stage out towards the west coast) "...the edge of oblivion". He was of course referring to Bethells Beach which was his inspiration for "It dawned on me", and this was my favourite song of the evening. What made it for me was the Bass players contraption on which Dave's comments were, "I don't know what that piece of crap he's playing with is called but hiding underneath there somewhere is a bass guitar...", always observant is old Dave. It sounded like a cross between a Hawaiian slide guitar and Bass with a distorted effects pedal providing a lingering echo. It took the song to
another level and gave it a haunting, mystic quality that reminded me a bit of "Brothers in Arms" and the deep, moody quality Knopfler gave that song. It's interesting to compare this live version with the original and in my opinion the Bass works better than the piano and violin because of its "atmosphere", there's more feeling to the live version in my opinion, I would love to hear a studio recording done with that instrument.

And then, another new song! "...Its a folk song, an anthem for losers...its called Standing Outside.." An anthem for losers? Nothing special, catchy but not the originality or power of the other two new songs. Will have to wait for the album if its on it...

Next a song you can all sing along to, and its not Yellow Submarine either, "Whaling". I was a little disappointed with the bass here (back to the regular one) it was too loud and distorted badly. In my opinion this song is best when Dave sings it solo with his acoustic as it reinforces the songs message, "a man alone", or "one man and his tool" in JP's case....Otherwise a good version although audience participation was a bit lacking, Dave got a bit kooky and sung about 10 different "Whaaaling" lines each time singing higher, lower, changing pitch etc. the crowd struggled to keep up, he was toying with us and loving every minute of it.

The final song was "Language", a favourite with the crowd, and then all too soon Dave was thanking everyone and off, keeping tightly to his 40 minute set. Another polished performance from Dave Dobbyn and an enjoyable evening of festival and music.

REVIEW of Dobbyn Concert
26 March, 1998. TABAC, Auckland, NZ.

By Chris Jack.

Bloody Dave, all he sung was all these new songs that no-one knew the words to. Where were the likes of Bliss and Slice of Heaven?

Useless prat.

REVIEW of Dobbyn Concert
26 March, 1998. TABAC, Auckland, NZ.

By JP Hansen.

"You may notice I'm a lot taller than I used to be..."

So said Dave as he scaled the stage at TABAC which was thankfully about twice as high as for Neil Finn's shows- ie. about two feet off the ground.

"I've got a band coming up soon, but before then I've got a few folk tunes for you..."

-"Wot have I Fallen For"

Under the gun, Leave your baggage back at lost and found...
Here under the sun, everything, everything so far
I wanted just to fall for you, why am I crying now


A mid tempo ballad, similar in feel to "You will be set free" (which sadly wasn't played on this night). The audience were still settling in, and were threatening to drown Dave out down the back. Luckily we had again secured front row spots. I was with my fiancee Shan, plus Chris & his partner Sal, and Shan's brother and his girlfriend. I also met Gavin for the second time in a week (Hi Gavin!) at the show briefly before it started.

Dave unsurprisingly took a little jibe at the source of the background noise- then dove straight into the "gospel song";

"Metallica who are now coming a little later have kindly lent me their stage, some equipment, and there'll be a pyrotechnics display later "

"This is a story, in waltz time, about the fall of the vatican."

It could only be The Hallelujah Song, albeit appended with a few extra lyrics...

..from as far as the Philippines
And they kissed that bullet clean,
they gathered around that statue virgin,
there were pilgrims and tourists
and souvenirs and postcards
and plastic virgins and bullet-rosaries...
cripples started walking,
and the mute began to speak...

A "very New Zealand" song was up next "Mobile Home"- another Dobbyn Rain song. It opens;

You drive through the rain storm..

a song of travelling & seeking love. Katie- can you believe all these New Zealand songs which mention rain? You didn't see a drop on your recent visit here, did you?

The next song (Waiting) was introduced; "I'll try and get through it, so if I stuff it up, you can take your money back & leave."

