New Plymouth parties like it’s 1968/77/82
Dragon/Jefferson Starship/Toto – A Summer’s Day Live, TSB Bowl of Brooklands, New Plymouth Friday, January 11. Reviewed by Andrew Owen.
The last time I attended one of these events it rained so hard that several thousand people feared they were about to see a major international rock star get electrocuted live on stage.
A year on from Bryan Adams’ weather washout and the organisers of A Summer’s Day Live must have been rubbing their hands in glee as Friday evening arrived. Just one small, solitary puffy white cloud floated in a clear blue sky, and even that didn’t stick around. You really couldn’t have asked for better conditions.
And in Dragon you really couldn’t have had a better opening act. I have to be honest in that I’m not at all familiar with their music. I don’t think they made much of an impression outside New Zealand during their heyday, and that’s a real shame as their catchy, melodic brand of driving rock ’n’ roll was just made for a venue like the TSB Bowl.
Singer Mark Williams may be 65, but he’s got the stamina of a much younger man, and his throaty growl really belts out the
hits, his acoustic guitar supported by a band working in perfect synch.
It didn’t take long before several hundred people were on their feet and singing along, with 1977’s April Sun in Cuba
delighting an audience who knew every word.
But it’s probably fair to say they weren’t quite as familiar with Jefferson Starship’s back catalogue, and the atmosphere did seem to fade a little as the band started their set.
However, the crowd brightened up as soon as they recognised the hits, with Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,
from the 1980s, and White Rabbit,
from the late 1960s, proving popular – even among people born decades after those songs were in the charts. And fair play to guitarist/singer David Freiberg – 80 years old and still going strong.
Headliners Toto took to the stage at 8.30pm to enthusiastic cheers. Singer Joseph Williams is a somewhat unlikely looking rock star, but his voice is superb and in terms of musicianship the band are about as good as you’ll get. The trouble, however, is that they have to keep showing you how good they are. A few less noodley instrumental breaks and a few more songs wouldn’t have gone amiss.
But I suppose that’s a minor quibble as Toto really do put on a good show, and the indestructible tunes such as Rosanna and Hold the Line were welcomed like old friends.
They finished, unsurprisingly, with their bestknown song. "Everyone at the back," shouted Williams, "I want to hear you sing. Are you ready?"
And as the drum beat to Africa rang out, 8500 voices answered him, singing the famous ’ba baba ba-ba-ba baaa" keyboard riff.
It may have been raining down in Africa, but the sun and the stars shone for everyone in New Plymouth.