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rubyhorse
rubyhorse
November 17, 2000 @ Axis
 With a rock and roll look borrowed from the likes of Led Zewppelin and The
Sex Pistols and a sound mixing the original Beatles and their
self-proposed followers, a revived Rubyhorse returned to their adopted
home to show the Boston fans what they’ve been up to during their visit to
major label land. Though much of the vocals were lost in a muddy mix the
band seemed unable to shake, the attitude was clear above the din. From the
splashy percussion and hummy feedback of “Happy in the Sunshine” to the
key-swirled pop pulse of “Teenage Distraction,” the band worked hard,
trying to cut through the carboned smoke and sooty sound. A rocked-up
version of “Touch and Go” showed that the song does not always remain the
same and the acousticized musical Oasis of “Any Day Now” and the Beatle-d
sample slides of “Punch Drunk” renewed the set, despite spikes of noise in
the latter selection. “Baby Blue” marked the band’s return to pure hook
rock from which not even the U2-step “Horses” could pull them away. The
Floydian scent of “Lavender” definitely did not induce sleep, but a clever
cover of Frankie Vallie closed the set with a pint of Guiness piss and
malt vinegar, proving the boys were back for another round.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 2000 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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rubyhorse
July 7, 1999 @ The Burren, Somerville, MA
 Months have passed sine this handful of Irish upstarts came to sleep on
the floors and play in the back rooms of Greater Boston, and the band has
matured well without losing their defiant scrappy drive. Fronted by a
well-handled pedaled acoustic and a bubbly picked bass over sparkly
drawled drums and chripy keys which were often drowned by the rest of the
rig, Rubyhorse’s charismatic front man Dave Farrell (who reminded some of
a slimmer, younger RobThomas)offered slightly laryngitic vocals with a
gentle Liverpool lilt. Not overly energetic, the band was still
professionally consistent, replacing their infamous stage antics with a
restrained focus on buoyant melodies. Covers and references included The
Beatles’s “Octoups’s Garden” (featuring a fitting Rickenbacker bass line)
Van’s “Here Comes The Night,” Fatboy’s “Praise You,” A Stone-y shanty, a
Blur-red “woo-hoo” chorus and a Frankie Vallie encore which fell into a
traditional football chant. .
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1999 M. S. Robinson, ARR
CD Review...
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