The photos tell the story or maybe not. The Datsuns homecoming shows I saw were everything I had hoped for but the one I missed in Wellington was possibly there greatest ever show in New Zealand.

There were pretty pretty girls everywhere apparently and there was crazy beatlemania stuff going on all over the place by all reports.

We'll get to that stuff in a moment however as first I'll fill you in on the other gigs.

The Hamilton and Auckland gigs are pretty well represented in these photos . They were just pretty much like Datsuns gigs with heaps and heaps of people. You know everyone who ever saw them and a few of their mates. And then about four hundred other cunts all crammed together in the Kings Arms.

The door was a very reasonable $10 and they made a killing. All the venues were sold out by ten ! ! Foreseen and predicted yet unheard of in our world.

That said Good Shirt and Golden Horse packed the place with a totally different crowd the night before apparently. Charging a whopping $21 bucks. Indie cred is the price bands pay for prices like that. But what can you say? Goodshirt are a commercial band with a #1 hit in New Zealand so good luck to them. Commercially the best price is the maximum one the market will allow.

It wasn't really the full 'hype' crowd yet but there were a couple of hundred people at the Kings Arms you just wouldn't normally see at gigs. To make sense for our overseas readers you have to understand the Datsuns have never sold out a venue in New Zealand before.

The media are pathetic in New Zealand these days and have been relatively oblivious to their legendary small NZ shows. Rip it Up USED to be great now it is just "Rip Shit Up". It is really shiny, comes out 6 times a year, costs heaps and you can't even wipe your arse with it!

Whilst I'm ragging the fucking media. I am pretty sure the Datsuns are not play listed on any radio stations in Auckland.

The Datsuns will definitely need to play way larger venues the next time around.

The performances were brilliant. What else can I say but fucking real fucking cool.

I expected them to be tight and they were tight. Dolf's singing and vocal range have soared. Christian's backing vocals are superb and he has got his moves super duper down, thats for sure.

Matt's drumming is just dominant and Phil is just damned cool. What can you say

A week or so after the gig I heard a 'good quality' mini disc recording of the Datsuns last September at The Kings Arms. It was amazing how different it wasn't actually!! The biggest difference was Dolf's singing. It did indeed rock.

I must mention the Bloody Souls they were really cool of course.

I knew they would be as I've seen them about four times and they played with the Palace of Wisdom in Auckland at the start of June. Everybody loved them for sure.

Gerald, Naz and Andrew Tolley. A gravel voiced Kato super group?

You bet but you can expect the unexpected as Naz & Gerald play other instruments and I know Gerald will bust out his legendary singing sometime. If you liked the Hasselhoff Experiment you will love the Bloody Souls.

Oh yeah it was real funny to hear Skinny DJ'ing to heaps of people as I am used to getting the same tunes dj'ed at his house. Everybody loved him which was kind of understandable.

As I said I didn't make it to Wellington, so I thought I'd interview young master Julian who was working the door for them on the tour to get the low down . . . . .

GONE: I didn't have the flow to go to the Wellington show. Yet as soon as I got to Hamilton and talked to you I knew I should have stolen something and made it happen because it just sounded a-fuckingmazing!!

Julian: It was a different scene. Both Dolf and Phil were real excited, really amped. I've never seen them so nervous before a gig. They were freaking out totally Just a real big crowd and a real weird excitement that I've never seen before. Even with like a huge international band playing in New Zealand. Just nothing like this. A real young crowd and a lot of them would never have been to a rock'n'roll show before.

GONE: Civilian virgins?

Julian: Laughs. Yeah that's for sure. It was good though the show was packed out but not too packed out. Some real hot girls. That's for sure. Just a real cool vibe.

GONE: Are we talking blowjobs to get back stage here?

Julian: Laughs. Nah but I was wearing my "J" jacket, so maybe they'd have got the hint. The crowd was not your typical rock & roll crowd. They were kind of square.

GONE: Laughs. Compared to you Julian? (sarcastically)

Julian: Yeah, compared to me I suppose.

GONE: Fucking hell, they must have been Mormon missionaries or something! Well what was the crowd doing then that was so great?

Julian: People were dancing you know. Right from the first song of the very first band.

GONE: What were '2 lane black top' like? I've never heard them.

Julian: They were Ok but you could tell that the Datsuns and the D4 were there main influences.

GONE: How did the Bloody Souls go down in Mr Tolley's old home town?

Julian: They went down real well. The crowd really got into them. Andrew seems way happier. He was just real happy on that whole tour.

GONE: What's this shirt off nipple stuff?

Julian: It was real real hot. There was sweat dripping off the roof and the walls and stuff. Dolf was screaming out for a glass of water. He was getting a bit stroppy about sweating so much so he took off his shirt with a little strip tease. Not a pretty site.

GONE: He should stop all this prissing around and just shave his head. Then he could just towel himself down!

Julian: Laughs. You can't be in the Datsuns with short hair.

GONE: Yeah they're definitely a hair band.

Julian: It's kind of there schtick.

GONE: Hey Julian have you ever considered a career in hair dressing? Cause there is a hair dressing college just down the road from my mates house on the North Shore. You've definitely got 'it' mate. Phils' in the UK Face man, you could style his do!!

Julian: I use the same hair dresser as Phil though.

GONE: Well you better give him a plug.

Julian: It's Jason man. Skinn'y mate.

GONE: No shit. Of course. Old Skinny has got a pretty styley do framing his specs when you come to think about it. Back on track here, how many people were turned away in Wellington?

Julian: A couple of hundred. I wasn't working but heaps of girls kept coming up and asking me like 'did I know the band?' and was I 'a brother of the Datsuns?' and weird shit like that.

GONE: What about next time? Do you think they'll do the whol country?

Julian: Yeah, they will. Hopefully. Wellington was definitely the highlight of this little tour. They've got a real good fan base and the crowd were well up for it. You've got to try and get a photo off someone of Dolf swinging from the lighting rig. It was so cool.

GONE: Fuck that'll do man. Thanks Julian.

Christian - The Datsuns


Phil - The Datsuns


Matt - The Datsuns


The Datsuns








The Bloody Souls


The Bloody Souls


The Bloody Souls