Toody Cole – Whammy Bar: November 25, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)
With three top notch bands on the bill, Whammy Bar was buzzing tonight long before Toody Cole took the stage.
The 140-capacity venue felt was full to the brim—die-hard Dead Moon fans shoulder-to-shoulder with younger fans eager to witness a living legend.
Toody walked out with her signature black boots and flowing silver hair, bass slung low, and the room erupted. A somewhat regular visitor to NZ, through a long association with promotor John Baker, Toody was here to play a handful of shows including The Others Way Festival this weekend and in true style added tonight’s intimate gig.
For those who know the lore, Toody is a testament of the DIY movement. From Dead Moon’s lo-fi garage punk anthems to Pierced Arrows’ grit, her fingerprints are all over the DNA of Pacific Northwest rock. Nirvana and Pearl Jam acknowledged a debt to the DIY ethos she and Fred Cole championed. “They had great respect from all of us in Seattle. They were loved”— Steve Turner, Mudhoney
Toody Cole has truly lived a life defined by music, resilience, and radical independence. Born Kathleen Conner in Portland, she married musician Fred Cole while still in her teens, beginning a partnership that would span five decades and countless reinventions.
Fred’s early garage rock days with The Weeds / The Lollipop Shoppe gave way to a hard pivot toward punk in the late ’70s, after Fred opened for The Ramones and Toody, Fred and the late Rod Rat (Hibbert) then formed The Rats—releasing raw, urgent records on their own Whizeagle label.
Their entrepreneurial streak ran deep: they operated gear shops like Captain Whizeagle and later Tombstone Music, ran junk stores, and even pressed their own vinyl after Fred painstakingly restored a 1950s mono lathe. This fierce DIY ethic became central to Dead Moon, the band they launched in 1987, whose stripped-down sound and hand-cut records earned cult status worldwide and influenced the grunge phenomenon.
After Dead Moon’s two-decade run, they carried the torch with Pierced Arrows, touring relentlessly across Europe and the U.S., often driving themselves and fixing gear on the fly. Through every chapter—from Yukon homesteading to late-night rehearsals after putting kids to bed—Toody embodied the ethos she and Fred lived by – do it yourself, stay true, and never compromise. Even after Fred’s passing in 2017, she has continued to perform, a living testament to a life built on love, music, and uncompromising authenticity.
First up tonight:
Bloodbags
Opening tonight, Bloodbags the garage-postpunk trio of Andrew Tolley, Sam Ralston, and Matt Rapley with their raw, high-energy set steeped in swamp-punk served with a side dish of sludgy groove delivered a perfect kick off for the night. Not entirely a surprise given Andrew has a history with Dead Moon that goes back to 1993 when he caught them live in Washington. A big month for the boys opening for The Saints 73-78 and tonight!
Jenny Don’t and The Spurs
Regularly sharing the bill – Kelly and Christopher’s other band, Jenny Don’t and The Spurs also hail from Portland, Oregon, but have carved out a distinctive niche blending honky tonk, outlaw country, cowpunk and garage rock,. Formed in 2012 by frontwoman Jenny Don’t and bassist Kelly Halliburton, the band fittingly started as a kitchen table project covering classic country icons. The lineup features the utterly compelling Jenny Don’t on vocals and rhythm guitar, Kelly Halliburton on bass, Christopher March on lead guitar, and Buddy Weeks on drums. Their sound channels country through a thick garage rock filter.
On stage, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs deliver a dynamic setlist that mixes fan favourites with deep cuts from their albums like Call of the Road, Fire on the Ridge and Broken Hearted Blue.
Highlights tonight were plenty with California Cowboy, Right from the Start, Trouble With the Law, Sunset on the Alamo, Sidewinder, Unlucky Love and Fire on the Ridge, all packed with driving tempos, twangy riffs, and Jenny’s vocals – commanding on the fast tracks and utterly stunning on the slower ones.
