I Just Read About That…

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 4, 2025] Born Ruffians / Queen of Jeans

I have wanted to see Born Ruffians for a few years.  They are a Canadian band that is hard to pin down exactly, except that they make hyperactive poppy punk that is catchy but not super catchy.  They’re probably not even going to sell a million records, but they should have a pretty devoted fan base.  The band is a trio–singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, and drummer Steve Hamelin.  They put out a trio of albums in 2020/2021 all thematically similar.

Back in 2022, I had a ticket to their show but a weirder thing happened this time.  My wife got free tickets to see Neko Case.  So we went to that show instead.  It was okay, but I think Ruffians would have been better.

Queen of Jeans is a Philly band who I’ve seen on a lot of marquees.  I feel like for a while, back before the pandemic, they were opening for a lot of shows that I didn’t go to.   I see now that they haven’t done much since 2019, but they came back with a new album last year.  They are poppy and delightful.  For some reason I thought they were more punky.  I’d be happy to see them live.

I’m definitely bummed I didn’t go to this one.