Datsuns to rock Wairarapa

There will be no caged beasts, comedians or clowns at the Wairarapa debut of The Datsuns, says band guitarist Christian Livingstone, but there will be rock 'n' roll.



Livingstone, speaking yesterday from London, has lived there since soon after the Kiwi band stormed British shores to critical acclaim with their first self-titled album of Antipodean metal and hard rock in 2002.



The four-piece from Cambridge hit number 17 that year on the UK album chart and today, four albums later, play frequent dates throughout Europe, "probably playing more over this side of the world than we do at home", he said.



Although he made annual visits home "to get plenty of New Zealand in my system", Livingstone said the band had not fully toured the Shaky Isles since 2009 and sell-out shows in Auckland and Wellington last year to support their latest album, Death Rattle Boogie.



The Datsuns would right the imbalance later this month, he said, with a nine-date nationwide tour that would include a debut Wairarapa performance at King Street Live in Masterton on September 7.



The tour would follow performances in Belgium, Paris and London this month.



Livingstone said audiences differed according to timing rather than location.



"The only real difference in the crowd comes down to what day of the week it is. Saturday is better than a Monday wherever you play - people are way more likely to get drunk and whoop it up."



He found it difficult to pinpoint creative changes for The Datsuns over the years but believed the band had refined its studio nous and know-how.



"We're certainly a lot smarter about the technical side of making a record and what's the best way to record a song, to make it sound the way we like - more than on the first album 11 years ago for sure," he said.



"Well it's easier and harder, it's a bit of both. It's got easier to capture things the way you want but harder to find new ways to do something interesting without repeating yourself."



Livingstone said he preferred the immediacy of live performance and the band would be getting back to brass tacks on their upcoming tour.



"We're coming to play songs, some off the new record, and there won't be any jugglers or comedians or anything but it will be a night of good rock 'n' roll."


The Datsuns play King Street Live in Masterton on September 7. For more information go to thedatsuns.com or kingstreetlive.co.nz.