The band’s aesthetic, complete with rhinestone-studded outfits handcrafted by Jenny, is an ode to the genre that they have made their own. Jenny Don’t will make you fall in love with Country.
Toody Cole and Her Band
After two strong opening sets, Toody stepped onto the stage to a loud cheer, the crowd pressing forward for a front-row view. (Note: all tracks are Dead Moon songs unless otherwise stated.)
She kicked things off with Walking on My Grave, a Dead Moon classic. It felt like a minor-key sermon—tense bass, stark downstrokes, and that unmistakable fatalism. Kelly’s drumming stamped a lean, road-worn pulse while Christopher’s guitar traced sharp, flinty lines. As an invocation of memory and momentum, it was the perfect opener.
Next came Caroline, a standout from Pierced Arrows’ first LP Straight to the Heart. Its muscular stomp kept the energy tight and intense. Then, Dagger Moon slowed the pace—a haunted, cinematic turn. Toody let space do the talking: bass notes hung like fog while guitar flickered at the edges. It was spellbinding, proof that restraint can speak louder than noise.
The mood shifted with Psychodelic Nightmare (1995), a jagged head rush. March spiked the corners with trebly shards, Halliburton tightened the snare, and Toody leaned into the lyric with poise.
Going South followed—a possible nod to that cold Invercargill night in 1992 when Dead Moon played their legendary NZ backblocks tour, now immortalized on limited-edition vinyl. Then came All Sold Out, ragged guitar chiming against a barbed lyric about value and loss. Toody’s timing was surgical, every pause purposeful.
The band’s economy was striking—nothing wasted. A deep throwback arrived with You Must Be a Witch, from Fred’s early garage days with The Lollipop Shoppe, along with It’s Your Time, these tracks were once rare gems, tonight, Toody and the band made them their own.
Mid-set jolt Running Out of Time pulsed with urgency, Toody’s clipped phrasing sparring with March’s stinging retorts. Then came 13 Going on 21, sprinting punk energy with serrated riffs and rumbling drums. Toody swapped tenderness for grit, the hook youthful yet wary.
The staple Fire in the Western World burned bright—combustible focus, crackling guitar, locomotive bass. A Pacific Northwest anthem of the stubborn. Claim to Fame stripped things backm-lean chords, bone-simple structure, and a lyric that stared down legacy. Toody’s voice was plainspoken, almost conversational, turning restraint into momentum. Punk served with a clenched-fist vocal and taut bass.
Sharp and unsentimental, Johnny’s Got a Gun landed hard, Toody stoic and steady while the band kept the tempo clipped. Then came Clouds of Dawn, moody and expansive—a piece of Dead Moon poetry rendered in shadow and simplicity. The communal balm of It’s O.K followed, its refrain swelling into a room-wide mantra. Hope built from three chords and willpower. I saw were tears in the crowd—a quiet reminder that Fred is always with them. The ferocious extended 54/40 or Fight stormed in next, a history lesson turned rock-and-roll declaration. Halliburton’s toms rolled while March strafed cutting lines. Toody stood – voice flinty, bass relentless, raucous as heck to close the main set.
After a brief breath, Diamonds in the Rough shimmered with reflective warmth before tightening into a groove—a perfect prelude to the inevitable closer. And of course, the night ended with Dead Moon Night. March carved, Halliburton drove, Toody anchored and exhorted. It was catharsis, a hymn. Long live the night. Long live DIY.
Whammy Bar’s intimacy amplified the energy—no barricades, no distance, just pure connection. Loud, committed, passionate, full energy rock n roll. It was a communion of the faithful, who lapped up every moment,
Toody Cole has lived a life. Tonight she played with all the fire and soul that saw APM list her as one of the 20 greatest Punk Rock Bassists of all time. Her Auckland show was a testament to great songs played with passion- lots of passion. Tonight, Auckland got a rare glimpse of her uncompromising spirit. If you missed it, you missed a little bit of history.
“90% of it honestly is the pride and the sense of accomplishment of doing things yourself.”— Toody Cole
John Hastings
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