Stereo’s small but intimate standing area was packed out for this gig, as it seems many have taken Vision’s advice when we said they were a band to look out for.
From the start the band caught the audience’s attention with their obvious musical talent combined with catchy riffs and upbeat songs. They played with a professionalism beyond their years and more than once did I forget this was an unsigned, relatively new campus band.
One first year audience member, watching for the first time, went as far as to say they sounded a “bit Arctic Monkey-ish”, surely a compliment given the faultless performance of a multi-award winning band, as well as suggesting that Taming the Savage are fulfilling their goals of producing a indie/rock/pop sound. In fact the band’s sound is surprisingly hard to pin down; they range from the impressive and fast-paced solos in tracks such as ‘Kissing in the Rain’, to soft acoustic numbers such as ‘Figure You Out’, sung and strummed by a solo Josh Savage, with a slight Simon and Garfunkel-esque quality to the light-fingered guitar accompaniment.
The band was formed in what might be termed the usual way; informal jamming sessions in 2010 led to playing at friends house parties, which led to slots on York’s small but lively set of music venues. The band has impressive music credentials with both singer/songwriter/guitarist Savage as well as bassist Rob Stonehouse currently studying music, which perhaps accounts for the discipline and well-polished end result of a Taming the Savage gig.
More than anything, with guitars and fans only inches apart, it is the last few moments of the night which summarise their achievement so far. Calling for a vote from the audience as to which out of their most popular tracks ‘Castle Walls’ and ‘The Alarm’ should be the last song, the response was overwhelming. I screamed for ‘The Alarm’, an unbelievably catchy tune belayed by the light-hearted and student-appropriate experience of waking up to an early alarm clock. Like a true crowd-pleasing group, they ended up playing both anyway.