Boston band Barrence Whitfield and the Savages have forged a reputation over the last thirty years for bringing one hell of a rocking party to audiences around the world.
Remember when rock and roll was cool? Barrence Whitfield does. At the age of 58 the Boston singer and his band the Savages are living proof that rock music can still be raw, gutsy and in-your-face. In fact, it was the desire to prove this that motivated Whitfield to reunite with the Savages in 2011 after 27 years apart.
“There was something missing in the music world where you get a band out there just turning it up and letting it explode – all systems go,” says Whitfield. “I just had this feeling that [getting the band back together] was supposed to happen again; we were supposed to get back together and play the way we did in 1984 and ’85.”
His feeling must have been right, because since reuniting the Savages have maintained a rigorous tour schedule, performed on the esteemed British television show Later…with Jools Holland, and released two albums. The group’s most recent album, Dig Thy Savage Soul, was their first release after signing with the respected indie label Bloodshot Records. Music critics were nearly unanimous in their praise of the album (see our review), placing it on numerous best of the year lists, and proving that not only was Barrence Whitfield right in his feeling, but that the world was thirsty for a band capable of delivering pure, unhinged rock and roll in all its glory.
“Maybe there were people out there saying to themselves, ‘we go to these shows and there’s nothing there, all I see is cell phones and blank faces.’ It’s time to get back there and make people react,” says Whitfield.
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages The Corner Man Later with Jools Holland from TKA on Vimeo.
Getting that primal reaction out of an audience is the key mission for Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. Between Peter Greenberg’s grinding riffs and Tom Quartulli’s dirty, swanky sax playing, it can be difficult to not act like, for lack of a better word, a savage. Even after 27 years of not playing together, the band still embraces the insanity of their concert experience. Whitfield can’t help but mention one recent incident when an audience member in Chicago was driven to such a frenzied state by the performance that he smashed a chair across the stage.
“That was after I mentioned to the owner of the theater that all of the tables and chairs had to be moved because people are going to want to rock, and then halfway through the performance someone grabbed the chair and just smashed it across the stage. I think it revved up the crowd even more,” says Whitfield, who sums up the incident with a punch line. “There was a journalist from the Chicago Tribune there and he said, ‘what do you think when a guy smashes a chair?’ I said, ‘it’s just another Savage moment.’”
How many hipster bands can say they’ve gotten this type of reaction out of a crowd? That level of excitement is only amplified by the fact that, since getting back together, the Savages have spent far more time touring Europe, where their sound is embraced by loving audiences, than here in the States.
“I think from years of going over [to Europe and the UK] people just like the Savages ripping up the audience and tearing up the stage. The heat is risen up a couple of notches. It’s the same thing we want to do in the States, but we haven’t really had a chance to travel around the country. With [Dig Thy Savage Soul] I think it gives us a chance to do those things,” says Whitfield.
Giving American audiences a real taste of rock and roll is part of the mission for Barrence Whitfield and the Savages in 2014. Whitfield expresses optimism about performing stateside when he shares the only way to enjoy not just a Savages show, but any concert for that matter.
“Put that phone down – tell your friend when you’re on the phone to get his ass down [to the show]. Don’t show the image, be part of the image!”
Whitfield only elaborates on this philosophy when he drops a colorful analogy to explain his secret to getting on stage and giving an audience a true rock and roll experience – one that defies the self-awareness and image obsession plaguing so many bands today: “Just whip it up and do it – it’s just like baking a cake!”
This review was originally published on The Horn, an online publication based out of Austin, Texas.
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