Barrence Whitfield & The Savages @ the Waterfront

The music made me do it, man.

by lizzoutline 3 October 2015

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages make filthy rock n roll that could only come from the States. Maybe that's why there's such a poor turnout at the Waterfront Studio tonight for this screaming legend...British people just aren't comfortable with cutting loose and fugging down. Not with other people watching anyway. STRANGERS watching. It's a reserved crowd with a dusting of cute Rockabillies, and as usual, standing about with crossed arms a safe distance from the stage sadly seems to be the order of the day.

The set starts with Bip Bop Bip, just a teaser of what's to come. It's high energy, full on, intense rock n roll tinged with r n b. The saxophone is intrinsic to the party and raises the four bar tunes up a whole level. Barrence is a chatty and funny frontman, and his famous voice mindblowingly good and powerful, verging sometimes on Rob-Halford-level octaves. One of their most famous tracks The Corner Man hits the spot nicely; the timing is tight as fuck, the band are working themselves into the ground and they're totally coherant as a unit. The near silent spaces within the songs make the rest of it even more intense. I'm Sad About It is full of pathos and passion. With expertly played guitar solos in every song, Peter Greenberg is so into playing it feels almost like I shouldn't be watching, his relationship with his instrument is so intimate. Andy Jody pounds the hell out of his drums like the devil himself is straining to escape his human host, but artfully so. Phil Lenker is the perfect posturing bass player. Willow, from the latest album, is another winner. Full Grown Man, one of my favourites, doesn't let me down. Willie Meehan, a tale about a boxer, is amazing. These rock n roll tracks ranges from foot stomping r n b through to 50's jaunty bobbysocks swing. With an encore of a cover of Ted Taylor's Rambling Rose, the all too brief evening of loud, raucous, balls to the walls rock n roll comes to an end.

What makes them different from any other rock n roll pub band is their wildness, their on-the-edgeness of losing control, their lack of restraint. Tonight is a prime example of how playing and listening to music can clear the bad shit out of you, stopping you from beating the shit out a of a wall, whilst also urging you on, like a devil on your shoulder, into doing very bad things. It's serious music; they're exorcising demons from their sinful souls.

The music made me do it, man.

Nice one Barrence and your Savages. Thanks for travelling thousands of miles across the ocean, dealing with jet lag, dealing with driving around the UK, learning how to play and sing like beasts, and thank you for coming to our city. I just wish the crowd had been more down and more dirty to match your vibe.