Savages came to Boston on Friday, July 12 in support of their excellent new album, Silence Yourself.
What followed was a punishing hour-long set that showcased a band with a promising future, one this week’s “Three Dudes” column contributors believe will have them leaving behind smaller venues like Cambridge’s The Middle East before long.
Main Event – Savages
Best Song
Dave Hurwitz: I would have to say I most enjoyed the last song, “Fuckers.” That constant refrain of “Don’t let the fuckers get you down” really stuck with me. The lead singer’s incredible voice and stunning beauty were mesmerizing and I think I fell in love with her a little bit.
Liam Green: Dave and I are obviously gonna fight over who gets to marry Jehnny Beth. In any case, my favorite Savages song on the record is its opener, “Shut Up,” but live, I think I’d have to go with “She Will.” That one bodied the crowd, myself included.
Pete Rizzo: For me it would have to be “City’s Full,” even though it was one of the first songs. I hadn’t listened to Silence Yourself in a while, and I had sort of mentally forgot what I was getting myself into. As soon as this song hit, it was clear it was going to be a ferocious show and this song really set the tempo.
Worst Song
Liam: This is just as hard, for me at least, as trying to name the worst song on Yeezus. I think the crowd was a bit down on the few slower songs, like “Waiting for a Sign,” but I definitely wasn’t – it was a good quick break from raging.
Pete: I didn’t think there were any bad songs in the set. No stupid covers, no new material. It was really just a tight set. Four musicians playing hard, fast rock ‘n roll.
Dave: I agree with Pete. Given that they only have one album and the set was approximately an hour long, they never played a bad song.
Best Crowd Moment
Liam: The excitement of the crowd when they started with “City’s Full” and continued into “Shut Up” and “I Am Here,” that palpable roar, was un-fucking-real. It was a validation of hype, which can be rare these days.
Pete: I wouldn’t say there was one crowd moment, but overall, everyone seemed really engaged. I mean it was a great show. I guess for me it would be Liam coming out of the crowd looking like he got Gatorade-dumped on.
Dave: Yes, Liam was very sweaty. In fact, he went shirtless soon after the show and I think some goth chicks at TT the Bears show next door were pretty into him when we were standing outside. I’ve been to shows at the Middle East where there have been mosh pits and crowd surfing and all that stuff, but at this show I think everyone was engaged and amazed by how tight they sounded live, albeit in a subdued way. Also, it was all white people (not that that makes it a “best” moment).
Liam: Yeah, lotta palefaces in attendance. I’m also proud of my shirtless give-no-fucks at the end.
Worst Crowd Moment
Pete: I listen to Savages, and I’m like ‘Damn, this band has a future.’ But, I don’t see that in the audience. I mean let’s just talk about the guy who yell-requested “Shiny Happy People.” When’s the last time anyone listened to “Shiny Happy People?” It just worries me they may be an ’80s punk nostalgia band, which would be a travesty.
Dave: I swear to God some guy next to me kept spilling his beer on me, but I could never catch him in the act, so I was not able to properly confront him. What a bastard.
Liam: FUCK THE SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE GUY. I guess I was bummed by the surprising number of people who didn’t seem energized at all by the music. Biggest pet peeve were people taking fucking phone pictures when the band specifically requested on flyers, in very polite terms, that people not do that.
Random Thing
Pete: Everyone there had alternative haircuts. I really feel like I need to have a makeover.
Dave: As I mentioned before, there was a show at TT the Bear’s (next door) which drew a whole bunch of strange-looking goths in leather and eyeliner. Through some minor research, I figured out that they had convened there as part of the monthly “Xmortis” goth gathering at TT’s. So I guess if you people are into that, you should check it out. I’m not into leather that much (at least publicly).
Pete: Our next review: Three guys go to “Xmortis.”
Liam: That actually isn’t the worst idea. Tom Wolfe went into crazy places, why shouldn’t we? My random thing is I couldn’t get over my amusement at Pete’s sweater, which wasn’t a bad sweater, just a stark contrast to everyone’s either hipster or all-black-everything threads.
Pete: It was a sensible zip-up jacket for a cool summer evening.
Overall Impression
Pete: Savages really sold me. I know it’s dumb to harp on the female musician thing, but it really is startling to see four women who are that militantly devoted to such a punishing sound. It was a bit like looking up at the black slab in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and just being in awe of something so large and uncompromising.
Dave: I was pretty blown away by the whole Savages performance. They have a special sound that draws you in through the heavy reverb (especially on the vocals) and extremely well-crafted songs. The women in Savages are beautiful, intimidating and serious about making great music all their own.
Liam: To be honest, this ranks in my top four shows ever, alongside Nine Inch Nails, Titus Andronicus and Sleigh Bells. I always respond viscerally and emotionally to dark, cathartic and intense music, and Savages was 100 percent that. They played in such intense lock-step with each other, with not a single fucking note wasted, and Jehnny Beth proved herself a lead singer for the ages.
Opener – Johnny Hostile
Liam: Dark/ominous/reminiscent of proto-industrial bands, like Throbbing Gristle and Suicide or their modern successors, like The Haxan Cloak. His singing voice was fine, the lack of clarity of his words wasn’t. My friend Danielle was not impressed. Pete Rizzo and Dave Hurwitz were ambivalent. Best I can really say is that it set a nicely creepy mood.
Dave: Yes to everything Liam just wrote. He was not very good, the sound was too convoluted and I really didn’t enjoy it. On a funny side note, he looks a lot like Thought Pollution contributor Jake Roeschley, but not nearly as handsome.