Great chorus! The "catchy line" was;

You been waiting, you been waiting too long"

Then the inevitable happened;

In the....... FUCK!
(pause)
In the twilight of a postcard...

The whole song was Jaunty, catchy, mmmmmm-mmm! I think Sal particularly liked it.

The songs seem to be less geographic / expansive, and more intimate than Twist in lyrical theme.

Next up, Belltower- we all know (and love?) it. It was given a small twist with the repeated lines during the outro; "It's a monument, a monument, a monument to a kiss".

"Don't Hold Your Breath"-

Dave and his Black Les Paul- the guitar was a bit too high in the mix. The band joined in one by one as each takes their position on the stage and began playing. Wonderful! - after the line "I carry my cynicism like a tourist with a camera- an auto focus camera"  the drummer gave a machine gun burst on the skins & the song moved into overdrive. It concluded with a great extended guitar solo. There were a good many of those on that night.

New song next- "Standing Outside"- It was heard at WOMAD Auckland a year or two back.. It didn't do a lot for me. A bubbly kind of number, which didn't seem to have too much direction, but will probably stun me on the album..

Introduced as an "old song" was "Lament for the Numb". It was as intense as when it opened the album which bears its name. Lap of the Gods. Again, another fantastic album opener. Bit of a one-two hit, what with Lament preceding it. More with the big guitar endings!

"One of the funniest people I know is in the audience tonight ahh, he knows who he is... it's actually Peter Urlich, he's a very funny man. In fact we might even have a Dudes reunion later tonight. Of course that'll cost you all another twenty bucks, going into the organ fund, going towards the new organ in Neil's place."

I had spotted Peter talking with Ian Morris (aka Tex Pistol) to our right before the show. Morris was of course the other front liner (and songwriter) with Th' Dudes. Seeing all three in the room, and hearing Dave mention "Dudes reunion" got me pretty excited. As far as I know, the three have not played together since splitting up the band.

Dave introduced the Bass player "Mark Hughes - I stole him from Greg Johnson, so thank you & piss off". Rounding out the lineup were Gary Verberne on guitar, and on drums, Jay Faulkes.

P.C. (The song dedicated to the Prime Minister)- raw, loud. If the lyrics weren't so goddamn clever, I'd call it Punk.

-BREAK-

First up after the break was another new song. It was OK- I need to hear it on CD I feel. More lyrics about rain. I think it was called "Blindman's Bend".

"Here's a song which started out as a piano ballad, now it's just a big shitfight... "

Woke up decided
wind had sculpted
manuka on a hill
to the west of the house

- a swirling "What do you really want?". The intensity was gripping.

'Maybe the Rain"- televangelist rant at the conclusion; god knows what it was all about.

"Whaling"- AMAZING- Dave played the regular guitar lines on his Les Paul, while Gary recreated the violin part from the original (The Optimist version) on his electric guitar. Superb.

Crazy adlib, all about growing up, space-invaders & writing letters. It ended up seguing to something about life in the sea, and then a "minutes silence for the titanic victims... I wish Leonardo di Caprio would just go on holiday for a little while.. how did I get onto this shit?.... hmmmm.... (the call & response then restarts) WHALING, at the bottom of the ocean now, looking for Spanish gold, at the bottom of the ocean now, whaling, whaling, let's play football, Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaling..."

Another new song called "Leave the light on" was next. All distorted guitars and gorgeous pop-hooked lyrics. "Thanks very much, we really screwed that up"

Some guy in the audience pushed his way past us to yell "Dave Dave!"- I was a little annoyed, thinking he was gonna request Bliss or something. Dave mumbled something to him. When he didn't move away I got a little more annoyed.

"Language"- this was another real crowd pleaser- all singing along, as the crowds vocal chords are well warmed up from the previous effort. The drummer was just great, little fills sneaking into the gaps to lift them. A rather jazzy end to this song- basically just Dave noodling around.

"We're going to do a song which has done us well over the years. I'd like to invite onto the stage Mr Nathan Haines."

