Savages Are Unstoppable

It's been quite a year for Savages. They released one of the finest records of 2013 and have been touring extensively. The four women leave a real impression with their intense live shows. Tonight is their last show of the year and singer Jehnny Beth says she's glad to be playing that one in Paradiso.



Savages at Paradiso Amsterdam, December 3 2013

Beth left her high heels at home tonight. It doesn't really make a difference for her performance. While she's standing in the middle of only a few spot lights, her piercing eyes are going around the hall. It is as if she's trying to take in every one of us. The dark show together with the fierce and sometimes hypnotizing music still hasn't lost any of its impact.



A large part of the powerful music comes from the strong rhythm section. Drum player Fay Milton is confidently pounding out the solid grooves. Bass player Ayse Hassan adds great bass lines that give the songs an unstoppable drive. It sounds as if the band is playing even tighter than the last time I saw them. 'Shut Up', 'Husbands' and 'No Face' sound incredible that way. The mix of dark new wave, punk and noise music is contagious. In the more quiet songs like 'Waiting For A Sign', everyone is so quiet that you can even hear the amps buzz.



Even though the four have been on the road for quite a while, they are not showing any signs of exhaustion. The set list is slowly building up to a climax with faster songs at the end of the set. Of course the show isn't really long, since they don't have enough material yet for a two hour show. It doesn't really matter when a performance is this intense. Especially not when they end with an inspired version of 'Fuckers', which they stretch out to a seemingly endless version. The repeating grooves put you right into a trance. It's the perfect close of a still impressive and at some points even astonishing show.



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Setlist:
01. I Am Here
02. Shut Up
03. City's Full
04. I Need Something New
05. Strife
06. Waiting for a Sign
07. Another War
08. She Will
09. No Face
10. Hit Me
11. Husbands
12. Dream Baby Dream (Suicide cover)
13. Fuckers