Tonight Savages return to the scene of their first ever gig in January this year. However, we first witness Palma Violets having a sound-check which is notable for both its length and its apparent chaos. The apparent chaos continues when they start playing. Their highly mobile bass player is a shoe-in for the title of The Most Effervescent Bass Player In The World.....Ever! However, the chaos is an illusion. They are actually very controlled. That said, their attitude is reminiscent of The Clash in their prime. With the singer's Jim Morrison baritone they sound like a cross between Echo and the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, whilst the beatific keyboard player adds a dash of Small Faces Hammond-flavoured keyboards. Superb stuff!
Savages are channelling the spirit of Joy Division, the Banshees and just about any other decent post-punk band that you care to name, but this is no bad thing as it quickly becomes clear that their identity is far greater than the sum of their influences. The rhythm section is sufficiently busy to allow the guitarist Gemma Thompson mostly to concentrate on embellishment, whilst singer Jehnny Beth uses her voice as a musical instrument, often using a delay pedal for her vocals.
Sometimes the music is slow and atmospheric, aided and abetted by effects laden bottleneck guitar. At other times songs such as Shut Up are fast like an amphetamine maelstrom of raw emotion. I'd almost forgotten that music could be this exciting! Jehnny rarely engages the audience between songs, but remains an aloof brooding presence. The band are like a four-headed beast from which you can't rip your attention.
The last song is Husbands, the double A-side (with Flying To Berlin) of their first single. As it finishes Jehnny Beth gives drummer Fay Milton a piggy-back off-stage. There is no encore.
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