I am on my way to Mod Club and I am determined not to miss “the huddle.”
The huddle, you should know, signifies the end of the rambling conversations and drink-ordering at a Born Ruffians gig. Heads turn as an intro tape plays and three young guys join together around one microphone set in the middle of the stage and begin to sing in a round. “Bless your sacred heart, for when we are apart, I always wanna start all over again.” And thus begins another Born Ruffians concert.
Let’s go back a few months. I first saw Born Ruffians play at the Virgin Festival on the Toronto islands on September 10. There, at two o’clock in the afternoon, as people were still pouring off the ferry, the band managed to win over an unsuspecting audience with their mixture of irresistible hooks and offbeat charm. Compared to some of the other bands I saw that day (Thrice playing one of the most boring, godawful sets I’ve ever seen), Born Ruffians seemed absolutely right for the place and time. They were young, fresh and didn’t take themselves too seriously (in the best possible way-I don’t mean like Bowling For Soup). They practically glistened on stage, and the audience felt the attraction and showed their appreciation with hearty rounds of applause and whooping.
At The Mod Club I watched the band turn another set of onlookers-dreading the thought of having to wade through the mediocrity of some crappy opening act before the night’s electro-pop headliners Hot Chip-into legions of devout smilers and head-nodders. What is remarkable is how much energy the three of them generate on stage.
Something we are not seeing a lot of in Canada at the moment is the power trio, which seems to have been replaced by having scores of people in one band. Clear purveyors of this collective-band idea are Broken Social Scene, Arcade Fire and up-and-coming locals Ohbijou. While Born Ruffians could never be called minimalist, they serve up their music raw and lean, and like a 50s backing band they’re straight to the point. But the band refute the notion that they’re trying to prove anything by scaling down their music to the basic elements of guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
“I would like to eventually, naturally grow,” says Luke LaLonde, the Ruffians’ guitarist and singer. “But that would be out of necessity if we start writing and recording songs where we need another person to play. We’re not afraid to add members, we’re not a strict three.”
“But the three works really well songwriting-wise,” counters drummer Steve Hamelin, “so it would only grow if it didn’t interfere with how we wrote songs.” LaLonde resigns and confides in me later that two people have come up to him on this tour with Hot Chip and said that the band would be improved with the addition of another musician. Perhaps they’re just being modest, but I somehow feel that both the band and the people who suggested the change underestimate the Born Ruffians’ closeness as a three piece.
The huddle aside (there is a genuinely touching moment tonight when the trio cracks up around the microphone and LaLonde pats Hamelin on the back of the head), the three of them all gave up university to continue with the band, and all three share an apartment in Toronto. They’ve known each other since at least high school (bassist Mitch DeRosier and LaLonde are cousins) and are fairly new to living in Toronto, having grown up in Midland.
You can feel their collective spirit when they talk. They tease each other like brothers and appear to have the tacit appreciation that they are onto something big. For an outsider looking in, it seems as though the three of them stand united against the world, a necessary trait for a support act constantly facing crowds to whom they are but an obstacle in the way of the band they’ve paid to see.
After this tour with Hot Chip, the Born Ruffians will be afforded one week off before continuing into a U.S. and Western Canada tour with queer-folk-rockers The Hidden Cameras.
Asked whether they were getting bored with the huge numbers of shows they’re playing, Hamelin replies, “Playing your songs to a new audience, you get rejuvenated. I can’t stand bands who moan about being on tour.” What is most endearing about the band is how personable they are. They give the impression of being three kids who have just happened upon their talent.
Just this past August the Ruffians inked record deals with international imprints Warp and XL, making the barely-legal Midland boys label-mates with Jack White, Maximo Park and Tapes ‘n Tapes. This, then, is a genuine “watch this space” moment.
