In a cave on a desolate planet beyond the furthest reaches of the known universe something stirs…
Suddenly… beep! FFFSSSHHH!!! Fizz! Pop… Buzzzzz Whirr! Holographic AI EiTC (HAIE) materializes into view and begins mumbling to itself…
“S’pose I better wake ‘im up then!” He cranks a lever on the cryogenic capsule which lights up and emits a low humming sound before the glass doors slide open with a smooth low hiss… Out steps In Real Life EiTC (IRLE) and the following conversation ensues…
IRLE “What the bleedin’ ‘ells goin’ on?”
HAIE “You told me to wake you up in December for the Ruts DC!”
IRLE “Blimey is that the time already? Put the kettle on then…”
HAIE “Yeah alright!”
The following transcripts may or may not be based on actual events…
Hello EiTC here. So, it’s been a while since I last dusted off the Quill but Ruts DC are in town and that’s always a good enough reason…
In this modern age of technology running wild and self-serving soulless fakers running the show, it’s good to have some link to hope, humanity and humour. Ruts DC provide!
Having made my way back to Earth landing somewhere in the vicinity of Clapham South, the trajectory went downwards, undergroundwards and didn’t come upwards again until the vicinity had changed to Highbury and Islington. From whence minimal footfall ended the journey and entrance was granted…
Up first, The Duel…
The Duel are in a process of continual evolution and the current stage is working very well. There is a good contrast of material from light and dark poppy textures, through to more uptempo punky rockers. With a strong sense of melody infused throughout.
On the subject of textures; there was a tangible textural change when Tara donned her Stratocaster creating a nice contrast to Paul’s Humbuckers.
Their convincing stage presence captured the attention of and continually engaged the rapidly growing crowd
Fab!
Next up Chris Pope…
Chris Pope donned his acoustic guitar and stepped out in front of the crowd like a greatly less disheveled Bob Dylan.
His delivery was strong and well received, the crowd were engaged and enjoying Chris’s set.
Not having any better reference point, at times I was put in mind of both Paul Weller and Billy Bragg.
Good stuff!
On to the show…
Magic…
Nicely warmed up, there was electricity in the air, as the crowd anticipated the main event.
Enter stage left: Ruffy, Segs and Leigh – Boom!
Here we go…
Segs and Leigh were highly animated up front where the whole stage was covered by this pair with their gesticulating, strutting, gurning, rocking brilliance.
Underpinning them at the back, still waters ran deep, as Mr. Ruffy gave a master class in cool precision with even more brilliance.
The set twisted and turned with the contrasts we expect of Ruts DC/Ruts material. A great mix of both old and new with a good number of songs from the most recent album – Counterculture.
The crowd lapped up each last morsel. And seemed to enjoy every moment. It almost felt as though sum of the band and crowd doing their respective thing together was greater than the sum of their constituent parts. And whilst we’re on the subject of the crowd – there was a real sense of camaraderie as they danced and leapt around gleefully in celebration of the band and one another.
At one point, I turned to my left and there was Jona Lewie standing next to me totally absorbed and loving the band – we had a quick chat and were in agreement about the brilliance of Ruts DC
As awesome as ever it should be, Jah War tonight included a dedication to Benjamin Zephaniah.
After a brilliantly psychedelic mid section In A Rut broke down to Dirty Old Town as a mark of respect for the recently departed Shane MacGowan. Blinding!
All too soon it was all Babylon’s Burning and bye…
Eventually returning for an encore, Segs paid tribute to Sinead O’Conner and Geordie from Killing joke. And gave some inspirational words about the state of society and the need for us to look out for each other – People Unite!
Brilliant!
Ruts DC get my vote every time…
The gettings always good but get ‘em anyway! Right now on tour accross the nation – be quick!
Blimey! It’s been a while…Ok, let’s get this gig review stuff out of the way:
A charming band paid tribute to a charming man in the middle section of a charming song at a charming gig in a charming town…
Done and done!
It’s very easy to lose your way in this life.
It’s very easy to lose faith in this life.
To give in to the cynicism
To feel oppressed by an uncaring society based on greed and selfishness…
But all is not lost
You are not alone
There are others out there who give a shit
Good people who embrace positivity
And restore your faith in humanity…
You may well think WTF, isn’t this a gig review?
Well, yes and no!
Ruts DC embody the spirit of the aforementioned good people.
Ruts DC give a shit!
They create an atmosphere of positivity, inclusivity, fun and downright decency.
