Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Gig review: Savages, Concorde 2, Brighton

 

Emily Mackay
Wednesday 06 November 2013 16:07 GMT
Comments
Singer Jehnny Beth of Savages
Singer Jehnny Beth of Savages (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

"You know, we played our first gig in Brighton. It's nice to be back," Savages frontwoman Jehnny Beth informs her audience towards the close of this evening's show. "This song is called 'F******…"

Don't worry, there was a mental paragraph break there. If Savages deal in bristling hostility, it's of a purely stylistic kind. Their self-consciously stern and dark debut Silence Yourself, indebted to the black-clad side of the 80s, is gleeful in its evil, and at its strongest live, drummer Faye Milton flailing away like a Kraken in the background as the tiny, evil Jehnny Beth stares and barks and purrs balefully and guitarist Gemma Thompson and bassist Ayse Hasan weld their sheets of beautiful noise.

"Something New" and the staccato yelp of "Husbands" are jammed out, sometimes too long, but give a glimpse of where Savages could go in the future, a roiling, many-hued din more complex than goth posturing. A surprisingly sweet cover of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" shows that even covering the darkest of icons, they're capable of lightness of touch, and "F******" closes proceedings in a dance-punk carnival jam - Beth dancing away all froideur - that suggests there's much more than monochrome to come from these four.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in