from the desk of Monica the Intern
photo taken from their myspace page
With their raucous brand of punch-laden indie rock, Les Savy Fav brought this year’s Noise Pop festival to a sweaty and dramatic finale.
Coming on stage wrapped in rags disguised as fake bandages, front man and vocalist Tim Harrington announced: “Hey, guys. I was in a really bad bike accident this morning.” Obviously a joke towards the City’s hipster bike riding crowd, many of them among of the audience, they laughed along as he launched into “What Would Wolves Do”, inciting applause.
But that wasn’t all the laughs of the spectacle that was the bands performance. Harrington went deep into the crowd of the Mezzanine, serenading adoring men and women in his sweaty, shirtless get-up. Sliding down scaffolding, crowd participation, intense dancing and a gigantic bag of tortilla chips circling around the venue made it feel as if the show has been turned into a gigantic house party.
The band was tight, but Harrington was clearly the star of this performance. The show, drastically different from the singer-songwriter and ambient noise-makers during the week’s festival, was a standout performance that was truly unique. If anything, Les Savy Fav affixed the festival farewell with a pair of fists rather than polite applause.
Many people in the audience were constantly pulling their iPhones from their pockets to get pictures of the massive and often out-of-control dance party. The band’s obvious rule of the crowd was summed up best during “Patty Lee”: “If I may wax poetic/I think the facts are plain/I am the moon ascendent/I am not soon to wane.”
Les Savy Fav’s latest album, Lets Stay Friends, gained much critical and fan related praise last year. Originally from New York, the band has been on the up climb since their 1997 debut, 3/5. The band also has a reputation of special and truly memorable live shows, making them the perfect indie darlings.
In between songs, Harrington refered to the show as a professional event, “This is a concert, this is a rock n’ roll situation.” For a festival that often takes itself way too seriously, Les Savy Fav proved as a great escape from the norm.
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