Savages + Bo Ningen // Words To The Blind

Two of the year's most forward-thinking bands come together in performance art project

Savages first encountered Bo Ningen in the most unlikely of settings - a desolate pub deep in the North Yorkshire wilderness, since then they have been cropping up all over the latter's songs - Nichijyou and CC. Most collaborations between bands end there, but the East London based musicians decided to take it one step further, in the form of a 37-minute long performance piece.

Words To The Blind is inspired by the Dadaist concept of  'simultaneous poetry', first performed at Zurich's Cabaret Voltaire club in 1916. The poem is based around conflicting multilingual voices that eventually become incomprehensible. 

Savages frontwoman Jehnny Beth speaks in her native French, and Bo Ningen's Taigen Kawabe in Japanese. Their whispers are the calm before the storm, as they give way to barrage of dark, sonic noise, that sometimes veers on the edge of violent. The resulting chaos is reminisant of Bo Ningen's psych rock at it's most acidic. 

The two bands first showcased their work at London's Red Gallery on May 29th 2013, taking to the stage in a U-shaped formation to resemble a battle. This, and the desire to immerse the audience into a musical warfare that is punishing, eerie and hellish - at times all three, makes WTTB become more of a unique performance-art project than a gig. But that is what sets Savages and Bo Ningen apart from their post-punk peers - an appetite for musical anarchy. 

LIVE// Thurston Moore

The Bodega Nottingham // 12/11/14

Ex-Sonic Youth leaves Nottingham 'Thurston for Moore'

As Thurston Moore's new band - simply titled The Thurston Moore Band - saunter onstage tonight, for the final and most intimate date of their five-date UK tour there is an air of excitement in the sold-out crowd. As one member of the crowd puts it "It's strange being this close to a legend." 

There is not just one legend gracing tonight's stage - not your average backing band, Moore is supported by fellow Sonic Youth, drummer Steve Shelly, My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe and former Nought guitarist James Sedwards, making his new band effectively a super group.

If anyone in attendance was hoping for a nostalgia trip tonight, then they will be more than disappointed, as the set relies heavily on material taken from this year's The Best Day, allowing each member to place their stamp on the music. From the Sonic Youth-esqu Speak To The Wild to Furthermore's MBV-indept bass-heavy riffing, tonight isn't just about Thurston Moore.

That however, doesn't stop the quartet indulging in some of the ex-Sonic Youth man's trademark wig-outs, transporting the audience into the scuzzy stratosphere. 

The album's title track is perhaps one of the sets more poppier moments, followed by the equally as catchy riffage of Detonation and Germs Burn, the latter completed by a killer solo.

Whilst Moore has a rich back catalog of hits to pick from, his decision to bypass it - all except for a run-through of Psychic Hearts from Moore's 1995 debut of the same name- along with tonight's surprisingly restrained set -coming in at just over an hour- demonstrates not only his confidence in the new material but also his intent to look to the future.