New York Dolls + Isa and the Filthy Tongues
Edinburgh HMV Picture House, 10th December 2009
First of all, let me just remark that the HMV Picture House is a very nice venue – all polished wood, plush velvety seats and friendly staff – and about time Edinburgh had a decent mid-sized venue too.
And since I have a streaming cold, I'm extremely grateful that the lovely New York Dolls chose to grace Auld Reekie with their august presence, instead of making us trog over to the Weedge. Hooray.
First up, however, we have Isa and the Filthy Tongues, a local band arising from the ashes of the late great Goodbye Mr Mackenzie. Channelling '80s and early '90s goth from beyond the grave, the blend heavy Sisters' riffs (and Tony James' dress sense) with fluid Siouxie-style vocals. Their songs are all a bit hypnotic and samey but they sound pretty good, and the band are as excited as we are about seeing the Dolls, which is rather endearing.
And so onto the main event. I though the Dolls were good on Saturday, but tonight they absolutely blew me away. Rattling through the same set they played at Hard Rock Hell, they're on top form, with the sound far less muddy and the beats more dirty pure. Highlights have to be the deeply funky Creationist p*ss-take 'Dance Like A Monkey', a raucous singalong 'Pills' and a rousing rendition of 'Trash' that morphs into a reggaed-up version of Mickey and Sylvia's 'Love Is Strange'. Oh, and this time we get an encore, so 'Personality Crisis' gets to see the light of day, to rapturous applause – who knew an Edinburgh crowd could be so animated?
Sylvain Sylvain is surely the sweetest man in rock, claiming Scottish ancestry with a Bay City Rollers-style tartan jacket and trading quips with the audience; ex-Hanoi bassist Sami Yaffa (looking not a great deal older than he does on the cover of Two Steps From the Move) is cool, laidback and solid as a rock, while pint-sized guitarist Steve Conte is so wildly enthusiastic you just gotta love him. And then of course there's skinny-ass superstar David Johansen, who's lazy, ten mile wide smile simply lights up the entire theatre.
What more can I say? Other than, thank you Dolls for another great night, and see you again soon – in Edinburgh, I hope.
New York Dolls + Towers of London, 26th October 2006
