(SonyBMG)

The much-discussed 1979 Latrobe Uni gig finally gets a DVD release

Presumably sparked by the Angels reunion tour earlier this year to mark the 30th anniversary of their iconic Face To Face album, this DVD brings together footage from the same era. Face To Face was the band’s breakthrough release and at the time they looked for somewhere special to make a film about the subsequent tour. Latrobe University was selected not only it was a more political campus but also because of the band’s own University experiences. At a time when the band was huge, doing countless gigs a year, it was an inspired choice, adding an extra dynamic to the band’s already well-established delivery. And even after such a long time, the Angels’ power and energy stands up very well. Of course, the spotlight falls on frontman Doc Neeson, who begins the show in a sharp tailored black suit but soon ends up careening around like some manic marionette, drenched in sweat and bug-eyed, finally finishing the night in a bright orange jumpsuit with a white towel as a prop. But the underlying tightness of the performance stems from the rest of the band, who nail these songs, many of them already Angels standards like After The Rain, Shadow Boxer and Marseilles. In one unusual aspect, the version of Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again doesn’t feature the audience chant, “No way, get fucked, fuck off” – that only developed later. Another unusual aspect is that the accompanying CD of the show is actually three tracks longer than the DVD, including Take A Long Line and Comin’ Down (maybe the cameras were off at the time). But the key thing about this release is that it shows one of this country’s rock legends in full flight when they were reaching their peak.

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BILL HOLDSWORTH

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