David Johansen, a geographical relief map with lips
Those looking for the classic Bowery Street grime of the New York Dolls are in luck. There are at least a dozen official and bootleg live albums out there, including a “Live Box Set” immortalizing their raw, sloppy garage/glam/blues mash-up that – with iconic junkie/primitive six-string genius Johnny Thunders – presaged punk.
Even with a trio of youngster filling the roles of dead Dolls (Thunders, bassists Arthur Kane, drummers Jerry Nolan/Billy Murcia), it’d be as senseless to expect but a glimpse of that old fury. That said, the Dolls did a decent job resurrecting the old glory Wednesday night at the Beachland, when they choose to do so…
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.
I was at the tour-opener in Baltimore, and the crowd was SCREAMING for the new stuff! Rainbow Store in particular was great. Who wants to see these guys running through the same songs for 30 years? They seem to put the most energy behind their new stuff. As for Dance Like A Monkey echoing Monkey Man, I just don’t see that. One is about evolution and uses words like anthropomorphize, the other is about some down-and-out dude who jumps between women and drugs. Oh, it’s STEVE Conte.