By now, most people who’ve heard (of) Les Savy Fav know their live show is more spectacle than concert. This is due in large part to front-man Tim Harrington, whose no-holds-barred antics could probably attract the same crowd sizes on their own. This isn’t to knock Les Savy Fav’s music, or their ability to play it in a live setting – there’d be nothing wrong with watching them stand or dance around like any other band. But with songs as sexually charged and defiant as theirs, the baccanalian atmosphere just drives the point home.

Their Noise Pop closing show at San Francisco’s the Mezzanine was no exception, with Harrington in top form from the moment he walked on stage. He arrived covered in toilet paper, claiming it was a cask from a biking accident, before he quipped that it reminded him of a tampon, then doused himself in water and shook toilet-paper-mache over an already rapt crowd. The only way to make an entrance like that even better? By opening with “What Would Wolves Do?,” “In time we will show the world why the world made us.”

Les Savy Fav, “What Would Wolves Do?” (download)

Since Harrington just handles vocal duties, his theatrics still leave guitarists Seth Jabour and Andrew Reuland, drummer Harrison Haynes and bassist Syd Butler free to concentrate on the technical aspects of the performance, delivering a tight series of pounding noise-dance-rage tunes. Harrington’s actions are pure spur of the moment, though, so the other band members were often as wide-eyed or slack-jawed as the audience. (more…)