All while being fully in control and keeping it real.
But what of the songs?
Well, let’s talk about the whole, rather than its constituent parts!
There is not a beat out of place with their exquisitely delivered and perfectly executed performance of their homegrown brand of Punk/Rock/Reggae/Pop/No Nonsense/Rebel Music.
(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.
Now that summer’s almost over as is February, thought it’d be a good idea to head on down to Shepherds Bush to catch up with Ruts DC as they celebrate 40 years since the release of their debut album The Crack (I don’t need to hark on too much about just how brilliant The Crack is. Just to say it is timeless and as relevant today as it was 40 years ago).The journey wasn’t without complication having taken 1 step backward and 2 step forwards but choosing to live in a positive way.The ever-decreasing circles being driven around eventually gave way to a parking spot right behind the venue from whence we alighted and made our way inside…
A very healthy (near capacity) crowd thronged in the Shepherds Bush Empire tonight and a lot of like minds and friendly familiars had made their way down all the way from 1979 and earlier and beyond. A beautiful banner showing a recreation of the classic album cover adorned the stage.
The challenges of the short flight from SW to W London all but put paid to the chances of catching the set by The Professionals. However, we did manage to get down to hear the last couple of numbers and they sounded very tight and well delivered as the crowd at the front made the most. And it was of course a delight to see Mr Cook driving things from centre stage…
The dimming lights and a heartfelt poetry recital signalled that the time had come…
…as Segs, Ruffy and Leigh took up their spots and kicked off into The Crack.
The sound and delivery were spot on. The band played a blinder. I’ve alluded in previous ramblings as to their skill and professionalism but blimey! They proceeded to deliver a thrilling and captivating show from start to finish.
As if it wasn’t enough to recreate The Crack they continued through most of the singles and b-sides from that Era and added a smattering of selections from the excellent Music Must Destroy.
1981’s Animal Now wasn’t represented we can only live in hope that they are saving that up for a 40th anniversary show too (please)…
More on the performance. Not only does Dave Ruffy never drop a beat he seems to effortlessly lay down the rhythm and deliver the BV’s without breaking sweat. Master.
Leigh continues to go from strength to strength as was abundantly clear in his superb delivery tonight. Completely faithful to the legacy of Paul Fox while being in, above and at times way beyond the zone. Expert.
What of Segs? I hear you ask… Now Segs had it all sewn up tonight and we were eating out of his hands. The bass was biting and crunchy where it needed to be and subsonic smooth and dub-wise, also at the appropriate moments. The vocals were superbly sublime. And his whole demeanour was flawless, dynamic and polished. Star.
I hope they recorded this in some way shape or form as it will be a belter to add to their canon.
It’s been a while.And while it has been a while.It’s been a good while.Which leads us here…
We headed for India in the form of Govindas on Soho Street for tiffin.
Refreshed and rehydrated we stretched our legs across Oxford Street taking refuge at number 100. Inside we found the familiar interior, unchanged and untouched by time, a permanent, impervious encapsulated monument to live music, like a woolly mammoth preserved in amber…
Just then, the London Sewage Company took the stage and warmed up the crowd with gusto.
Shortly thereafter, it was the turn of Department S who took up the gauntlet and masterfully performed their art to all and sundry.
Meanwhile, while we’d been whiling away etc Etc EiTC…Before we knew where we were, or probably after to be more accurate… It was Rutting time!
Ruts DC proceeded to entertain the gathered mass with skill and craft by the bucket load. A mixture of songs from the bands various incarnations all gratefully received with the same enthusiasm.
Kicking off with Vox Teardrop. The band were in good spirits (as ever) and delivered a tight set of finely crafted gems in their inimitable manner.
They made it seem like a stroll in the park, with a good mixture of light and dark.
The classic Ruts material sounded fab as both Segs and Leigh respectively did justice in honouring the legacy of Malcolm Owen and Paul Fox. And Ruffy did what Ruffy does with aplomb!
The Animal Now period got a look in tonight with the Superb Dangerous Minds, as relevant today as ever and we also had that period’s b-side in the form of Formula Eyes.
Mighty Soldier was mighty!
Peace Bomb was the Bomb!
