Supporting the Winchester quartet Polly & the Billets Doux, University band Taming the Savage gave the audience a night to remember in one the last performances they will give in this historic city.
Then, it was time for Taming the Savage’s set. Seeing as it was one of their last gigs, singer-songwriter Josh Savage made the decision to allow Kirsty Rogers, who duets with Savage on the band’s song ‘Figure You Out’, to open the band’s set with a solo performance of the traditional Irish folk song, ‘The Parting Glass’, recently made famous by an Ed Sheeran cover. Her vocals were simply splendid, captivating the audience’s attention and sparking an anticipation of what was to come.
The band proper, comprising singer/songwriter Savage, lead guitarist Harry Lister, drummer Ollie Brenig-Jones and new bassist Adam Lynch then came onto the stage to change the mood with some lively indie/pop-rock. The band opened their set with a lively rendition of their insanely catchy punk-rock tune ‘Love Fail’ before Lister impressed the audience with an extended fast-paced solo during the song ‘Problems Of Their Own’.
Mid-way through the gig, Savage slowed down proceedings once again, performing his hit ‘Take Off Your Shackles’ with the string accompaniment of Jo Wood on violin and Will Descrettes on cello, (as well as Brenig-Jones on drums), rather than with the other members of the band. The song suited this accompaniment exceptionally well, standing as testament to Savage’s musical astuteness.
The band’s usual line-up then took to the stage once again and performed a new song entitled ‘Cry Wolf’. This was a real rocky number driven forward by a powerful and catchy bass-line.
There was one more line-up change later in the evening, Savage duetting with Kirsty Rogers for his song ‘Figure You Out’. The mellifluous harmonies and Roger’s flugel horn worked exceptionally well over the top of Savage’s light guitar, producing a track which sounded as though it could have been recorded by a signed artist.
Savage then premiered another new track entitled ‘I Owe It To You’, his heartfelt vocals making a real impression on the audience before the band wrapped up with ‘One Thing’ a set stalwart since 2011.
It had been a very entertaining display made even more enticing by the variations in line-up and the ensuing mood changes these had brought on. The changes in style really do permit the band to cater for a greater diversity of people and could make the group very popular. It is a real shame that they are breaking up at the end of this year as Josh Savage comes to the end of his degree.
Nice review but it’s not very accurate. First of all, it is not decided yet whether we are splitting up at the of the term. After interest from management companies in London we are considering to push this further. Adam Lynch was a stand-in bassist for Rob who was busy with his dissertation and our new song ‘I Owe It To You’ was not played that evening.
However thanks for the coverage, we really appreciate that Vision covers a fair share of our gigs in York.