A Punk gig draws me across to Manchester tonight, as The Ruts DC are touring with support from Punk heyday act The Professionals, themselves reformed four years previously, with drummer Paul Cook having formed the band with Steve Jones, following the break up of The Sex Pistols. As support acts go, I could certainly imagine worse! With that in mind, I head across for a more energetic gig than some I’ve partaken in recently, with the two Punk bands known for their raw energy and attitude as strong as ever.
The Professionals take to the stage and I’m somewhat dismayed that it’s not too busy, though those that are here make as much noise as they can, creating a better atmosphere than I would expect, given the turnout so far. Their reformation four years ago seems to have worked a treat, as they sound as relevant and tight as ever, with the crowd paying close attention to them and rewarding their efforts. There are more people slowly coming in and while not rammed, it at least looks like a fairly respectable turnout on the floor now.
There is clearly good chemistry between the different members, as they joke amongst each other during the songs, with a relaxed stance visible from each of them. The nodding heads and a few singing along shows the band are going down well, with frontman Tom Spencer drenched in sweat halfway through their set, such as the level of effort that he and the band are putting in. It’s a well-rehearsed forty minute set, with the band coming across quite similar to drummer Paul Cook’s previous band, The Sex Pistols, in terms of their musical sound. They are certainly worth their spot on the bill and deserve the acclaim they receive at the end of their set.
A couple of minutes of recorded dialogue welcomes The Ruts DC to the stage, as they launch into arguably their biggest song in ‘Babylon’s Burning’, as the first half of the set sees them performing ‘The Crack’ album in full. The good thing about such a well-known track of theirs opening the set is the obvious energy that spills straight out from the crowd, with a pogo pit opening up as those with more energy than I getting straight into their groove, while the rest of the audience singing loudly along. They work their way through ‘The Crack’ in album order, bringing songs such as ‘Something That I Said’, ‘Jah War’ and ‘Backbiter’, before the band dedicate the final track of the album, ‘Human Punk’, to the late Pete Shelley, who they say was indeed such a person, getting an obvious cheer from the Manchester crowd.
After a couple of minutes break, while drummer Dave Ruffy has a brief chat to the crowd, giving the other members a quick rest, the band gets back into action, with ‘Music Must Destroy’ ringing out from around the crowd as much as the stage. It’s notable quite how good the atmosphere is, despite being maybe a third full at most, while the band are tight and professional, feeding off the energy the crowd is putting out to them, as the pogo maniacs are bouncing along happily to the music. We still have tracks such as ‘Kill The Pain’ and early single ‘In A Rut’ to come, amongst others, before set closer ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’ rings out to great acclaim from the happy audience. We have had polished performances from both the bands tonight, maybe not so much a shock, despite the visceral Punk of both bands being somewhat raw at the same time, the paradoxical nature of that working a lot better than it might initially seem. After so many years in the business, The Ruts DC are still going strong. Long may it continue!
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY DJ ASTROCREEP