The Datsuns have been at it for a quarter of a century. Hard to believe. When we first encountered them they were one of the bright young hopes of the early-2000s garage rock revival; today they're veterans, well into what I like to call their "Steel Wheels era" (the Rolling Stones remain the best yardstick for putting a band's longevity into perspective), arriving in Paris on the back of the excellent Eye to Eye. And yet the years seem to melt away the moment they hit the stage: The Datsuns still play with the reckless abandon of a band half their age, unleashing a hard-rocking deflagration where punk, garage rock, metal and stoner all happily collide. If it's loud, energetic and likely to leave a ringing in your ears, it's fair game for The Datsuns.
Seventy minutes are all The Datsuns need to tear through nineteen songs spanning their entire catalogue, each one packed with crunchy riffs, guitar fireworks, anthemic choruses and relentlessly pummelling rhythms. There isn't a wasted moment, a superfluous solo or an ounce of complacency. Twenty-five years ago, they were hailed as part of rock's next great wave. That wave came and went, as waves inevitably do. The Datsuns, meanwhile, simply carried on doing what they do best: writing great songs, playing them at full throttle and, seventy minutes later, walking off stage before anyone was ready for them to. If anything, that's the only complaint.
SETLIST:
(+ new song "Electric Highs" as opener)
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