T. Rex (October 17, 1972) – “Marc Bolan: Sequins & Noise” Concert Review – Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

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Bill Pollock reviews T. Rex following the sold-out Santa Monica Civic Auditorium concert, offering a sharply critical assessment of the music while acknowledging the spectacle surrounding Marc Bolan and contrasting T. Rex with The Doobie Brothers, who had opened the evening.

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Publication: Los Angeles Herald Examiner

Publication Date: October 17, 1972

Country: United States

Event Date: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium concert

Under the headline “Marc Bolan: Sequins & Noise”, Bill Pollock describes the performance and the considerable attention surrounding T. Rex. The review opens by noting the time spent applying sequins to Bolan's eyelids before the concert, immediately focusing on the visual presentation surrounding the act.

Pollock describes Bolan's stage clothing as including eye makeup, an open green lamé shirt and sequinned black velvet trousers. The review then turns firmly towards the music, criticising both the volume and the lyrics.

The writer characterises the show as loud and questions the quality of the songwriting, quoting simple lines from the performance as evidence. Pollock also comments on Bolan's movement around the stage and the theatrical presentation, ultimately presenting the performance as more spectacle than substance.

Despite the criticism, the article confirms that the concert was sold out and had been produced by Pacific Presentations.

The first half of the evening belonged to The Doobie Brothers. Pollock writes that the group created excitement of its own and describes a set focused on amplified boogie, including the use of dual drums and congas.

CONTEXT AND NOTES

The clipping provides another contemporary American perspective on T. Rex during the October 1972 U.S. tour. Like several reviews from this period, it demonstrates the divide between the enormous attention surrounding Bolan and the more sceptical response from some American rock critics.

The review is useful because it documents the concert as a sold-out event while also preserving details of the stage presentation and the presence of The Doobie Brothers on the bill.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

Event: T. Rex concert at Santa Monica Civic AuditoriumEra: 1972 – American Tour / The Slider periodTone: Highly critical and dismissivePhotography: No photograph is visible in the supplied clipping

WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS

• Headline: “Marc Bolan: Sequins & Noise”

• Concert review by Bill Pollock

• T. Rex performing at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium

• Description of Bolan's stage presentation and clothing

• Confirmation that the concert was sold out

• Pacific Presentations credited with producing the concert

• The Doobie Brothers appearing during the first half of the evening

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