GIG REVIEW: Buster Shuffle + LoGoZ @ Cluny 2, Newcastle, Saturday 28 March 2026
Buster Shuffle are a four-piece ska band from London Town who have been plying their trade for nigh on 20 years now.
Sharing stages with the likes of Less Than Jake, Mad Caddies, Flogging Molly, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Ferocious Dog and The Interrupters, they’ve built their own devoted following, the Shuffle Army, along the way.
This gig in the intimate Cluny 2 is a long way from home, but they’ve clearly got lots of friends here, who make them feel most welcome are they promote sixth album Together (reviewed here), which came out last year.
First things first; the opening act are LoGoZ, a pop-punk band from Northumberland, whose frontman Peesh is one of the hardest-working folk in North East punk rock. Tonight, he and fellow guitarist Paul are playing as acoustic two-piece, rather than their full-band electric set-up.
I’ve seen them do this a few times, and it works well, with the pair zig-zagging back and forth through their back catalogue, which stretches all the way back to 2012.
They open with the first song they ever recorded, Jubileezer, play some choice cuts from their most recent album, 2023’s Welcome To The Freakshow (reviewed here) and bring us right up to date with Destroy The Android from their recent Method Is Madness EP.
They even throw in a song I hadn’t heard before, by Peesh’s previous band Junkster, but as ever my favourite tune of the night is Disgraceland, dedicated to their hometown, Ashington.
Time for the main event, and it’s one I’m looking forward to enormously, for although I’ve seen Buster Shuffle at festivals and as a support act, I’ve never seen them as headliners.
I’m not disappointed, as they hit the ground running with traditional opener Our Night Out, from their 2012 debut album of the same name. It’s perhaps their best known song, and so popular with their fans that they play it again at the end to bookend the set nicely.
In between, we’re treated to an hour and a quarter of top-notch ska, with the setlist cherry-picked from five of their six studio albums. A few songs from the first record remain staples of their set, with the Madness-like I’ll Get My Coat, You’re Alright and Me, Myself & I also getting an airing.
In a nod to their roots, there’s a cover of Chuck Berry‘s You Never Can Tell (aka Teenage Wedding), which gives piano-playing frontman Jet the chance to show off his high-energy boogie-style skills.
Homage is also paid to Cockney legends Chas ‘n’ Dave with a cheeky little medley mid-set, which sounds a bit cheesy, but fits right in – and a ska’d up rendition of The Prodigy‘s rave-punk anthem Out Of Space is among the highlights of the night.
Don’t get the impression Buster Shuffle are little more than a covers band though; their own material goes down just as well, with five songs from Together well received.
The title track, Shows How Little You Know and Take A Pill slip down as smoothly as a lemon-top ice cream, but my favourite song of the night is Masterplan (inspired, as it turns out, by I Live In Marbella by Cock Sparrer, who Jet helps out occasionally).
Buster Shuffle combine working class pride and music hall storytelling with a big dollop of rock ‘n’ roll and a healthy side of ska, and I like them a lot. Catch them if you can on their forthcoming EU tour or UK festival dates. You won’t be disappointed.
