By PETER GRIFFIN
PUKEKOHE RUGBY STADIUM - With thousands of petrol heads descending on Pukekohe for Saturday's V8 bonanza, the rugby stadium just down the road from the race track was always going to be a logical venue for a Jimmy Barnes gig.
The torrential rain that drowned the racing fun
almost threatened to dampen the evening's rockfest as well.
But the sky was clearing by the time promising rock acts and Battle Of The Bands champions Stoods and Spinner had finished their polished sets.
They made way for energetic four-piece Tadpole, who rushed through the best tracks off their under-rated Buddhafinger album, unveiling a couple of new songs along the way.
Then it was the spiky blond hair and tartan pants of the pub-rocking veteran himself.
If you could agree with the notion of Barnesy screeching his way through a rocking version of River Deep Mountain High you would have lapped up everything he had to offer.
And a well-lubricated crowd did just that, foot tapping along to the gravelly covers from Barnes' recent album Soul Deeper.
In fact, it was the old-timer covers that showed Barnes at his emotional best, bringing his daughter and backing vocalist Mahalia centrestage at one point to lead the way on a powerful version of Natural Woman.
But it was Barnesy's relics from the early 80s - Cold Chisel classics like Khe Sanh, Cheap Wine, Rising Sun and You Got Nothing I Want that had the soggy crowd rocking the most.
Helped by an excellent back-up band, Barnesy even managed to pepper early-80s favourites and decades-old classics with solo hits like Lay Down Your Guns and the song he didn't write but made his own - Working Class Man.
Yet another sweaty affair for Barnesy, who has swerved off on an unexpected tangent with his soul albums but, importantly, manages to stick close to his heavy rock roots.
