Les Savy Fav

Les Savy Fav, Future Of The Left, Los Campesinos! at London Astoria, Sun 10 Feb

Review by Christopher Alcxxk

Les Savy Fav's Tim Harrington is unassailably the greatest frontman in the history of rock music. Iggy could out-antic him, and countless people have infinitely better voices, but who else can make people feel this good? It's almost spiritual»

Astoria

Capacity: 2,000

Nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road

Ah, the Astoria - home of all those mid-level bands who will play venues a third of the size everywhere else in the country. Anyone who's anyone has played here.

You get free roam of the venue's three levels. There are enough bars to get served quickly enough at and you can escape the music at the middle bar if it all gets a bit too much for your poor little ears. There is a 'VIP' round the sides of the stage on the second level.

Acoustics can be dodgy depending on where you stand.

- Adie Nunn

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Les Savy Fav

Band members/ role in the band

• Syd Butler - bass
• Seth Jabour - guitar
• Harrison Haynes - drums
• Tim Harrington - keyboards, vocals

Les Savy Fav formed in 1995 while studying art at Rhode Island School of Design. From its inception the band has married art rock and rock rock disregarding the rules of both in the process. Best know for their chaotic live shows, the band has also released two full length albums. Their first, 3/5, was released on the Self Starter Foundation in spring 1998. For 1999's The Cat And The Cobra, bassist Syd Butler, with the help of the rest of the band, decided to create his own label, Frenchkiss Records. They have also released 7-inch singles on Sub Pop, Desoto, Pacifico, and X-Mist.

Recently LSF trimmed down to a four piece; original second guitarist Gibb Slife left to pursue his painting. The first product of this line up change is Rome (Written Upside Down). Although it was written in only four weeks and recorded in only five days it comes across as the bands most developed recording to date. The loss of the second guitar became an asset as the band found room to experiment with new sounds, song structures, and increased breathing room. Rome (Written Upside Down) captures the energy and spontaneity of Les Savy Fav's live show while remaining a decidedly un-live record.

Life changing album

Bad Brains or Rights Of Spring

How can fans get in touch with your band?

Webpage (MySpace HERE)

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Future Of The Left

MySpace!

Future Of The Left feature a couple of ex-Mcluskys and a former Jarcrew. Perhaps more information will be here SOON.

Los Campesinos!

• Aleksandra Campesinos! - singing, clapping, melody horn
• Ellen Campesinos!! - bass, singing
• Gareth Campesinos! - singing, glockenspiel, guitar, clapping
• Harriet Campesinos! - violin, keyboards, singing
• Neil Campesinos! - guitar, singing
• Ollie Campesinos! - drums, singing
• Tom Campesinos! - guitar, singing

Hold on now youngster, this is a good thing to look into the maw of the void, but let's not be excessive, there is still Los Campesinos!. And one day you will wake in the middle of the night and the water on your face will not be from the cold sweat that your dreams of impending doom have produced but from tears of joy squeezed out by a lingering melody, a droning violin, a haunting mantra or a panic attack brought on by a song so tight and serene and messy and polished and dense that it suffocates you like the fumes of the paint that made your favourite album covers. Actually, it's just pop music.

Listen at their MySpace