Born Ruffians Put On Joyful Show

Original Dutch review on internetkilledtheradiostar.blog.comThe name is somewhat misleading, because a “ruffian” surely is someone a bit rebellious. So you would expect rebellious music, or in any case lines more rebellious than the sweet “Make a point of having fun, it’ll help you get through life.” But for the people who know what is to come, and one can assume that especially in Holland people do not flock to a band based on its band name and then expect something accordingly to it, an evening of delightful indie pop is waiting.Because that is what Born Ruffians are capable of. The Canadian threesome plays hooky, catchy songs with a cheerful twist. They are often compared to their Brooklyn colleagues Vampire Weekend. Like a lot of new bands Born Ruffians haven’t only looked at the latest lad rock or pop bands, but instead is also heavily influenced by world music and especially jazz. The bass lines especially have a strong jazzy feel to them. Add to that the fitting voice of singer Luke LaLonde, and the intention to vary musically, and then you have Red, Yellow, and Blue, the debut of the three men filled with eleven catchy, colourful songs.The live set in the small hall of Paradiso, where the usual suspects have gathered, starts like the album with the more quiet ‘Red, Yellow, and Blue’, which is opener for a reason. “If I started my own country, for the flag what colours would I use?”, asks Luke LaLonde out loud. It already is an indication of what kind of band Born Ruffians really is. It is a bit of artsy indie, with a sense of some sort of whimsical escapism. With that said, the gentlemen do not retract into a world of feeble dreams completely, which you can see from the fact that they quote and name a song after Kurt Vonnegut, who was a sharp satirist best known for his “Slaughterhouse- Five.” Having brains has finally become cool and people are not afraid to show it.Naturally, Born Ruffians in Paradiso is not a reading, because the foremost thing is of course their breezy songs. Hooky and catchy they make music that is easy on the ear to which you can bob along. Maybe the strongest point is the call-and-response they put in the songs, where Luke LaLonde sings something, which is then followed by a response from Mitch De Rosier and Steve Hamelin, who thus can sing as well. The song where you can hear this the best is probably the closer ‘I Need A Life’, where in the chorus the singer sings a line which is followed by the combined voices of Mitch and Steve who holler “Oh but we go out at night”. But also on the afore mentioned ‘Kurt Vonnegut’ you can hear this method. That ‘I Need A Life’ is the closer of the regular set (they would return to play a cover) is not that strange, because it perhaps is their most catchy and dancy tune.But not only the catchy songs are well taken care of, also the more quiet songs are played well, like ‘Foxes Mate For Life’. Or the breezily hopping ‘Little Garçon’, which live is surprisingly pleasant. Born Ruffians show a lot of variety in their repertoire. They even put emphasis on that with their more elaborate instrumental play live, which is neatly taken care of. Perhaps the only problem with the show is that sometimes mid-song they change from their catchy tune to uncomfortably jazzy rather abruptly. Anyone who is a bit familiar with Jazz knows that in some of the genres you have rather uncomfortable instrumental intermezzos, which the gentlemen here to a lesser extent do as well. Now that is not per definition a bad thing, but the problem is the contrast, as the catchiness suddenly is gone. Also, the music might just sound a bit too light, which might have people put them in the whimsical pop category. However, these are minor concerns, because the band puts on a very nice show with cheerful, well played songs. The drummer also gets the audience smiling when he asks if people in the room came from the Kane gig downstairs. Kane is a Dutch band which probably most members in the audience at Born Ruffians won’t get all that enthusiastic about. So when no one reacts, the drummer says “good”, to which the audience immediately thinks because he thought they were pretty shit. Which is cause for a bit of hilarity and a lot of agreement. Steve however is quick to say that he is just happy that the audience actually came for them. And deservedly so, because Born Ruffians played a good gig. Who was not convinced by their album and didn’t quite understand all the hoopla for this band might just have changed his or her mind after the concert. Because really, not a lot went wrong, and Born Ruffians made it into a joyful night that made everyone leave with a smile. So the mystery as to why they get so much attention in the blogosphere has been solved tonight, which means that the only mystery remaining is why the bass player’s t-shirt had one women’s sleeve, and one men’s sleeve.