Star rating: *****

It is debateable if there has ever been a band that divided opinion as much as the New York Dolls. What is now beyond discussion, however, is that their reunion continues to go from strength to strength, and this show presented debauched rock'n'roll at its finest.

The Garage's moderate size suited the performance perfectly, with the band sounding both loud and clear. It was sweltering too, rammed full of all sorts, from teenagers with their parents to older punks still sporting mohawks and ponytails that time forgot.

The years have taken their toll on David Johansen as well. The singer may have survived the band's past excesses, but he now rivals Mick Jagger in the weathered front man stakes.

Yet he's still capable of strutting and sneering with the best of them, and worked the crowd masterfully, even pulling off lines such as "this guitar part will blow you into the stratosphere" with aplomb.

Material from the two albums since their 2004 reformation was sufficiently sturdy to hang alongside the clutch of classics from their prime, with Gotta Get Away From Tommy a rollicking dose of rock'n'roll.

The older numbers, however, showed why so many acts touch upon the Dolls. There was a deliciously ragged Who Are The Mystery Girls, Stranded In The Jungle's theatrical boogie, and then a pulsating Jet Boy, complete with a diversion into Hey Bo Diddley.

Trash, however, carried the most weight. After its usual guttural opening, it phased into a dub reggae version, an idea lifted from their current record, before returning to its roots for the finale.

It could easily have been dreadful, yet instead triumphed, a status that applied to the whole evening.