Sixteen years ago, Anna B Savage played her second ever gig in a former band at The Night and Day. “I was stood in the same spot, shitting myself. Nothing has changed.” she jokes. However, much is different. Tonight is sold out, reward for a voice of cherry blossom-like gorgeousness and bracingly autobiographical lyrics. It suggests that the constant support of Riley and Coe’s 6Music show does translate into ticket sales.
However, packed venues do create different challenges, one of which is apparent for support act, Cubzoa, a solo project for Jack Wolter of Penelope Isles. Playing solo, his guitar playing and vocals lovely but reserved, there are times when the buzz of conversation drifting forward from the bar area is a bit distracting. “That was a bit emo,” he quips at the end of his opening song. It turns out the second song ‘Barcelona’ isn’t the happiest either, relating to a bad time he had at Primavera, although I drop into a reverie as the song mentions seeing The O Sees, Deerhunter, PJ Harvey and Radiohead which is similar to my itinerary at the 2016 edition of that festival. A stripped-back version of shimmering single, ‘I Dreamed A Beach’ is the penultimate of his six songs, although it does miss the cello, strings and piano of the recorded version. At times, his high vocal register and guitar playing recall Jeff Buckley’s ‘Live At Sin-e.’ An album is scheduled for later in the year on Bella Union and could well be a treat.
Savage takes to the stage, leading a four-piece band. “I am Anna B Savage, we are Anna B Savage,” she says smilingly. Coincidentally, when I first saw PJ Harvey in 1991, she introduced herself in a similar fashion. The set starts with ‘Agnes’, a song that embraces magic, apt for what is to follow. The first of her earlier period songs that celebrate being single, ‘Since We Broke Up’ follows immediately. Its hook line is “I hope I never fall in love again.” “I did, soz”, she says at its conclusion, “I’m entitled to change my mind. It’s going to be a night of narrative confusion.” The songs selected delve into all three albums with a mighty ‘Corncrakes’ from her debut album next up.
She apologises to those who came for the joy of the single life songs saying there is a lot of loved up material on her new album, ‘You & i are earth’, which dominates the next part of the set with a run of ‘Mo Cheol Thú’, ‘I reach for you in my sleep’, an especially uplifting ‘Lighthouse’ and ‘Talk to Me’. As these are all gentle, lovely and subtle, it does lead to a lack of dynamism mid-set. These are songs that do not call for dancing or movement, just standing swooning but it is very hot at the front, leading to an audience member collapsing before being helped away by friends which leads to me temporarily losing focus on the music.
Although they are not the most demonstrative of bands and Savage asks for the lights on the audience to be dimmed so she feels less self-conscious, there is much to watch. Her miasma of facial expressions while singing, eyes closed, is highly expressive. Drummer Joe Taylor is at the front of the stage and is a highly visual performer, slow motion, loosed limbed, crouched over his kit as if in stealthy pursuit of prey, a towel draped over the bass drum to dampen the sound. Bassist Peter Darlington wears his bass at a Mark King height while Genevieve Dawson is obscured from vision but contributes a panoply of sounds on keys and guitars. There is also an abundance of self-deprecating humour, perhaps a deliberate tactic to leaven the emotion of the songs.
Cubzoa joins proceedings for ‘Say My Name’ and the set reignites, Darlington playing his bass with a bow like a violin. “Superb”, “exquisite” shout members of the audience, rendering my writer’s bag of superlatives superfluous. ‘Pavlov’s Dog’ has Taylor providing panting dog backing noises. An incendiary ‘in/FLUX’ has Savage freed from her guitar, throwing her arms in the air, stooping to her haunches, her voice swooping and soaring. There’s a sublime ‘A Common Tern’. The performance heads to its climax with the new album’s title track, followed by ‘Donegal’ which is a gorgeous ode to her new homeland and man.
The set ends with ‘The Orange’. She explains that it her nicest song apart from the new material, a piece about learning self-love and acceptance. She says it is about valuing platonic friendship and encourages people who are with friends to whom they would not normally show affection to hold hands. The lyrics are knowingly changed to “don’t want kids but have a partner.” After an hour and a half, it makes an encore unnecessary. Nothing could surpass it. She tells us to take the love in the room out into the world as it is fucked up out there.
Anna B Savage is currently on tour, concluding with a show at London’s Union Chapel on 20 February 2025.
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
