cornershopstudios » Band of Skulls @ Le Savoy

As the members of Band of Skulls walked through the crowd holding their instruments at Le Savoy du Metropolis on Saturday, and proceeded to do their own set-up and sound checks as the audience chatted and sipped on beers, the increased intimacy of such a small venue was pretty hard to ignore. But the lack of roadies (and a backstage actually in back of the stage) didn’t change anything for the British trio, who seemed as excited to play as the crowd was to listen. Still, when they walked on stage and lead singer and guitarist Russell Marsden fired off some reverb to start off the set, the concert setting faded into the background as these indie idols set out to teach the audience a little bit about rock-and-roll. The band opened with Light of the Morning, with Marsden overlapping the vocal and guitar patterns in a Peter Frampton sort of way. The whole show really gave off that classic rock feel with each guitar solo and violent hair swing bringing back the 70s. These Brits must have taken a cue from fellow Englishmen Spinal Tap, and turned their amps up to 11 because this concert was crazy loud. Pounding tracks like Death By Diamonds and Pearls had the whole crowd doing that slow head-bang. Ironically, the hard hitting power of the music was entirely contrasted by a certain bashful shyness from the band. Marsden quietly told the crowd, “You might know this one too. Well, I hope you do,” as if he didn’t realize the room was filled with diehards. The set also traveled through tempos, as songs like Fires slowed things down, highlighting the band’s vocal prowess. When bassist Emma Richardson sang harmonies above Marsden, accenting certain syllables in her high pitch call, it was like ear candy. With every accented syllable, every kick of the bass drum, and every slide up the fret of a golden guitar, Band of Skulls made the performance just seem powerful and genuinely artistic. It made you feel as if you were listening to real rock and roll for the first time in a while. I left that concert feeling refreshed and nostalgic. It was fantastic.

Evan LePage