(Buzz… Crackle… Whir…) (Voice in background) Oh Blimey! (Oscillating high pitch whine interspersed with white noise…) (Background voice becomes more prominent) Hold on… got it! Just need to connect the interdimensional sub space relays… …And… (Loud whooshing sound followed by a beep…) (Voice in foreground) …Resume transmission… Continuing notes to home from alternate dimension… We’ve seen something of an improvement in the last few days as green shoots of hope continue to offer promise of better days to come… Our journey tonight led us to a gathering of more souls dipping a tentative toe in the waters of witnessing a live musical performance in a three-dimensional enclosed space…
Arriving Camden, following a quick call in to the Temple of Seitan for sustenance, it was destination Jazz Café. Wherein a cordial greeting was proffered from a familiar friendly face in the form of Leigh Heggarty. A quick scout around the venue revealed a healthy attendance of like minds in search of musical nourishment. The tasteful Dub sounds emanating from the sound system courtesy of Adrian Sherwood (re)assuring these souls were in the right place…
Then…
… a little after 9pm…
Ruts DC took the stage along with Keyboardist Seamus Beaghen and Adrian Sherwood (who remained in situ).
And the sonic emanations intensified – Dub Style! Considering we’ve all time travelled a couple of years into the future of an alternate dimension – Segs, Ruffy and Leigh appeared unperturbed and (as) ever at ease, as they took us to new sonic heights. The added dimension of keyboard/Melodica from Seamus and the underpinning of Adrian’s dub wizardry, sit naturally with and are a welcome addition to the Ruts DC sound.
Segs appeared calm, cool and collected as he took the helm and steered us back to safer/calmer waters in fine voice and with beautifully booming bass.
Ruffy back in the seat of beat is an always welcome occurrence – rock solid with fluidity and brilliant harmonies.
The extra layers from Adrian and Seamus provide the band with a bit extra wiggle room, allowing them to explore the dynamics a little more than usual. This is especially evident with Leigh as he utilised the extra space to explore, experiment and conjure new tonal palettes to great effect.
Along with a mix of some of the great reggae-fied songs from their canon we were also given an airing of excellent new song Born Innocent – a natural fit in tonight’s set.
The band went for it and the crowd duly reciprocated. In a flash it was Babylon Burning and Goodnight.
In summary tonight saw another brilliant performance from Ruts DC. Proving their versatility and skill as a band who can comfortably shape-shift from; Punky/Rocky/Reggae to Electro-Acoustic to Full on Dub Style.
Highlight: the whole shebang – but if forced to choose – Love in Vain.
Thank you very much.
Over…
EiTC.
