Live Photos &: Les Savy Fav @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg 10/12/08

Music Reviews Les Savy Fav
Live Photos &: Les Savy Fav @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg 10/12/08
Half standup comedian, half bizzaro Iggy Pop, Harrington commands the stage with his ADHD antics, which provide a humorous counterpoint to the band’s spirited take on post-punk. They’re standouts in a genre that has a nasty habit of taking itself too seriously. And though they often seem to play second fiddle to their frontman’s sideshow theatrics, the rest of the band are some of the tightest musicians in indie rock. Watching guitarists Seth Jabour and Andrew Reuland interweave angular melodies on tracks like “The Orchid” and “The Year Before 2000,” even memories of The Monorchid and The Hot Snakes. 
Les Savy Fav benefited from a solid lead-in from openers Bear Hands, Connecticut transplants who’ve caused quite a stir around town, opening for just about anyone who’ll let them and often stealing their fans in the process. The band hit all the highlights of their ever-expanding catalog, most notably “Long Lean Queen” and “Vietnam.” How these guys are still unsigned is one of those peculiar mysteries of Brooklyn.
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But the night truly belonged to Les Savy Fav. Returning for their encore, the band was joined on stage by Fred Armisen, otherwise known as the guy who plays Obama on SNL (although he does an even better Barney Frank). With Armisen in tow on a second set of drums, the rest of the band whipped the crowd into a frenzy that culminated with the crowd favorite “Who Rocks the Party.” If this were the ’30s, Harrington and Co. would’ve had their own show at Coney Island. Instead, they play in band called Les Savy Fav. 
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[Above: Les Savy Fav]
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[Above: Bear Hands]
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Some things, once seen, can never be unseen. Watching Les Savy Fav frontman Tim Harrington writhe like an epileptic beetle on his back at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, wearing only highlighter-red skivvies and knee-highs, was one of those moments. Throughout the night, Harrington pranced around the stage at the venue, gradually stripping away all nonessential articles of clothing. Rubbing his half-naked body after a stage dive, he quipped, “It’s not too late to declare your second viriginity.” You don’t say!

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