By: Jake Ebdale

Artist: Th' Dudes

Date: Thursday 26th November 2020

Venue: Town Hall, Auckland, NZ

“Dave hit the note! He hit the bloody note!”  

I heard a man screaming, bellowing this a few people back from me at last night’s Dudes gig. But he was right - Dave Dobbyn did hit the note. It’s the one he sings at the start of ‘Be Mine Tonite’, ‘Aaaasian cigarettes!’ He absolutely nails it. Not bad for a man with his pub rock days firmly behind him, I thought. And it’s not just this one note these old dudes nail. Dobbo, Peter Urlich - with mic firmly in grasp, like a town crier - and the rest of the band put on one hell of a show, delayed from the earlier August lockdown in Auckland.  

They nail the boozy tone, and Urlich hams it up a bit. They’re aware they have those big four hits – the aforementioned ‘Be Mine Tonite’ standing the test of time, while unofficial national anthem ‘Bliss’ is still a trashy, quirky anomaly in a world of piss-drinking tunes. Opening with ‘Right First Time’, they’re tight straight out of the gate. Yeah, everyone’s old in the crowd – that old review trope, yada yada. Let the oldies have their fun, dammit! 

The band also perform a couple of heartfelt tributes to fallen Dude, Ian Morris – with his ‘80s cover hit, ‘Game of Love’, and brother Rikki’s ‘Nobody Else’, who has taken Ian’s place on guitar. Sure, there may be a few lulls – I’ve always thought of the Dudes as a spectacular singles band, especially on the vinyl compilation So You Wanna Be a Rock ‘n’ Roll Star – but they’re still fun. God, they only released two albums in their two-year career. You’ve gotta give them credit for keeping the audience in the palm of their sweaty hands 40 years after the fact. 

Urlich also takes the vocals on Dave Dobbyn’s ‘Loyal’, which makes for a poignant moment. One thing I noticed – I hardly ever see Dobbo let loose on guitar like he does in this set. He’s one of our original guitar heroes and hardly gets props for his chops. ‘Walking in Light’ chops like a real late 70s Stones classic. ‘Be Mine Tonite’, my favourite moment, sees Dave in rocking form, and the band truly gels for five minutes of timeless, well, bliss. 

Ending with ‘Bliss’, the Town Hall morphs into the Gluepot, and grown women are up on shoulders, businessmen throwing beer cups. It’s great to see these Dudes shout one final round.