savages

we would have loved to be able to present you an exclusive interview with two band members of savages, but their management told us that it wouldn’t be possible. pity.

however, we were present at the band’s concert at the debaser strand in stockholm. the venue was quite far from being sold out, approximately 75% filled with people.

savages gave an intense show where smiles came first at the end (no encore) when the band left the stage after a little more than 65 minutes. i would’ve liked to see that the band really enjoys being on stage, but maybe post-punk is not the genre where you can expect laid-back musicians who chat and flirt with their audience.

the presence of singer jehnny beth (aka camille berthomier) is nevertheless strong, it is her and her distant dance moves that most of the eyes in the audience follow. many people have mentioned that savages sound like a band from the late 70’s or early 80’s and personally I got vibes of siouxsie and the banshees, patti smith and mostly echo & the bunnymen, a band that i really admire. heaven up here is one of my top 50 albums. their musical roots which definitely have 80’s all over them have a certain influence on the audience at debaser this tuesday night. mostly young people in their early twenties as always, but even a good number of plus forties. savages have an audience that covers at least two generations.

guitar player gemma thompson and bass ayse hassan do the set with full concentration, not even looking a single moment to the audience. that lack of communication with us down there is very consequent, it doesn’t seem arrogant at all, the band is simply deep inside their own music and they do not let us distract them. only jehnny is staring from time to time deep in the eyes of someone in the audience, a couple of times, it is a distant look and after a few seconds she turns to someone else. the more savages play of their brilliant debut album silence yourself that took them in so incredibly many ‘best of 2013’ lists all over the world, i cannot other than look at drummer fay milton – she is an amazing drummer, an incredible powerhouse bringing a lot of energy to the sound of the band and she’s even the one that seems to enjoy herself most.

the tour will take them to oslo, copenhagen, zwolle, lyon and paris. if you happen to live there, go and see them. you will like it and even if they do not really show it – i am sure they’ll like to play for you.