01 Apr 10

"...I feel like a Vince Vaughn movie - get up here..." ~ The Ruse


Hey, blogspot readers, the Easter Bunny hopped into town early! He delivered a rockin' basket of awesome eggs of live indie acts for SouthSide. And that's no April Fool's prank either. This was one of the best one-night only touring lineups to ever be reviewed. Each band rocked the Elbo Room stage with a solid good performance. This reviewer highly recommends checking out this dynamic trio - Luna Halo, Honor By August and The Ruse - they're currently on tour together. Chicago was lucky to be the first stop on their long tour schedule ...and this reviewer guarantees you will have a fun time rockin' the night away with these bands. Here's why: each brought to the stage lots of energy and momentum as well as guitar sound. There was vibrant music for the audience to not only hear but feel though each having their own unique style.

For instance, Luna Halo's (from Nashville, TN)alternative (and sometimes country) rock sound had this raw natural yet razor-sharp tone in the guitar riffs. This reviewer recommends listening to new songs, Pressure and Kings & Queens off their self-titled album. Also she advises you to skip that Taylor Swift version of Luna's original Untouchable. The country/pop (love) song doesn't even come close to the original hardcore rock sound which literally rocked down the house to end Luna's set. For more information, visit www.lunahalo.com or www.myspace.com/lunahalo.

Honor By August (from Washington D.C.) also impressed this reviewer with music that had lots of fire in their power rock sound. She enjoyed the crescendo into explosive riffs and rhythms music weaving throughout their songs. This reviewer suggests rockin' to new song Sleepwalker (off HBA's new EP due out soon) and Unbreakable. SouthSide apologizes for not knowing the title of this song but the Peter Frampton-esque song complete with amazing guitar sound was the highlight of their set. The intro alone was worthy to be its own song, blogspot readers. For more information, visit www.honorbyaugust.com or www.myspace.com/honorbyaugust.

And now get ready for the seductive charm, charismatic stage presence and steamy hot rock music by The Ruse (from Los Angeles, CA). The most dynamic of the trio literally set the stage ablaze with a firecracker bang when performing Dance On Your Grave (off their newly released CD - Love S ex Confusion) to open the set. The music - infectious only because there was plenty of vibrant guitar riffs vibin' within The Ruse's sound. Listen to their iTunes hit, Beautiful Is Gone, and SouthSide instantly saw why it was chosen to be last summer's song of the week. The pulsing energy to hot riffs and explosive rhythms surrounded this song that you couldn't help feel that beat with the band. And this reviewer must touch briefly on John(The Ruse's sexy front man in the leather jacket) on vocals. He wowed SouthSide ...mesmerizing her (and the other ladies in the audience) with his raw emotions in the voice as well as seducing us with that devilish charm ...all at the same time while rockin' out with the band. SouthSide highly recommends listening to Down In A Hole (a voice of angst while pouring out raw emotions off the lyrics) and Perfect World (a pseudo-love song about sex in which his charismatic charm really shines teasing and drawing you into the lyrics - a very steamy moment here). Also check out the YouTube video for SouthSide's favorite heartstopping song, I Can't Stop (the first track off the new album). No, you couldn't stop The Ruse now since it was the highlight of night for them. The Sweetness added the icing to this performance as the band rocked out the Elbo Room with another spectacular bang. SouthSide highly suggests snagging a copy of The Ruse's Love S ex Confusion. The hardworking "test audience says it's another worthy addition to SouthSide's growing collection) featuring other songs performed live Glitter Not Gold, Glow, and Apache. For more information, visit www.rusemusic.com or www.myspace.com/theruse.

Heads up, St. Louis blogspot readers! The dynamic trio will invade your area with a show scheduled at Cicero's tomorrow night. Have a good rockin' time them as SouthSide did last night!


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide