Wednesday 16/06/04 New York Dolls @ Royal Festival Hall, London

It isn't every gig that you see Bobby Gillespie scrambling to get to a seat when the house lights drop. Then again, the first appearance of the New York Dolls in thirty years is not your normal show. Reformed by Morrissey for the Meltdown festival, the seminal New York rock 'n' rollers guaranteed an expectant turnout on the South Bank.

Of course, it cannot be overlooked that two of the bands' former colleagues were absent. Guitarist Johnny Thunders' death in 1991, followed shortly by the death of drummer Jerry Nolan in 1992 meant that the reformed group would only be comprised of singer David Johansen, guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, and bassist Arthur Kane. Augmented by a few session musicians, including the Libertines drummer Gary Powell, it would be naive to not have some trepidation that the gig would become somewhat of a farce.

Fortunately, opener 'Looking for a Kiss' knocked any ideas of an embarrassing reunion square on the head. The band sounded exactly as they should, raucous, shambolic and nothing short of superb. Squint your eyes and you'd think that you're at Max's Kansas City circa 1974. Of course, when you open your eyes you realise that you are actually witnessing a group of 50-somethings recreating the heyday of their misspent youth, but who cares? The songs sound brilliant, the band look better than the Hoxton or New Cross pretenders that are half their age, and the whole experience is nothing but enjoyable, so there.

The band runs through the majority of songs you'd expect to hear, 'Frankenstein', 'Jet Boy', 'Babylon' and 'Bad Girl' all receive an airing. A few surprises are thrown in as well; the obligatory Shangri-Las cover being 'Out in the Streets' instead of 'Great Big Kiss'. A cover of blues number 'In My Girlish Days' is suitably dolled-up for the evening, as well as a snippet of Johnny Thunders' 'You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory'. Sung by Sylvain, it serves as a fitting tribute to the band's absent friend, before segueing into the Dolls' own 'Lonely Planet Boy'.

Considering that the Dolls popularity and position within music history has increased dramatically in recent years, it is no surprise that the group were convinced to reform. What was certainly surprising about seeing them play was how brilliant they were after all these years.

Let's hope its no one off.