It was a few minutes after 7 p.m. on Nov. 5, and the Iron Horse was only half-full. Patrons picked at the last few fries on their plates as conversations carried across the quiet hall. Then five young men hopped on stage and the crowd broke into applause.
Northampton natives The Sun Parade opened for Born Ruffians with a fast-paced, unnamed jam from their upcoming LP. The young band grabbed the hall’s attention for their 40 minute set. Clad in plenty of plaid and a hat like that of the Lumineers’ Wesley Shultz, lead vocalist Chris Jennings led the band in a rousing, yet intimate, jam session.
Born Ruffians, an indie rock quartet from Canada, carried the torch just past 8 p.m., following an excellent outing from The Sun Parade. The crowd bobbed in anticipation during the gap between sets. More fans packed the floor.
The Ruffians took the stage to applause befitting a much larger audience than they had that Tuesday. In their nine years, the Toronto band has garnered a large cult following spread across both Canada and the United States, despite never achieving remarkable commercial or critical success.
The concert promoted their newest LP, “Birthmarks,” which dropped back on April 16. The album was headlined with new tracks like “6-5000,” “Too Soaked to Break” and “Ocean’s Deep.” The new songs caught on quickly, most of the audience knowing the words of “6-5000.”
Following the opening track, front man Luke Lalonde requested the lights be lowered, quipping how nervous he was now that he could see the whole audience. The lights faded away. Only the backdrop of their album cover, three triangles and a slash, illuminated the hall, pulsing a continuously shifting palette of warm greens and reds and violets. The lighting threw a hypnotic spotlight on the band and doused the rest of the hall in shadow, suggesting an experience both central and remote.
After a few new tracks, the Ruffians dived back in time, playing favorites like “Retard Canard” and “Nova-Leigh.” The concert reached a fever pitch with “I Need a Life,” the place trembled with a massive choir chanting, “Oh, but we go out at night!”
Song transitions varied from dead silent with little acknowledgement of the audience to playful jabs at the upcoming Latin night at Iron Horse. Despite a low priority for crowd engagement, the band came alive during tracks.
Bassist Mitch DeRosier was the most vocal, joking that their Latin dance song was coming up for those in attendance only for Latin night. DeRosier also heeded Christopher Walken’s advice from the “More Cowbell” sketch and truly explored the space of the stage, grooving back and forth between the audience and drummer Steve Hamelin.
The bassist added immense character to the concert and set himself apart from the common flatfooted bassist. He was consistently the funniest and most vocal member of the Ruffians.
The band nailed “Permanent Hesitation,” a new track that’s part up-tempo rock jam, part synth locomotive.
Born Ruffians closed the show with the biggest crowd pleaser, “Needle,” which has the familiarity of old favorites like “Oh Man,” but with a newer, more developed sound.
Newcomers might have been slightly lost, as the band rarely introduced songs and only briefly mentioned the new album, “Birthmarks.” Even so, some transitions proved to be entertaining, like when Lalonde’s solitary, thunderous strumming broke into an upbeat rendition of “With Her Shadow.”
The Ruffians played an even mix of old classics and new hits Tuesday. The Toronto-based band appears to have made quite an impact on international fans, even without a huge commercial presence. The concert offered plenty of great alt-rock moments, like the “Six! (Six!) Five! (Five!) Thousand!” chant in “6-5000” and self-effacing lyrics like “I belong to no one, a song without an album/Long forgotten maxim spoken to the sea” from “Needle.” They’re a band that’s more than the sum of its album’s stars.
Alex Frail can be reached at [email protected].