And honourable mention to:
It was Cold, In A Rut, Babylon’s Burning, Backbiter, Sus, West One, Love in Vain, Jah War, Music Must Destroy, Psychic Attack etc Etc EiTC…
Before we knew it, we were back out in the West End night preparing for our next Indian adventure prior to descending to the depths and avoiding the chunky puddles on the night tube…
It’s time for my third and unfortunately final gig of the Classic Collection tour…
So it’s Midday Myself and Jane board the choo choo bound for the big city… check in to our dwellings for the next 3 nights just down the road from Her Maj’s place…. not been Victoria way for a good few years and how it’s changed, plenty of building work going on.
Short journey on the tube to Brixton, first visit to this part of town for either of us, photo opportunity at the Bowie mural then off to find The Trinity Arms, as a few of you may have realised we don’t like to stay out of the pub for too long. Quick bite to eat and before long The Family In Black start to arrive….
Owen, Jacquie and friend Pat quickly followed by one of my oldest mates from following The MIB Gary, who’s with Jan and Bernard after seeing Straighten Out, Stu and partner follow and before long it’s time to move on as we arrange to meet Audrey who has a spare ticket, Audrey’s in The local Spoons and it is absolutely rammed, also in attendance JB Alan, Dave, Isabella, Sandra, Jason, Ray, big Les and plenty others wearing our favourite logo. Sadly though not in attendance our friend from Belfast ..Mully.. which explains why you’re having to put up with my words… thanks for asking Matt (thank you very much Sir! EiTC).
Show time and seeing as Andy Miller had thoroughly recommended we should all make the effort to see Ruts dc Myself and Jane got there in plenty of time, I was lucky enough to see the line up in 79-80 with Malcolm on vox and bloody good they were but have not had the pleasure since and Mr Miller you were quite right…they were very good.
Waiting for The MIB I luckily bump into another old friend.. Duncan… only too briefly. It’s packed down the front so we stand quite near the back it looks like another large crowd… it is time…
That superb intro Waltzinblack and straight into the brilliant Raven, which must be in most fans top 5 all time Strangs songs… you all know the set list by now so I won’t go through it all… plenty of highlights Sometimes, Grip… then one I am not really that keen on 15 Steps but credit for something different… Never to look back which I love, a typical JJ track… followed by a quiet 10 mins or so with the hits which did draw big cheers from the crowd.
More highlights for me.. WWTW, great to hear Bear Cage.. great addition to the set… Genetix well done to Jim, for me it is the Jet track but Jim did a sterling Job… 5 Minutes obviously Sewer….. Baz says hope you’ve enjoyed the classic collection… don’t know what the fook it means but here’s the oldest… Go Buddy Go…. then all done with Heroes.
Cracking show from the boys again… never fail to deliver in my eyes.. so it’s back to The Spoons for a few more refreshments and chat with Julie and Darren and with Matt himself.. Thanks again for asking – over and out…
After traversing the fabric of space and time itself, it is with a joyous and uplifted spirit that I put pen to paper (in a virtual sense you understand, actually I’m clacking away on the keys at 40WPM 84% accuracy, thank heavens for the backspace key etc Etc EiTC…
After having subcontracted the main MiB review out to the Stranglers Original Derby62 – (see - Black Friday Part 3), there was a need to provide a separate account of proceedings leading up to the aforementioned…So here goes…
A plasma storm in the time stream forced me to put down in Brixton south London in the year of 2017. Previous commitments meant there was no chance of making it early enough for Straighten Out at the Hope & Anchor (i.e. Black Friday Part 1). So we nipped into the Beehive where we rendezvoused with Sib and Son, Willy, Keith and Dreadinblack. The place was rammed to the rafters with friends and family in black.
An incoming communique from Karl told us he was in the priority queue, sensibly getting in early to setup a vantage point for the evenings events. Without further ado we ventured forth to join him in the good company of Greg and Pidge a quick hello with Author John Dewhirst (who reported on Lincoln, the first night of the tour for this very blog) among others, then we settled near the front by the lovely Andrea longhair.
And before you could say “somethingverylongwindedifitsleftuptomeetcEtcEiTC!” Boom! Ruts DC took the stage.
After a quick hello to the packed auditorium they kicked off the set. In titular deference to the tour of which they are partaking, we were treated to a set of classic Ruts and a healthy smattering of Ruts DC (modern classics)!
The capacity crowd were largely in early to see them too and they responded with gusto. There followed a kind of symbiosis as the crowd and band seemed to feed off each other becoming something more than just entertainers and audience – in some magical Gestalt kind of way!
Once more as per Guildford there was barely room to pack a rizla in the 45 minute slot. However, Segs and Ruffy still managed to have a laugh and a joke with the audience while Leigh was lapping it up especially when he was teasing us on the intro to the magnificent Staring At The Rude Boys. Wonderful!
