of Ruffians and Rivals

in a ridiculously near the exams but aw-screw-it-lets-go-ahead-anyway kind of move, i joined the brothre for two days in London to see Born Ruffians play two gigs in the vicinity of Shoreditch. Tuesday's was in the vice-y enclaves of the Old Blue Last, while tonight's (im back in Cambridge now, but my ears are ringing still!) was at a truly demented place outside Hoxton called the Hobby Horse.

in between we managed to get to the Monocle shop, Saville Row and Brick Lane, make repeated frozen yoghurt stops and visit the financial district, where we counted how many wideboys weren't wearing ties (lots, though there's a strong parallel trend towards bright red ties, too). good times, good times. for 48 hours, i was almost completely able to forget about tragedy, Walt Whitman and Soren Kierkegaard.

we were very kindly put up at the aunt and oncle's new place. its exactly the same as the old place, only a little bit narrower, and you get off at Balham instead of Clapham South. oh and on the walk to the station there's this truly amazing sign:

this poster was on a wall in Shoreditch (you can tell be the elaborate graffiti behind it). i really love the idea that in a massive stadium somewhere in London, once a month, people pay to see the guy with two croquet mallets fight the guy in the Athenian war helmet.

what's a trip to London without greasy spoon nosh? ok i never have, and most likely will never eat 'magnificent' sish kebabs or 'gorgeous' koftes with chips. but this place really did have style. i never got pictures, but inside the walls were covered in painted murals of pin-up girls and sailors, and in the background you could hear an episode of Eastenders playing at full blast, ostensibly on repeat all day. the proprietor and lone worker/chef/waiter was this middle-aged old cockney Turkish dude. i gather he made all the signs himself, too:

should you be in the mood for something more battered and exotic, theres always 'FKCF'. fried chicken! kebabs! FISH!!!!!!!

it took many tube stops and a bus, but we finally pitched up at the Hobby Horse a little after its scheduled start, only to find the band still soundchecking. so we ended up at 'THE RUSSIAN' for a short while. isnt the outside just magnificent? the inside was gammy and dark and staffed by monsyllabic authentic Russians. it looked like a strip club one might find on holiday in Crete.

when we eventually got in to the venue the ticket-collecting girl remembered us:) also they don't seem to ID anywhere in London, which accounts for the emo-ish jungvolk i saw up front at both gigs. the bar was decked out with a horse theme. rocking horses, a massive stuffed horse above the door, a model horse on stage, painted portraits of horses on the walls. odd, very odd, but also unpretentious and friendly.

the Ruffians turned out to be anything but. they're polite, wifebeater-wearing types with a fondness for Raekwon and WWF wrestling. they also have the best onstage rhythm and all-round good vibes i've ever seen. we saw them on the first dates of their European tour, and you could tell they were excited to be there. the set, including old and new songs (and two encores at teh Hobby Horse gig!), was amazingly, ridiculously polished. it's only live you realise how energetic their music is- way more old school rock'n'roll than i remembered, and with hilarious tinny jamaican keyboard lines. oh and lots of howling and shouting- their lead singer, who goes by Luke Lalond, has a voice that goes from scratchy blues to high-pitched whistling and harmonies in a matter of seconds. oh and the drums. wow. and their amazing blogging bassist. THEY'RE ALL GREAT! i'm still buzzing. brilliant, yar.

here are two dodgy videos, which probably won't nearly do them justice (the support act, Young Rivals from Canada, were also wundershowzen. they deserve to go big, or at least attain NME, Peaches Geldof-dating levels of fame). fun fun fun, and well worth leaving the books at home for.

oh but we go out at night...

ps. WE GOT A SHOUT-OUT! no joke. the Ruffians shouted us out. yay!