Sparse attendances have been reported at a few gigs this summer and the Laneway Festival sideshow for Born Ruffians was another to add to that list.  The venue was nowhere near capacity and as a result the atmosphere wasn’t one of fervent anticipation for a band widely considered as one of the bright new indie talents of 2008.

Hailing from The Blue Mountains, Cloud Control graced the stage first and they won the crowd over with their clean and twee pop songs.  They tread a similar upbeat and whimsical path to Belle And Sebastian and The Shins with their boy/girl harmonies and an almost 60s backbeat.  The bass playing of Jeremy Kelshaw was one of the bands strongest assets with his tight and punchy melodic lines. They utilised a nice change of pace on “Into The Line’ by pulling the sugary rush back into a much darker hypnotic place.  The vocals drifted hazily and it showed they have a nice range and variety in their songwriting.

As the curtains parted it became clear that Born Ruffians were a young band.  Fresh faced and assured in the way that the early 20s enables you to feel.  Unfortunately from the start there were problems that prevented them from really firing and igniting excitement in the crowd.  Primarily the issues were technical with Luke Lalonde’s guitar virtually inaudible for the first few songs. It sounded like it was being played through a cheap 20 watt practice amp and it left the songs with an empty feeling, just loud bass and dry drums underpinning the stranded voice of Lalonde.

A generous guitar replacement from Cloud Control improved things slightly but the guitar was still mixed way too low to give the songs the deserved twitch and punch that has become the calling card of Born Ruffians.  It was a shame as the flashes of guitar that did translate were tantalisingly interesting in the way they incorporated a range of influences from African, jazz, ska and post punk.

The Ruffians played a selection of tracks from last year’s Red, Yellow and Blue as well as songs from their first 2006 EP and a couple of new ones that continued in much the same vein as the album.  Standouts came in the latter half of their set with “I Need A Life’ inciting a mass singalong.  With its Modest Mouse backing vocals and straighter delivery it was the most accessible song of the night.  The single ‘Hummingbird’ which received the biggest response due to its airplay and inclusion on a TV ad encapsulates the best of what Born Ruffians do.  The quirky percussion and Violent Femmes-like bassline bite and dodge the shadows behind the yelps and hiccups of Lalonde to great effect.

What could have been an energetic and rapturous show from Born Ruffians instead felt like a good show but nothing to rave about to your friends the next day. The technical issues should have been resolved quickly as they contributed to the flatness of the night. Even the band commented on the gulf between them and the audience and made quips about the lack of dancing and a somewhat sarcastic remark about the crowd “going apeshit”. The lack of a cohesive sound left this reviewer with thoughts of Presidents Of The USA or They Might Be Giants singing the theme to Malcolm In The Middle. Let’s hope they can erase the memories of an average night and live up to the hype of their album with a galvanising performance at the Laneway Festival.