The musical interlude of In A Rut went in a definite Dr Feelgood kind of direction, perhaps a nod to the company they were keeping the night before in Southend (i.e. Wilko).
All too soon it was all over and we headed off out…
Oh no we didn’t, we stayed put in anticipation of the MiB but that will be dealt with in Black Friday Part 3.
We intercepted, captured and interpreted this incoming transmission as it was broadcast across space and time...
There was talk of Lew and talk from Lou but no time was spent in either Lieu or the Loo etc Etc EiTC...
Presented here for the first time in full...
Sugar tongs primed, refractors tweaked and hair straighteners only just remembered, we’re off to the seaside that is Southend.
A relatively painless manoeuvre negotiating the M25 and its’ allies and we’re at the hotel with the sugar tongs reclining on the window sill gazing out to far horizons, well, the Isle of Sheppy at least…
All spruced up and a wander past the Cliffs Pavilion in the glorious sunset for a quick fish and chip tea and a little libation before heading back for the main event – The Stranglers with Ruts DC supporting.
The Ruts are on as we go in and we’re soon into the rhythm with Jah Wars which I’m reliably informed is all about jam making in the WI, everyday’s a school day eh!? (wf)
In no particular order we also hear In A Rut, Babylon’s Burning and the superb Music Must destroy amongst others (soz, memory’s not what it was and I have got ManFlu!), a perfect set for getting us ready for what’s to come.
The lights dim and Waltzinblack sets off the tingle in me as it does every time I hear it and they’re on! Straight into The Raven and I’m laughing and crying with the sheer joy of just being there and sharing it with like-minded folk.
The band look well and seem to be enjoying this tour so much, there’s something there that has been missing for a few tours, the mojo is in great working order.
A blistering set including one of my all time faves Bear Cage – oh wow, hearing that live is something else! Always great to hear Genetix, liking Freedom a lot this time round too and couldn’t resist providing the missing trumpet backing on Was It You (I always liked that bit of brass).And to really knock the orgasmatron off the scale, on comes Lew Lewis for the encore and belts out Old Codger on his trusty blues harp! Innit!?
All too soon it’s time for NMH and the bright lights of the Pavilion suggest it’s time to gather and go.
Dazed, but certainly not confused, until next time…
The thick fog gave way to a smoky haze which had been a permanent feature since the advent of steam power and the industrial revolution. Dusty street urchins could be seen gathered sheltering in shop doorways huddling together in a vain attempt to escape the clutches of the icy cold breath of the last remnants of Winter.One of these forsaken children had strayed from the group and was to be found with his nose pressed to the window of a local dining establishment, drooling at the fine nourishment on the other side of the glass. It appeared to be simultaneously so close yet so far out of reach…He sighed and thought to himself “Will I ever get to see The Stranglers and Ruts DC on the Classic Collection Tour?”But hope was just around the corner…Shards of light had begun to pierce the dark of Winter’s gloom, accompanied by shoots of green and trees in bloom. The realisation dawned of the auspiciousness of this moment – the Vernal Equinox - when the subsolar point appears to leave the southern hemisphere and cross the celestial equator. The beginning of Spring. And whether it is due to the unique gravitational pull, which is believed to occur at this time of year, or other factors, the increase in available light brings with it hope…The air was crackling with potential…It could be seen, heard, smelt, touched, tasted…“Tonight” he thought “Tonight!”...
Blimey we’re in the third week of March! So… Well, it’s the annual Stranglers Tour innit! So… Well, things are so hectic – Guildford presents the 1st opportunity for EiTC… Go on… And the Ruts DC are supporting this year… Really! Yes! Well what you waiting for? Skates on!…
The mythical mystical city of Guildford beckoned us in, luring, enticing with sensual stimuli – sights, sounds, smells…
…here I chanced upon one of the city’s celebrated daughters Lil who acted as our Sherpa this evening as we once more descended the drunken staircase into the bowels of Glive, whereupon the following phenomena were encountered…
…whoah, ‘old yer ‘orses!
…why of course before descending the staircase we rendezvoused with SiB and Son, stopping off for a quick hello and how do with Messrs Miller and Hegarty and Owen and Jacq among others – there was also a brief hello with The Members JC Carroll…
…Okay as you were!
Thank you…
Review – Ruts DC
… At 7.45pm prompt Ruts DC took the stage and proceeded to stun us with a set rammed to the brim with Ruttishly brilliant nuggets new and old.
