Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

The moment will strike unexpectedly and without warning, the musician on stage will look down upon the crowd that has gathered before them, perhaps so large that they can no longer see their eyes glimmering with hope, perhaps so intimate that the windows to the soul are all they can focus on. In the end it doesn’t matter, all that is significant is the true moment in which the musician gives the best of nights and you sit in the corner, breathless and broken, buoyant and a believer; it is the moment in which Cal Ruddy supplied at Studio 2 in which the venue arguably witnessed one of the finest ever performances inside its hallowed frame.

In truth the night had belonged to Cal Ruddy from the moment in which the doors opened and Studio 2 took on special resonance for the evening; the supply of support acts incredibly important, the crowd weighing in with scintillating demand and for Cal Ruddy, on a night when he was launching his new E.P., nothing else in Liverpool could have toppled him or the crowd’s genuine fascination and excitement during the night.

A sign of the genuine care, of the man of the hour was surely to be seen in how supportive he was in making sure that the support acts got their fair share of the attention. It is the little things that sometimes go unseen by many that mark out the man and this was certainly noted and the ripple effect made his own set vibrant, pulsating and absolute class.

Attending any gig should feel like a treat, it should be the moment in which the day hangs around, makes it worthwhile to have left the house for and even made it so enjoyable that you cannot wait for the next time; when that feeling isn’t there then it might not be the musician and too your own inner self you should look. Yet in Cal Ruddy, the heart moved fast, the vocals pounded and swam with ease, the delicate and the gracious were in full evidence and as songs such as Lovers & Cigarettes, the brilliant Buying Time, Little Town Anywhere, Stop Before You Kill Me and December’s Friend filled Studio 2 to its maximum allowance of charm and passion, nothing it seemed could stop this from being the very best of performances by the young man.

Outstanding, a real treat for the midweek crowd, a rush of endorphins that coaxed the nervous out of their shell and made sure that this particular gig would live long and prosper in the recollection; Cal Ruddy wiped the floor with the memories of midweek gigs past and pounded the day with entertaining exuberance.

Ian D. Hall