Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It has all the makings of a great introduction, the curtain raiser presented by a ringmaster of great repute and with a talent for the language of their craft to entice and beguile the wary watcher in from the cold, to dazzle and astonish as ribbons fall from the ceiling and the audience’s eyes are diverted for a while from the main event. It is not the jiggery pokery of a circus that attracts in this instance, it is the dynamic of a band from Leicester who have made Liverpool very much their home.
In the Leicester band Ladies, Liverpool has a group that may have come from the outside, the band who came in from the cold, but who have made it a very warm place to perform within. The group certainly know how to hold themselves and show a side to the rock performance that is slightly different to what many may have gotten used to over the years; it is after all an image to guard carefully lest other places of less noteworthy intent try to steal them away, once Liverpool has you, you can never truly leave.
As one of the supports to Cal Ruddy on the night he delivered his new E.P. to an awaiting crowd, Ladies strode to the stage with poise and absolute determination, the pleasure seeking in the crowd already noticeably attuned to the forthcoming attraction and you could almost feel the pulse quicken, sense the hairs on the back of the neck raise up and start to shout in unison; this was a band to take in, even if you didn’t know it yet.
Studio 2 has had the good fortune to have many a band come through its doors and play to the crowd but there is something instantly likeable about Ladies, a group that gets the foot tapping, the leg shaking with possible adulation and the heart and mind skipping in unison. In songs such as Turn It Up, Pretty In My Head, Hey, Hey, Hey and Did You Ever Love Me Baby?, Ladies urged the crowd to really shake loose, to graft and lose any inhibitions that lurked underneath the smiling appreciation. It was an urge impossible to resist and one that set up the big finish with Cal Ruddy perfectly.
Some bands just fall into your laps, others tumble and roll in the most unexpected way, Ladies turned up with banners and full procession, they were introduced by a ring master and given huge billing; they did not disappoint.
Ian D. Hall