There was barely time to draw breath between numbers as they cranked out a superb upbeat uplifting set with apparent ease barely breaking a sweat.
Guitarist Leigh Heggarty was on fire tonight as he ascended from being merely in the zone to a whole new previously undefined level of six string skilfulness while providing some excellent BVs!
Frontman/Bassist Segs was clearly cooler than an extremely cool thing as he quipped with the crowd and his bandmates and demonstrated unrivalled skill in his ability to simultaneously lay down the (serious) bass and sing.
Master Skins-man Dave Ruffy – a joy to watch perform – with the outward grace of a swan gliding across a calm pond – the onlooker unaware of the unseen effort occurring just below the surface – creating a kind of disparity between what you are seeing and what you are hearing. Peerless, effortless (apparently) and brilliant!
That’s the three constituent parts – enough on their own – but add the Aristotelian metaphysical summing of the whole and the resultant greatness is nothing less than magic!
Not a single second of their 45 minutes was wasted – absolutely superb! The classic Ruts tracks were well represented as was the new album Music Must Destroy. Highlight for EiTC was the mightiest ever rendition of Mighty Soldier (but also in fact just being there for a great set).
The sound tonight was magnificent.
Blinding!
And kudos and much gratitude to The Stranglers for having the balls to put such a fantastic support act on the bill!
Well how can you follow that?
Well there’s only one way to follow that…
Review – The Stranglers.
Mr Brown?
Yes!
Your prescription is ready.
Just what the Doctor ordered…
Cue Waltzinblack and enter stage left and right The Stranglers.
The Raven started off proceedings sounding tight and right with all elements crystal clear and perfectly synchronized.
The nice thing about catching them this far into the tour (third week), is just how tight the band are. The early bugs and sound problems have largely been ironed out and this is the best sound I’ve witnessed at Glive. The vocals and BVs sounded great tonight!
The band were clearly enjoying the themselves and this enjoyment naturally rubs off on the crowd.
Tonight JJ was in his element as he interacted with crowd while playing, mouthing suggestive comments to the more nubile parts of the audience or mouthing in my general direction how good Jim is, as I was gawping at him (or so it was perceived at the time). All the while never dropping a note. During Golden Brown he was raising a chuckle with his affected almost balletic dancing. At one point, someone held up their young son near the front to which JJ quickly responded, “he’s not mine!” A broad grin, excellent vocals, killer bass lines and more than a sprinkling of menace – in his element!
Meanwhile, his partner in crime Baz was on fine form serving up the classics alongside the more recent with a firm hand, a cheeky grin and a twinkle in his eye, all with the requisite good pinch of menace. On the classic Mk1 songs, while always faithful to the original, he’s never afraid to imprint some of his own personality into the mix as well and that works brilliantly. On Strange Little Girl for example, his (and the bands) delivery is great – Baz’s voice shines on this tonight while the guitar work on the solo with the flange type effect is fitting and authentic.
Dave delivers! Grinning like the lovable demonic keyboard wizard that he is. A joy to behold with the eyes and the ears. The keys are clearer to these ears than they’ve been for some while, particularly the organ sounds. The solo of Walk on By was well and truly nailed! A transcendental experience. Brilliant vocal delivery on Genetix and on BV duties. Dave delivers!
Jim! JJ is right! We’ve heard about the DVD mentoring from the live-retired drum master and founding father Jet Black… Which is fab – they’re big shoes to fill… Jim fills them exceptionally well, pouring every ounce of his being into the performance, including BVs. Now he’s tackling Genetix too. In terms of shed building this guys got it nailed. I was transfixed during 5 minutes, by the power and energy of Jim’s playing, superb! For sheer presence alone he registers a 9 on the Richter scale of menace.
The set tonight (and on the tour) is great and really does seem to strike a balance between what they feel dutybound to play (GB, ATS, Peaches, NMH) and what they want to play or what they throw in as a surprise.
The MiB are firing on all cylinders, interacting with each other and the crowd and playing out of their skins. At one point Baz teases the punters up on the balcony with his (surprisingly good) mock Surrey genteel accent! We are also treated to the ‘Get on with it!’ routine where they down tools and have a beer as an indignant reaction to an impatient punter, which makes for a good bit of theatrical comedy. I can understand some people complaining about this if they’ve been to several gigs on the tour but what the heck it’s all good humoured, a bit of light hearted fun.
