Veteran punk-glam-rockers The New York Dolls made a return to London last Friday and were given an incredible welcome by their fans. The Forum, Kentish Town, was packed to bursting point with Dolls devotees from all age groups.

Getting the mayhem going were London based The Urban Voodoo Machine with their intoxicating fusion of gypsy blues bop ’n’ stroll – delivering their trademark dark musical brew of sinister ballads and shanties spiked with tango beats. The Voodoos’ new single 'Orphans Lament’ will be released today. It’s probably no coincidence that the Voodoo Machine had been chosen to open for the main act, given the Dolls admiration for roots music and traditional tunes. Oh and lets not forget, Dolls bassist Sami Yaffa (ex-Hanoi Rocks) likewise has his own solo project going with Mad Juana – a band delivering an intoxicating concoction of gypsy rock, swamp blues and Latino stomps, Anyone notice a pattern here?

On to the New York Dolls. High strung and energetic, the first song was 'Looking For A Kiss’. Incidentally, several tracks later, leading man David Johansen got exactly what he looked for, namely as an overtly enthusiastic male fan invaded the stage to express his adoration for the band!
The set continued with the title track from the excellent current album 'Cauze I Sez So’. Sure enough, the crowd was in high spirits as the Dolls delivered the kind of kickass show one might expect to see, though at times it seemed as if Johansen took a little too much inspiration from Mick Jagger.

'We’re All In Love’ came next – and the audience was no doubt in love with the band, dancing and rockin’ along to everything the Dolls churned out. It was next to impossible not to be taken over by the raw energy delivered by Johansen and fellow original member Sylvain Sylvain – flirting with each others guitar and harmonica, while Sami Yaffa on bass, Brian Delaney on drums and Steve Conte on guitar (check out his interview on Music-News) equally had an absolute ball playing it wild. Johansen almost brought the house down when he asked the audience to say 'Sylvain Sylvain' backwards.

Well, I’m 'Better Than You’ was not only another song played during the set, but it was also Sylvain’s humorous response to Johansen’s little joke. For Mr. Sylvain kept on entertaining the masses with his on-stage frolics, asking everyone to clap their hands and sing along to an impromptu 'Stranded In The Jungle’.

The Dolls delivered the goods playing their classics as well as tracks from the current album, but surpassed themselves with the Bo Diddley cover 'Pills’. What a hoot!
After 'Trash’ and 'Jet Boy’ the show had seemingly come to an end. Of course, everyone knew it hadn’t. For the encore, Johansen was first back on stage, singing a sombre tune accompanied by his harmonica and revealing that his band members just love to see him sweat. Alas, he don’t care, as he could sing all night long! His comrades appeared one after another and for the finale, they played the one song that had been missing all evening, 'Personality Crisis’. While that particular version sounded ever so slightly out of tune in parts, there wasn’t a trace of personality crisis to detect neither in the Dolls nor in the show. Everyone had an absolute blast and it was a pleasure to witness a band who not only has a deep knowledge of music but who thrives on playing live!