OPEN

In the shameless league, Tim Harrington, singer and qualified exhibitionist with offbeat art-punk ambassadors Les Savy Fav, is poised to take the title from fashion calamity Jodie Marsh. His dry-humping of an amp is one of the less-shocking points of a headlining set.

The New Yorkers are on the NME Shockwaves tour because of last year’s fine album, Let’s Stay Friends, a lively and rich commotion of dark alternative anger and poetic indie. It has the youthful vigour and invention of a debut by some smart-thinking teens. But, no. This Savy lot have been around since the mid-’90s and their shows are notorious for Harrington’s bent for fancy dress and stripping to his pants. If you’ve come here unprepared, you’re in for a shock.

Harrington wastes no time in familiarising himself with the audience. Before he utters his first note, he bounds off the edge of the stage and is having his bald and bearded head patted by the front row.

Showman

Throughout the next 90 minutes, the showman can’t keep away from the crowd, often literally losing himself several feet deep into the throng.

A people person, you might call him. Though he would possibly be hanged in some countries for one or two stunts. At one oh-my-god-what-is-he-doing? moment, he pulls a subservient teen on to the stage, coaxes him a little too easily on to all fours and rides him like a horse. The rest of the band continue as if this is perfectly acceptable behaviour.

On another occasion, he leans his groin into the large speaker at the front of the stage and grinds back and forth in a way no object has been violated by a singer since Madonna raped a cushion to Like A Virgin nearly 20 years ago.

Harrington is as comfortable striding about the stage with his generous bare gut on display as he is in costume. This is not a man with body issues. Tonight he is, briefly, an angel, complete with wings and halo. Later, he squeezes into a red skintight catsuit and cape. He looks like Santa’s rebellious anti-hero brother.

Distractions

Colourfully delirious as it all is, the gimmicks and Harrington’s tendency for going walkabout mid-audience can be an unfortunate distraction from the music and blunt the vocals. The occasional more-grounded performance wouldn’t go amiss. Sometimes, after an hour of pantomime, you want a little Branagh.

With the band having taken a six-year hiatus before Let’s Be Friends and only six tracks from that album getting an outing tonight, much of the set will not have rung many chords with a lot of the young crowd.

Single Patty Lee and The Lowest Bitter stand out, although the song structures’ subtle shifts get a little lost in the frenzy.

A commendable and well-chosen encore of The Pixies’ Debaser earned the loudest applause of the night, although the Fav four would benefit from Frank Black and family’s knack for delivering grubby anthems with precision sharpness every time.

Still, you can’t quibble with the entertainment value for money. Harrington’s reluctance to settle down for half a minute is entrancing. The phrase about there never being a dull moment might have been coined at a Les Savy Fav gig.

With Beth Ditto working on The Gossip’s next album, there’s a space for unconventional singers on the cover of a dozen magazines. Expect to see more of Tim in 2008. 7/10  Rob Jones