Highlights too numerous to mention so I’ll try to narrow it down; Bear Cage – Superb! (only ever saw this live in 1980 with Ian Dury on vocal duty IIRC…), 5 Minutes – off the scale! Down in The Sewer – menacing magnificence! Go Buddy Go – unsurpassed! Who Wants The World – Trump/Putin! I could continue but won’t as hopefully by now you get the picture…
Finally at zero hour a brief pause in proceedings as Baz takes the time to dedicate No More Heroes to the recently deceased local fan Anton De Croft, touching!
While Chuck Berry replaces Sancho Panza…
A top night!
If you’ve not done so, make sure you catch one of the remaining dates on this tour, you will not be disappointed!
For me tonight the whole concert experience is akin to having one’s soul re-aligned. Sublime!
Sugar Tongs aside, EiTC is yet to make it to the classic collection tour!!!
Birmingham is always a blast but YT will have to wait...
Fortunately Gizzard was there and brings us this account of the evening...
15 STEPS TO BIRMINGHAM
Here we are all again, March is upon us and it’s the annual Stranglers tour of the UK, still no news of a new album(it’s in the pipeline we hear…?) The tour is called ‘The Classic Collection’, does this mean a new range of clothing or the ‘greatest hits’? We are promised ‘new old’ tracks in pre tour interviews so it looks promising and also a set change every night…
My interest in seeing the band live has waned over the last 3 or so years, they will always be my favourite band without question and in 158 gigs I have only come away really disappointed once(AITUK Birmingham 2005), from a personal point of view I think seeing them so many times has took the edge off, plus the same ‘hits’ and the lack of new material hasn’t helped, so now each tour 2 or 3 gigs max instead of previously 7 or 8.
I have never been one for not wanting to see the set list before I go to a gig, so after the first gig I want to know, I had seen what was being played and to be honest it didn’t really ‘excite’ me, the only real standouts were ‘Bear Cage’ and ‘15 Steps’ and that was because I had never seen them performed live. There were other songs I was pleased to see back but there were also a few that I have heard/seen played to death but hey you can’t please everyone…..
So I leave home around late afternoon in my new 17 plate Black automobile, plenty of CD’s for the journey, starting with a live recording of Toronto 1980, hells fire it must have been good to see them then!
And so to Birmingham, always liked seeing the band there as it’s always a very healthy and appreciative crowd and this time was no exception, before the actual gig there was a fine meet up of black clad people old and new in the nearby Railway pub, always good to meet up with old faces and new.
And onto the gig, wanted to get in early to check out the Ruts DC, have never seen them before but have their albums and have heard good reports so was keen to check them out, by the time they came on at around 7.45 there was a very healthy crowd and they didn’t disappoint, the set was a mixture of old tracks and new ones from their very fine album ‘Music Must Destroy’, highlights for me being the title track and of course the oldies ‘Jah War’, Staring At The Rude Boys’ and ‘Babylons Burning’.
And so to the main event, the place was now rammed and it was very hot, the lights go down and the familiar WIB comes out of the PA and we are off, have to say the new stage set up of the bricks doesn’t do anything for me, a plain black background with the white or red logo would suffice.
JJ looks in fine form(hope I look that good at 65), he actually seems to look younger each tour, the sound is spot on and the hits are rattled through, highlights were for me are ‘Never To Look Back’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘WWTW’ and of course ‘Sewer’, ‘Bear cage’ was very good but I thought it might be better vocal wise.
Both Baz and Dave are on fine form but the keyboards in certain songs don’t sound right, they sound very ‘plonky(is that even a word..?) and he even partly misses singing one of the lines of ‘Genetix’.
Jim does a fine job on the drums but to me it doesn’t look right without the mighty presence of JB and his drum kit, I know that is not going to change but that’s my opinion and in no way takes away the fact that Jim does a very good job and is a fine drummer.On a personal note whilst I was looking forward to seeing the band again I was not as excited as I have been in previous years, as noted above live interest has slightly diminished, that said I really enjoyed the gig, the band are playing as tight as ever and the future however long that may be looks just good for them, although I want to hear new material, I may be in the minority here as the average Stranglers gig goers will only want to hear the old material but not me, it’s been a long time since ‘Giants’ and a new album is well overdue, I would also like to hear some different ‘older’ tracks and more stuff post Hugh, this though has been and will continue to be debated for as long as the band continue and probably further.
To sum up another fine live performance in the company of good people, now FFS get that new material out!!
