Les Savy Fav serves a whale of a show

By Erin Szrankowski
Collegian Editor
April 9, 2008

It has always been known that Les Savy Fav has an awesome menagerie of studio albums. Well, what about their live show? Does it live up to LSF’s post-hardcore/indie sound? There is one word that fully describes Les Savy Fav’s live performance—raw. The April 5 show at the Fillmore at the TLA was a great example of the Savy’s powerful onstage presence.

San Francisco-based Dodos and their Frenchkiss labelmates of LSF owned the early part of the night. The Dodos were a two-piece band who I believe sound like a mix of Black Keys and Animal Collective. The drummer’s set up was reminiscent of a tenor drum in a marching band (four drums situated in a semi-circle manner). The lead singer/guitarist played the guitar as if its strings were permanently glued to his fingers. He strummed away fast and furious, embracing the 12-bar blues style we all love. Once in a while, a third member would come out to play the xylophone and a mini toy piano.

The crowd enjoyed the bluesy music, with sporadic claps errupting during the songs. Another thing to note was the group’s strong and magnetic stage presence. They did not do much with themselves besides play music, yet all focus was cast upon them. When their set was over, people actually called for an encore. Folks, this is the first time I have ever heard an opener being called out for an encore. Sadly, they did not come back out to play another song. Keep your eye out for those guys.

The second opener, whom I was not excited to see, was the ever-so-sleepy The Big Sleep. In 2007, I saw them open for The Thermals and did not like/get their sound. The Big Sleep is slightly industrial, with a hint of psychedelic pop, with the intent to sound epic. I figured that I would try to sit through them; maybe my tastes have changed enough to tolerate them.

This was not the case.

I don’t even think their set changed from the last time I witnessed their performance. Overall, they were too repetitious, too bland and just not interesting as a whole. By the end of their set they were being heckled by the audience, calling their drummer “tired-looking” and asking them “if [they] knew who Radiohead was.”

Luckily, that was all over and done with. Now it was time to taste the Sav.

As I looked at the stage, I realized there was a lot of open space. This led to my wonder. The only forms of equipment onstage were two guitars (one was a flying V, which I haven’t seen used since ZZ Top), a bass and a drum kit. Frontman Tim Harrington does not need any accompaniment. He is known for his vivid stage presence, kooky antics, gruff vocals and natural connection with the crowd.

In 2007, Les Savy Fav released Let’s Stay Friends to good reviews. It was the band’s first studio album in four years. Before this release, LSF went on a short hiatus, which fans knew they would return from.

The first song of the night, which is the second track off the new album, was “The Equestrian.” It was a loud start from the get-go and the crowd instantly got into it. Most were shocked at how quickly the sound erupted, sending the people into a frenzy. I was extremely excited because I have been attempting to see LSF for the past two years. Harrington walked on stage as noticeably as possible, wearing a shiny burnt orange jacket, which enclosed his face and upper body. Slowly but surely, Harrington took off his jacket, revealing a shirt that read “Police Academy.” As the song ended, a member of the audience asked, “What is your favorite Police Academy movie?” Harrington never answered back.

“Patty Lee,” Let’s Stay Friends’ single, was performed second to much applause. When it came time for the chorus, audience members yelled the lyrics aloud in a sing-a-long fashion, creating stark unison.

In a flash, Harrington achieved his first physical feat of the night—climbing the tower of amps at the side of the stage. The crowd could not keep their eyes off of him. Up there he continued to sing, nay, scream the words, while getting much love from the crowd.

During the show, besides climbing the amps, Harrington also spat water and beer into the crowd. It was kind of like when you see Shamu and they tell you not to sit in the splash zone because you will get wet; well, that is what the first row was like. Water seemed to be his prop for the night. At one point Harrington took a gulp of water then let it run down into some other guy’s mouth. He also crowd surfed in a chair during one of his songs. That didn’t last long however; he is a big guy.

The best performance of the night was “The Year Before the Year 2000.” The song’s intense nature was brought to life. People in the crowd began to throw themselves around, forming a great moshing circle. Energy was high and continued to rise. Nothing could stop the power that was being fed to the audience. The band kicked out the jams with the slightest of ease.

High energy and solid musicianship proved to be the heroes of the night’s show. All that was said about Les Savy Fav before was authentic and true. Harrington and company put on a great show, past all the costumes and crazy physical stunts. The entertainment value was totally there. This is one of the bands you should see before you die.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu