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WBRU Spring Fling |
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WBRU Spring Fling |
The WBRU Spring Fling - w/ Ruby, Black Grape, Goldfinger, and a whole lotta other bands I only saw do a few songs, but none were as bad as Black Grape.
Sorry to start this review off with a Black Grape insult, but I honestly can't remember some of the band names, and everybody who went knows Black Grape did kinda suck, so tough it out. Goldfinger, Schtum, and Ruby were excellent. Goldfinger was the surprise of the night and their set was bested only by Ruby in my opinion.
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Ruby (aka Lesley Rankine) was really good once she got the keyboard hooked up and working. People have been calling her the "female Trent Reznor" because her new CD "Salt Peter" is a basement mix done without a band, and she's hired a band to do what the machines did on the CD. Ruby- the band- consisted of Leslie on vocals and guitar, David Fawcett on drums, Chris Taplin on bass, and Sharon Dougherty (no relation) on guitar/keyboards. Their sound is called trip-hop, but it really seemed to be more of an industrial-techno-trip-hop-kinda groove. The songs aren't as happy sounding as most trip-hop, but some did have a trippy backbeat. "Salt Peter" already has one hit- the bouncy "Tiny Meat," which people think is about the dreaded PENIS word. In fact its not about the meat in question, but instead is about "the inability to tell love from lust," according to Lesley. |
Although "Tiny Meat" was the song everybody knew, Ruby still rocked the house pretty good. Lesley was really friendly with the folks, and her band members seemed to be having a really great time. Faster songs like "Saltwater," and "Flippin the Bird," really got the people dancing. Most people didn't know Lesley from any of her other bands - Pigface and Silverfish, but her style instantly grabs you and makes you pay attention. This might be because almost every song is about sex or death, but who cares as long as you can dance to it.
Ruby did have a surprise for anybody who came to see a babe sing dance music. Her PR photos show a sultry looking woman, but leave out her mini-beer gut. After the second song she ditched her cropped coat and let the sucker hang. It was a beautiful move, and one that got rid of the girl-band groopies, that breed of men who go to girl group shows praying to see some ass.
Ruby let her talent do the talking and won everybody over. Those who didn't have the CD talked about buying it, while those who already had it stood around acting smug.
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It was hard for me to see the bands in the Met Cafe because it was packed. People were psyched to see Schtumm and Velocity Girl so it got packed fast. Sorry I didn't get to take pictures and stuff, but don't worry these bands will be back and probably playing their own shows soon. Goldfinger was some awesome ska-punk from the West Coast. The guys in the band were having so much fun that it was impossible not to dance. John, the lead singer jumped around and really got the crowd to participate. This is their first East Coast tour and they were a little surprised that people liked them so much. Go see them, and go see Ruby too. I don't recommend Black Grape, but maybe its because their sound system sucked. They just didn't have anything new to offer in the two-guys-with-cordless-microphones genre. I was bored. The best part of their being in Providence was the fight the drummer got into after their set, at least that made me want to watch them. |
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