Music / Reviews
Review: Barrence Whitfield & Savages, Fleece
How do you convey the thrill ride of the Barrence Whitfield and the Savages show at the Fleece in just a few hundred words? Well to start with, the Savages played a stripped down Rhythm ‘n’ Blues / Rock ‘n’ Roll hybrid that sounded like it had driven to the Fleece in a barely street legal hot rod, amped up on a mix of Thunderbird and speed chopped out with a well used flick knife. The band were tight and precise – in fact the last time your reviewer saw such a tight RnB outfit lifting the roof like this was Rocket from the Crypt back in the nineties.
Whitfield himself was a ball of energy on stage – an old school soul shouter who delivered a vocal tour de force. He lived out every song – boxing his way through the band’s tribute to heavyweight Willie Meehan, pogoing at every opportunity and, to be frank, losing himself completely in the ballad You Told a Lie to such an extent that his glasses went flying during his very physical “breakdown” at the torment he’d suffered at the hands of his cheatin’ woman. Whitfield has a tremendous vocal range, he moved seamlessly from falsetto to creamy soul vocals with plenty of rock n roll testifying on the way. His on stage banter was a blast too – opening proceedings by asking the crowd to come closer by reassuring us that he’d been checked for Ebola, which raised both a raucous response and a surge forwards. An early acknowledgement of Big Jeff too, suggesting that said fella would serve as the band’s metronome for the set received fulsome cheers & applause.
The set was a mix of old favourite and less frequently played tunes – and new material too, with Angry Hands (the final part of the band’s boxing trilogy apparently) particularly standing out. Regardless of the provenance of the material, it was rapturously received by the crowd, who were praised from the stage for venturing out on a miserable Monday night – making the final night of the tour a blast for band & crowd. Oh, and a B24/7 salute to guitar man Peter Greenberg, who played on despite an onstage injury acquired in that London the previous night, earning the accolade of “most real man on stage” from Whitfield himself.
is needed now More than ever
So they’re back next year with a new recording and a polite request to the Fleece – make sure you get the band back in town – if you book them the people will come.
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