There’s no denying The Datsuns are purists in the world of rock’n’roll music. Their style harks back to an era in the ‘70s, but their original interpretation of this sound lends itself slightly, to elements of punk and funk. There’s long hair, solid solos and stage patter reminiscent of James Brown. The countless live shows performed by these guys has meant their skill level is through the roof, with the pitch perfect, diverse and agile vocals of Dolf De Borst matched by the flawless drumming of Ben Cole with two supremely talented guitarists, Christian Livingstone and Philip Somervell.
To promote their sixth album release, Deep Sleep, The Datsuns are touring the entire country over the next ten days, with Melbourne being the second of nine shows. There was a small mosh pit complete with crowd surfers as punters packed Ding Dong to get a glimpse of rock royalty. With over ten years of material to draw on, The Datsuns delivered one killer set that kept lifting from start to finish.
The audience was relatively calm and it was obvious for the majority of them, being die-hard fans, they were there to simply watch these musicians play. The stage lighting and venue size meant that from almost any vantage point you could see every guitar lick or drum fill.
Bullseye from their 2012 album Death Rattle Boogie was well-received leading someone to call out for a bass solo which was judiciously executed in the following song Gold Halo. Other tracks included MF From Hell off their self-titled debut album from 2002 which proved just as relevant as their new releases and played with equal enthusiasm.
If you are unfamiliar with The Datsuns, think Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Wolfmother and Queens Of The Stone Age. What all these bands have in common is distinct vocals and signature instrumental sounds that fuse with fervour, encapsulated by ingenious song writing.
The four-song encore ended with an epic sing-a-long that kept going long after the band had left the stage as the crowd sang the riff to What Would I Know.I can’t believe I haven’t seen The Datsuns perform live until now. For anyone who has only “heard of them” and hasn’t bought an album or seen them live, get out and invest in this monumental rock experience.
BY LOCO LOCAL
Loved: The sheer rock brilliance.
Hated: Missing out on crowd surfing.
Drank: Too much.
