TORONTO - Some 35 years after first taking New York and then the world by storm with their then shocking, gender-bending glam rock, the New York Dolls have still managed to soldier on.

Or as lead singer David Johansen's alter ego Buster Poindexter would say, they're still hot, hot, hot.

With only two surviving members left in Johansen and guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, one would probably assume Monday night's Toronto performance at a half-full Phoenix Concert Theatre might be a slower, tamer trip through memory lane.

However, the duo (with the help of three solid supporting musicians) proved they're not fading away with a ballsy and rowdy 95-minute set that began with Puss 'N' Boots from 1974's Too Much Too Soon as Johansen emerged wearing a black leather jacket and ornate blue top.

The only prop, aside from a lectern holding lyrics Johansen rarely peeked at, was a black backdrop with the band's name written in pink lipstick. And both original members kept the mascara, high heels and feminine garments they donned in the '70s to a minimum although Johansen's rail-thin physique could have made him passable in drag.

"Alright Toronto, let's all sing this together," the 58-year-old Johansen said prior to punk-meets-garage rock We're All In Love, one of the surprisingly decent efforts off the band's latest effort, the wordy One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This. This was quickly followed up with another eclectic cover choice as the band pulled off Janis Joplin's Piece Of My Heart minus the soulful yelps of the late singer.

Prior to Looking For A Kiss, Johansen, looking like the long lost, lips-that-won't-quit brother of Mick Jagger, questioned why Family Day would be slated at a time other than the warmer months. It was the most between-song banter of the night as the group tore though newer, decent efforts like Plenty of Music and Dancing On The Lip Of A Volcano which sounded like a gracefully aging version of the band.

Most of the fans present didn't come for the newer songs but for the gems off the first two albums such as the tight and crisp Vietnamese Baby that had Sylvain pretending to toss a grenade when not holding his guitar as if aiming a gun.

The Bo Diddley cover of Pills also had most heads bobbing and some singing along despite Johansen stopping the song to retrieve a new harmonica, leaving Sylvain and guitarist Steve Conte to do a bit of musical ad-libbing.

While commemorating the late Johnny Thunders with You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory and dedicating Private World to bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane (who passed away three weeks following the band's triumphant 2004 reunion in London), the New York Dolls dazzled during Personality Crisis, the powerful Trash and Jet Boy, the latter a lengthy but glorious guitar-saturated romp that had Johansen tossing bouquets into the audience.

Opening for New York Dolls were We Are The Fury but who should have been called We Are The Annoyed. The group's lead singer spent a good portion trying to get the crowd riled up but his efforts were in vain.

Sun Rating: 3 out of 5