{"id":174,"date":"2013-12-02T14:23:42","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T14:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/?p=174"},"modified":"2015-11-02T12:47:21","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T12:47:21","slug":"gig-review-the-damned-and-ruts-dc-leamington-assembly-30th-november-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/gig-review-the-damned-and-ruts-dc-leamington-assembly-30th-november-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Gig review – The Damned and Ruts DC \u2013 Leamington Assembly \u2013 30th November 2013."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Damned and Ruts DC \u2013 Leamington Assembly \u2013 30th<\/span><\/sup> November 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"damned\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We have witnessed much activity in the time streams this weekend. The time machine seemed to be suffering from a problem with its navigation unit which was later traced to a faulty hinge on the sugar tongs. We set the dial for 1979 but after experiencing interference at the M40\/Junction 16 triangle (believed to be linked with the mysterious disappearances of many a time traveller succumbing to the call of Space Sirens!), we eventually landed in Royal Leamington Spa. In what appeared to be yet another fracture in the space time continuum. <\/span><\/p>\n

We found ourselves in a kind of disjointed\u00a0future-past-present! Fluctuating between 2013 and 34 years earlier in 1979!<\/span><\/p>\n

First we took refuge at the hostelry known as the Jug and Jester where we encountered many fellow time travellers and the tribe of the damned mingled with the tribe in black in anticipation of what was to follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

My sibling in black and I journeyed to India, where we found sustenance and then we re-joined the tribes before reassembling in the 1920s at The Assembly.<\/span><\/p>\n

On arrival, we made our way to the barrier that protected us from the spectacle we were about to behold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ruts DC came on stage at 7.40 and soothed us with their patented brand of Cool Reggae inspired Punk. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kicking off with \u2018Mighty Soldier\u2019, our ears were caressed and our limbs were forced out of their atrophied state by the rock-solid rhythm section of (original Ruts) Dave Ruffy and Segs.\u00a0In\u00a0combination\u00a0with the tasteful guitar work from Leigh Heggarty and sweet tones of singer percussionist Molara, we were treated to a musical performance of the highest calibre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Particularly impressive were both the skill of Segs, in his ability to sing while simultaneously tackling some tricky bass parts. And that of Dave Ruffy who played brilliantly, perfectly recreating his energetic and complex Ruts drum patterns in an effortless manner without appearing to break a sweat!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"rutsdc\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In an impromptu change to the set they played the brilliant \u201cLove in Vain\u201d much to the crowds delight. \u00a0<\/span>Throughout the set the audience was gradually growing and the response was very positive. <\/span><\/p>\n

Captain Sensible was spotted watching the last few numbers from the side-lines as they finished with a strong flurry of Ruts classics \u2013 \u201cStaring at The Rude Boys\u201d, \u201cWest One Shine on Me\u201d, \u201cBabylon\u2019s Burning\u201d and \u201cIn a Rut\u201d. Top Stuff!<\/span><\/p>\n

After a fashion, and before we knew what hit us, The Damned threw a complete curve ball by opening their set with the darkly atmospheric \u201cSanctum Sanctorum\u201d from 1985\u2019s Phantasmagoria, stunning! Then they went straight into the rockers with another curve ball \u201cDon\u2019t Cry Wolf\u201d, from the often overlooked Music for Pleasure, tonight it is sounding better than ever.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Given they have such a vast back catalogue to draw from, The Damned never fail to (pleasantly) surprise with their choice of set list material. And tonight is no exception, they are on top form! Inspiring alliterations all over the shop what with Vanian\u2019s Velvet Voice and Captain\u2019s Crucial Chops (nearly\u2026), Pinch\u2019s pounding percussion, Monty\u2019s Masterful meanderings and Stu\u2019s Stonking Stringwork!<\/span><\/p>\n

They throw in another number from the\u00a0MFP era\u00a0\u201cSick of being Sick\u201d. From The Black Album we got \u201cLively Arts\u201d flawlessly seguing into \u201cSilly Kids Games\u201d. There were a few from Strawberries \u2013 \u201cIgnite\u201d, \u201cGenerals\u201d, and \u201cStranger on The Town\u201d. \u00a0<\/span>From Phantasmagoria we were also given \u201c8th<\/span><\/sup> Day\u201d. The modern era was skimmed over tonight, with the only example being \u201cSong.com\u201d from the brilliant Grave Disorder. From MGE we got \u201c2nd<\/span><\/sup> Time Around\u201d. And more!<\/span><\/p>\n

The classics were there of course, \u201cSmash it up\u201d, \u201cNeat Neat Neat\u201d, \u201cLove Song\u201d and \u201cI Just Can\u2019t Be Happy Today\u201d! Another bonus was the revival of \u201cBallroom Blitz\u201d During the encore. All executed deftly with subtle twists, nuances and stagecraft in abundance, plus the odd Dalek thrown in for good measure\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\"damnlek\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026Back to temporal matters – We are so lucky to have this band in their fifth decade of existence consistently delivering the goods. A few of us tonight were celebrating the 34th<\/span><\/sup> anniversary of first seeing the Damned in 1979 on the MGE tour at the Rainbow Theatre in London. All of which beggars the question \u201cWhere does it all go?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If you get a chance I strongly urge that you catch this brilliant pairing of bands in a theatre near you soon!<\/span><\/p>\n

Must dash, the new hinge has been installed and we\u2019re off back to 2013\u2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S. thanks to Mr Final for proof reading \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Damned and Ruts DC \u2013 Leamington Assembly \u2013 30th November 2013. We have witnessed much activity in the time streams this weekend. The time machine seemed to be suffering from a problem with its navigation unit which was later traced to a faulty hinge on the sugar tongs. We set the dial for 1979 … Continue reading Gig review – The Damned and Ruts DC \u2013 Leamington Assembly \u2013 30th November 2013.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,17,4,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2013-archive","category-its-the-damned-category","category-eitcs-views-and-reviews-on-music-and-maybe-life-in-general-from-time-to-time","category-its-the-ruts-dc-category"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1477,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eitc.elvisintheclouds.co.uk\/eitc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}