Les Savy Fav Bring Sweaty Show to Pop Montreal Loft Party

Posted on Oct 2nd 2010 11:00AM by Melody Lau

Karl Walter, Getty Images

"We're here to wipe the English Queen's face off your coins," Les Savy Fav lead singer Tim Harrington announced at the band's Pop Montreal gig Friday night. Thanks to statements like that, it's indisputable Harrington is quite possibly one of the most wild and entertaining artists today. The glow-in-the-dark neon orange rug vest, shades and wig he paraded onstage in didn't hurt either.

Playing in a roomy loft on the outskirts on the Pop Montreal festivities map at 2:30AM (a 30 minute delay), the band played songs from their latest record 'Root For Ruin,' a blend of math rock and punk anthems, while working up a sweat onstage and in the crowd.

Blasting the sound to its maximum, the band's set was near deafening, but no one complained. "Turn it all the way up," instructed Harrington. Songs became a wall of noise but still audible enough to make out the razor sharp riffs of 'Let's Get Out of Here' and 'The Sweat Decends.'

Messiness and spontaneity drive their performances, as the music almost takes a backseat to the insanity Harrington works up. At one point, he instructed everyone to get down as low as they could to the ground before bursting up jumping. The crowd frequently serviced crowd surfers as Harrington dangled from a strap tied onto ceiling poles -- dangerous, but exhilarating to watch, just the way a Les Savy Fav show is supposed to be.

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Pop Montreal 2010

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Richmond Lam

Christian Charisius, Reuters

Pop Montreal 2010

Germany's Atari Teenage Riot (also known as ATR) were ready to rock when they tore threw their set with all the energy you'd expect from a hardcore techno band.

Pop Montreal 2010

The band, which started out in the early 90's, are very political and have used their powerful lyrics in the past to speak out about their anti-nazi and anti-facist views.

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The San Francisco quartet took to the stage at their non-secretive 2AM time slot, playing to the late partygoers celebrating the second-to-last night of the festivities.

Pop Montreal 2010

The band's playfulness and youthful vibrancy shone as they jumped around playing hits spanning their entire 15-year discography.

Pop Montreal 2010

Lead singer Satomi Matsuzaki may be tiny in stature and practically invisible to people standing at the back of the venue, but her remarkable child-like singing and bouncy robotic dance moves is what sets this band apart.

Pop Montreal 2010

Every step and hop was met with quirky force of riffs and catchy rhythms as Matsuzaki's meek and whimsical voice poked through.

Pop Montreal 2010

Pop Montreal won't be the end of for the band. The San Francisco rock group will continue performing across the U.S. this month alongside Xiu Xiu and Father Murphy.

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Clad in all white, a glossy blue Miami Dolphins jacket, his signature blond mohawk pouring over to one side and a face coated with bright dramatic make-up, O'Regan dazzled the Pop Montreal crowd with songs off his upcoming record 'Special Affections.'

Pop Montreal 2010

O'Regan gave the audience a true performance, jumping between playing behind his keyboard and doing his choreographed moves which consist of lots of dramatic poses and voguing.

Pop Montreal 2010