Project Description

RUBY FIELDS

+ Miss June + Mild West

@ The Newy Hotel

23/05/19

(Live Review)

Reviewer: Jess Moog

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There’s no better way to spend a Thursday (i.e. Thirstday) than at a brain-pounding gig. Especially when that gig is put on by Australia’s VB-breathing, dick-drawing darling Ruby Fields!

Hot off the heels of her Permanent Hermit EP release, Rubes has been busy tearing up stages across the country, with almost half of her tour repping red ‘sold out’ stickers. She’s young, she’s chill, and she’s totally effing brill, so buckle your eyes down for one helluva night…

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The support acts for the night were super different, but actually completely perfect; a palatable mix of indie beats and gruelling grunge. I managed to catch the end of Mild West’s set, and they had definitely warmed up the room nicely! Their echoey psych rock songs were a breeze to listen to, and their live presence was just gorgeous. Kiwi outfit Miss June were equally striking, but in more of a hard-ass ear slapping kinda way. Having not heard many of their tunes before, I was fricken blown away by their gut-wrenchingly raw and extremely distinct sound. ‘Matriarchy’ and ‘Drool’ were absolute BELTERS, and their movements on stage were just as impressing. At one point, singer Annabel climbed up a ridiculous stack of speakers after ripping her bloody shirt off while the rest of the band went nuts behind her. Partial nudity AND danger! A win win all round.

I popped off to smash down a couple of waters once the intermission took place, giving myself some time to find a decent floor spot. I eventually found a good one, when it suddenly came to my attention that I was standing behind possibly the most disgustingly unsubtle pervert I have ever encountered in my life. Mr Faded Buzzcut and Tight White T-Shirt was sizing chicks up like they were a ten buck schnitty dinner, and fuckin’ oath you can imagine how close I came to punching him in the mouth. My feministic anger subsided, however, as our mate Ruby ran on stage to a super funky backing track. I mean seriously, what song was that?! Someone needs to get in contact with the Ruby Fields people ASAP, I want it as my theme song pls.

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Anyhoo, her opening tune was rockin’ throwback track ‘I Want’; one of her first ever singles AND one of my personal favourites. The room was full to the brim with band tees, semi-exposed tits and some incredibly tragic haircuts. I could also sense there was probably a lot of corduroy milling around, however it was too dark to know for sure. Nevertheless, everyone was shaking their denim-covered butts to Ruby’s wicked tunes, with songs such as ‘Libby’s Pink Car’, ‘Climate’ and ‘Trouble’ making an appearance. Her voice was definitely on point, with Ruby’s beautiful Aussie tone piercing my true blue bogan soul! Her voice was a joy to hear between songs also, referring to the crowd affectionately as a pack of “c*nts”, and yelling at us to “shut yah beaks!” when we were being a little too rowdy. Honestly, I feel like Ruby and I are meant to be friends. I mean we both like music, swearing, alcohol, and yelling at people; those are basically the main components of any true friendship!

And speaking of friends, the wonderful dynamic between Ruby and her bandmates is such a heartwarming thing to witness. You can tell that they’re more than a band; they’re a group of dirty mates who really love each other to death. The bond definitely shines through in their stage presence, with Ruby, Adam, Patrick, and Tas all interacting with each other like a bunch of sugared-up siblings. The band’s hectic energy was reciprocated by the floor, which demonstrated its appreciation in the form of some half-assed crowd surfing and a whole lotta dancing. It was also kind of refreshing to see so many males going crazy at the front of the stage; Rubes totally had them all wrapped around her little guitar-strumming finger.

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Other popular tunes including ‘P Plates’, ‘Dingo’ and ‘Dodgy Neighbours (& Tax Evaders)’ showcased Ruby’s incredible ability to make a really simple riff sound SO. DAMN. GOOD, with her ripper cover of The Church’s ‘The Unguarded Moment’ also copping a play. I’ve come to the conclusion that her music is so unbearably relatable because it is literally an audio narrative of every young Aussie’s trip into adulthood. Lines like “I’m driving my new car to my new house, its a Toyota, my dad he helped me out…”, “Chuck another beer at me could yah? I’m pretty sure I’ve only had about five…”, “It really sucks being on P plates, because you never get to stay up late…”, it’s pretty much my ENTIRE high school experience rolled into one flipping hour of indie rock songs.

The crowd was definitely experiencing a similar amount of nostalgia, especially when huge closing track ‘Dinosaurs’ came on. A beautiful tune about reflecting on our freedom from self-judgement and shit life circumstances when we’re confident, little kids. It was awesome to hear everyone singing along to it word for word, an emotional song like that deserves a room-wide chorus! The band hugged each other as they sang the last line, and gave us all a wave as they left the stage together.

 

Thanks for showing me true friendship guys, and thanks for the fuckin’ cool tunes too!

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Follow RUBY FIELDS

Website // Facebook // Instagram

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