Les Savy Fav at Solar One

Cars dashing by overhead, the East River sitting at my toes, and the New York City skyline slowly flicking on, light by light, in the background…It all makes for a rather handsome setting to catch a show. But when it is a performance from Les Savy Fav, that impeccable ambiance is nearly irrelevant. There is just too much happening on stage to get caught up in the New York moment.

"And when the sun runs out of light we’re gonna take power from the moon! Am I right? Think about the size of our cars that run on moon power, right?!"– Tim Harrington

That quote is obviously seeped in a wash in sarcasm. But if there is one band that might be able to exploit enough energy from a solar powered stage to render it useless, it is probably Les Savy Fav. Performing as part of City Sol - a clean-energy-powered festival that aims to inspire interest and support for local sustainability initiatives through, music, interactive art installations, games and workshops, and numerous other elements meant to both entertain and educate. – Les Savy Fav volatile and manic performance felt nostalgically reminiscent of the vintage, At The Drive In shows of my teenagehood. Of course where ATDI was serious business, Les Savy Fav is brash, yet good natured. Endlessly youthful, while somehow not looking it…at all, Tim Harrington is a showman blessed with back slapping banter, extravagant, on the spot creativity, and a Macgyver like instinct when it comes to finding ready-made stage props. Of course, as haywire as Harrington gets, he is one upped by Syd Butler, who outfitted his daughter in oversized headphones, and not only strapped into his bass, but also his baby carrier. - David Pitz

Les Savy Fav is Tim Harrington (vocals), Seth Jabour (guitar), Syd Butler (bass) and Harrison Haynes (drums). It has been nearly 6 years since Les Savy Fav has released a full album of new material. Finding their place in music has resulted in the new full length entitled Let's Stay Friends.

Since forming in 1995, Les Savy Fav has grown into a band considered among the godfathers of the independent rock music scene, releasing three albums (3/5 in 1997, The Cat &The Cobra in 1999, Go Forth in 2001) and a singles compilation (Inches in 2004) that resulted in sales of over 100,000 copies worldwide. Their constant success can be attributed to the overseeing of every aspect of their music including the release of it. Bassist and Co-founder Syd Butler started the Frenchkiss Record label with the goal in mind to release their own records. The achievement of these records has helped Frenchkiss put out amazing music from other equally impressive artists like the Hold Steady,Thunderbirds Are Now, Call Me Lightning and more!

Let's Stay Friends is a record about Les Savy Fav's unwillingness to give up. It's a resolution to defy the forces which wear away at our innocence and enthusiasm. As musicians, the record declares their ultimate goals of being together, writing, and performing on their own terms, loosed from the thicket of the professional independent music business which has grown up all around them. From it's first track- “Pots & Pans” to "Patty Lee" to its last "The Lowest Bitter,” Let's Stay Friends consistently explores the challenges of keeping sight of ones true nature of a rapidly shifting world. The band's approach to music in relation to changes it has witnessed in the music scene extends into a sophisticated metaphor all people can relate to about how we marry the consistent with the inconsistent.