This post should be read in conjunction with the review of the earlier gig that the band played at the Garage in London (here). Tonight's gig was the penultimate date of the current tour. The venue is an odd one, but I like it. MASH, tucked away in a corner of central Cambridge, is first and foremost a night club, one that occasionally puts on gigs. As such, the lay out is not so conducive to live gigs in the way the room is sectioned off. Nevertheless, get to the front of the tiny stage and you're laughing.
As I mentioned, this was a Saturday night in a student town, which meant club night! I love a club night because that means an early door time and a curfew that is significantly earlier than 11 pm. Call it a sign of getting old, I don't care! Tonight the doors were due to open at 6.30, the queue lengthened and 7pm came and went, then 7.30.... wait, the band were due on at 7.45 and there was a support. By this time, the queue included everyone that was going to the gig. No pun intended, but IT WAS COLD! The entertainment provided by groups of inappropriately dressed girls and gangs of young men in Christmas jumpers and skin tight trousers passing by enroute to the bar next door wore thin quite quickly as feet started to numb. Word travelled down the queue that multiple technical issues were keeping the doors to the venue closed.
Eventually we were granted access. Support came in the form of Chris Pope of The Chords, whose set was cut short in an attempt to claw back some show time for the headliners. On then with Ruts DC. Ruffy's new drum kit (of which he is inordinately proud) took centre stage... and most of stage left and stage right too, such are the proportions of the MASH stage!
This was no problem though really, it just meant that Leigh and Segs were a little more restricted in where they could go on the stage... nowhere basically. This did not have any impact on the music though. And, if there were significant sound issues then they were lost on this cloth-earned writer. My friend, Trevor (thanks for the photos!), mentioned in his Facebook post on the gig that the sound was good, but the lighting less so. I'll go with that then (the recording certainly sounds good!). As was the case with the London gig a week earlier, the set was unusually long for Ruts DC, this allowed then to acknowledge the 45th anniversary of the 'Grin and Bear It' album with renditions of 'Demolition Dancing' and 'Secret Soldier'.
I won't pontificate further on the set. Download it and hear it yourself. Thanks to Chatts for sharing this great very intimate gig.
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-gOSwZ8BbuR
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-56CfIQoGaV
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