Jan. 30th - Bruiser and the Virtues Swing Dance @ IMC

Urbana Champaign Independent Media Center
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Adm: $5

7:00 PM - Swing Dance Lesson
8:00 PM - Bruiser and the Virtues

A chance to cut a rug, and learn some swing dance moves. There will be an hour long swing dance lesson, and then Bruiser and the Virtues will get you movin to the beat. Tunes range from the rockin’ jump-blues of T-Bone Walker, to Booker T and the MGs, to Bruiser originals. One of the true gems of the regional music scene.

HOT JUMP BLUES

“Bruiser and The Virtues: The jazzier side of Bruce “Bruiser” Rummenie… wonderfully concocted songs in the way of classic dance band tunes; a hot saxophone, piano, upright bass, drums, and Bruiser on a big fat electric archtop guitar. This band is precious and awesome.”—OpeningBands.com 2005

Bruiser and the Virtues dare you to join their rhythm train before it pulls out of the station for the trip uptown. The musicality of the band is unquestionable and impressive. Bruiser’s vocals pour over the tracks like smooth whisky over ice. Kudos to the rhythm section for bop extraordinaire, while the horns burn, keyboardist Neal Robinson comps, swings, and makes the ol’ 88s beg for mercy. “A gas.”—Cody Sokolowski, The Octopus, 2001

In 2004, The Virtues won the Illinois Central Blues Society Challenge and went on to compete in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, performing at B. B King’s Nightclub on Beale St. in February, 2005.

Check out Bruiser and the Virtues here:
http://www.myspace.com/bruiserrummenie