Watch VIC WIN
The Saddest Music in the World Contest
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So This Is The Night
filmed
at The Saddest Music in the World contest in London
(hence the flurry
of paper handkerchiefs at the end). Vic won the night.
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ALIVE AT THE LADYBUG HOUSE
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“Alive at the Lady Bug House” is a fabulous collection of songs by Vic Ruggiero, the driving force behind and front man leading the masters of ska, The Slackers (Hellcat/Epitaph). This performance was recorded on January 11, 2004 in the infamous “Lady Bug House”. At once the listener realizes that this is not an un-plugged Slackers record, but an exciting and energetic trip into a roots groove that brings Vic’s soulful storytelling right into your living room. The lo-fi recording is refreshing and honest. The inauguration of “International War Criminal”, “Parking Lot”, and the acoustic version of the Slackers’ “Yes Its True” are but a few of the classics on the disc. A modern day troubadour with a sincere, candid and unpretentious presence, Vic Ruggiero continues to craft excellent music.
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REVIEW: Alive At the Ladybug House is the only record, as far as I can recall, that I've ever received with a small plastic ladybird stuck to the cover whilst its demonic cousins grin out from the cover. This album sees the Slackers' (reviewed elsewhere) Vic Ruggiero go completely unplugged; locked away in a room with just a glass of water and an old half-broken guitar the Rancid contributor and leader of one of America's premier ska bands spends half an hour crooning, chuntering and lulling the listener through his musings which evoke everything from Van Morrisson to Robert Johnson in his cupboard studio. The newer songs seem quirky and fun whilst Slackers' songs including probably their best to date, 'International War Criminal', benefit from being stripped down. It doesn't all work, '20 FLight Rock' sounds like some dreadful Elvis cover and other sections of the record reveal a strain on Ruggeiro's prolific songwriting. Largely this is an album which is distinctly 'pleasant enough', it's not remarkable, the Slackers' output is considerably more exhilarating but in fleeting moments of Ryan Adams-like beauty this evening trapped in with the ladybug seems really, really worth it.
~ Alex Lawson
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| SIDE A 7" Japanese Single |
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| SIDE B 7" Japanese Single |
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| 7" EP SIDE A...Never Go Back Home/Lonely Nights |
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| 7" EP SIDE B...Henderson Swamp/Love Ya Mama |
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| BACK TO TOP |
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