My first gig: Ed Knowles

Ed Knowles reckons seeing the Datsuns at the 2003 BDO was a life-changer. Photo / NZ Herald

Ed Knowles shares his first gig experience: The Datsuns at the Big Day Out, 2003.

It was my first Big Day Out. The year was 2003 and I had just finished Year 11 NCEA, so naturally I was an expert on blues music and all things of the soul. I had a hippie headband and sported an inflated sense of pop culture cool as I waited in line for my mid-morning hot dog.

Two hours later, I had a headache and a growing sense of anxiety about the people in the black T-shirts with the green hair, or in some cases no T-shirts, who didn't seem to know anything about the Strokes or NME, or even care. They definitely didn't have headaches, or any problem with standing up all day, running from stage to stage. I could tell because I watched them from the shade behind the drinks van, where I fanned myself with my schedule and sipped quietly on warm Powerade.

Kiwi rockers The Datsuns. Photo / NZ Herald

Then, as the sun started to go down, the Datsuns came on stage. Dressed in white flares and black boots, they changed my life, well, definitely changed my day. Dolf let out an opening scream and the guitars were roaring dangerously. Despite the incredible music, it was the body language and the attitude that really shocked me, that really held me spellbound. The way they bent backwards, mid-solo, as if exorcising some kind of devil; it was a long way from the after-school yoghurts I was accustomed to.

I moved closer to the stage among the black T-shirt people and to my surprise they immediately included me, I knew they had accepted me because of the generosity with which they shared their sweat and also they offered me all sorts of things. We were all inside the manic music together and it was the most fun I had ever had. All over too quickly really.

My ears were ringing as I followed the masses towards the next show, eager and happy with my new friends. Like them, I took off my shirt (well, for a while at least, it got a little chilly) so I bought a new one with red writing that said "The Datsuns". I wore that T-shirt for years to come and, in some ways, I have never really taken it off.

* Ed Knowles was the front man for the Checks, and now fronts new band Racing. They're celebrating the release of their new single Carnivalise, and heading out on a national tour starting this week, playing Golden Dawn in Auckland on tonight, Meow in Wellington on Thursday November 13, The Cabana in Napier on Friday November 14, Leigh Sawmill on Friday November 21, and The Mayfair in New Plymouth on Saturday December 13.

- TimeOut