That pushy-in guy who had yelled for Dave a few songs prior leapt onto the stage. I felt like a dick (not in a George Michael kinda way, more in an "I'm an idiot" kind of way). Nathan is a young kiwi jazz/R&B saxophonist. I believe it was a tenor sax he took to the stage, the one which looks like a big clarinet).

The crowd cheered- The song started with the familiar chopped guitar opening, but then Nathan played some stunningly beautiful sax for a few bars, and played during the first chorus, adding flourishes between lines. The crowd also helped out the best they could.. Nathan began to cut loose and jam one the melody, as Dave adlibbed vocals over the top, this went on for about three or four minutes, 'til Dave reeled it back in "and I can see your heart right now and you know I will- call you loyal...", and Nathan kept playing away. More crazy ranting- Elvis style as the song came to an end. This has to be put on a single sometime, or perhaps a website ;-). Largely ignored Tabac setlist

"Nathan Haines, now he can say he plays with the best."

A drunken audience member who had struck up a conversation with me in the toilet by saying "Dave's the man, he's the man, man", decided to share his insight with the crowd "You the man, Dave, you the man".

Dave; "Was I thinking out loud then? Me and Jacko Vestorious (???) had a thing going for a while there."

Nathan; "Jacko died eleven years ago tomorrow"

Dave; "Jacko Vestorious died eleven years ago tomorrow, can we have another minutes silence along with the Titanic one. A moments silence for Celene Dion and the songwriter" (to band "What are we doing now?"- "Love over all"). Dave to audience "We're pretty casual".

Seems I had a kicking
Seems you had your kicks..."

ARRGGH YES! - just big plodding (in a good way!) drums, and kick ass guitar & vocals- even more so than on the studio version. A huge guitar solo ensued, which went a bit wayward, and really seemed not to fit the song or groove at all, but after a minute or so, the distortion pedal was pressed, and the solo descended into a wall of feedback, which was a lot more appropriate. As the wailing subsided, Nathan jumped back in with a squealy sax solo, and Dave continued to crank the distorted guitar as the backdrop. Dave leaned to the other guitarist and mouthed "Where are we at?".

Gary mouthed the answer with a grin, and Dave nodded and headed back to the microphone "This is such an ancient tale, of love lost and betrayal...". Pure magic, and something which would have been lost on anyone more than a few metres from the stage. More sax and guitar interplay finally rounded the song out after the final verse. It was stunning.

"Thanks very much. I suppose we should finish, I've run out of songs."

Crowd "Noooooo! Booooooo! More!!!!"

Dave then did a song by "a few guys from England"; it was The Beatles "I Dig a Pony". We can add this to the list of obscure Beatles cover he plays live. The list has now doubled, it now stands at "Rain" and, well, "I Dig a Pony".

There may or may not have been another song played-as the concert was about three weeks ago, the memory is a bit hazy. I also have a setlist swiped from the show, but I can't seem to find it right now, and the last set bore very little resemblance to what was written anyway.

The lights came on, and people milled around as Dave and the band went outside. We were all kind of hoping for a bit of the promised Dudes set. The bar stereo came back on, and I asked both the roadie & sound mixer if there was to be anything else played that evening. Both said no, but I didn't want to believe them. We left (I had to start work a few hours later), and as I was leaving saw the sound guy talking with Dave outside. I saw Dave shake his head, which I took as a good sign that I wasn't going to miss anything.

At the Greg Johnson concert on the 29th March, I asked the bar owner if there had been any further music played with Dave, Peter & Ian three nights prior. Thankfully he said no!

That was the first time I'd seen Dave since the Council Flats benefit show back in '96. He certainly didn't disappoint. I loved hearing all the new songs, and it was the first Dobbyn show I can recall where there were just two songs pre-dating Lament for the Numb (excluding the Beatles cover!). Perhaps that was a function of the venue & crowd size, but like the Neil Finn "new song extravaganzas" at the same bar, during the same week, the people I was with certainly weren't complaining. And neither were the rest of the audience.

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