Born Ruffians Better Than Ezra (And The Rest Of Vampire Weekend)

I hate Vampire Weekend. I don't even hate their album so much, but that's part of the problem. You see, their popularity has been mysteriously manufactured. Why every blog and mainstream magazine picked these guys is beyond me. They have terrible style, and singer Ezra Koenig, while fine on record, acts like he knows how awesome everyone thinks he is, and the music is retardedly catchy in that manner that washes away as easily as next month's band of the moment. But forgetting all that, the real reason I hate Vampire Weekend is that the world at large has overlooked the best indie pop album of the year, Born Ruffians' Red, Yellow & Blue, because of them. Thankfully, if the crowds I've seen in the past two weeks are any indication, not everyone has missed the boat.

The Ruffians' CD release show at Lee's Palace on Saturday kicked off with my Canadian Music Week top dog, Slim Twig. My feelings on his solo act remained the same after this set: He's a bona fide star with songwriting smarts and oodles of flair. But when he forgoes live drumming for drum machine beats, the songs are swallowed by his powerful voice. This was especially true in a mid-sized venue like Lee's, where a poorly weighted mix can turn your sound to mud. It's not too late to merge this band with Tropics and take over the world.

Next up were Graham Van Pelt's Polaris Music Prize-nominated Miracle Fortress. This is the point where I shake my head over sleeping on this band for so long. Every time I played the group's Five Roses debut, it failed to hook me. Their performance at the Polaris ceremony was equally uninspiring. But seven months later, infront of a massively excited crowd, Miracle Fortress finally sold me. They play a far less emotive and cloying version of the indie rock that Stars and The Most Serene Republic trade in. Van Pelt and his bandmates' vocal interplay is excellent and the songs were far better than I'd previously thought. Given the reception, the Ruffians had a lot to live up to.

Considering the slightly disinterested, technical difficulty-laden Ruffians performance I saw at the Grad Club in Kingston, Ont. on April 19, I didn't think they were going to pull it off. What a difference a week makes.

The trio were obviously keyed up by the sold-out club, and the crowd was ravenous from the beginning. I rarely watch shows from the front row since the vocals are generally drowned because you're mostly hearing the sound out of the quieter monitor speakers. But due to singer Luke Lalonde's crisp, high-register vocals and the dearth of instruments on stage, the sound there was perfect. I sort of forgot how good shows are in the middle of a ridiculously excited crowd. While the kids bounced along with every note, the Ruffians fed off of the intensity, taking the energy level up with "Badonkadonkey" early on and then pacing the crowd with almost workmanlike skill by dropping it back down on 'Little Garcon." Accordingly, "Hummingbird" and "I Need A Life" brought the house down before the encore.

I've seen Born Ruffians play great shows before and I'm sure I'll see them play great shows again. But this was one for the ages. If you're getting sick of that Vampire Weekend CD, grab Red, Yellow & Blue and discover this year's truly deserving breakout stars before everyone else.