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The Saints ’73-’78 Blow Them Away In The US And UK

THE SAINTS: SO FAR FROM HOME, ED, IVOR & GANG WIND BACK THE CLOCK AND BLOW THE REST OF THE WORLD AWAY – AGAIN

In 1976 it was the English press who climbed on board with The Saints first. The weekly music newspaper Sounds in particular, with their multiple “The Single of This and Any Other Week” reviews, recognized that these Brisbane outcasts had beaten their homegrown punks to the punch. The US press also came on board, in particular Creemandthe punk zines like Slash and Bomp!; the yanks seemed to really recognize the Saints connections to pre-punk high energy outfits like the Stooges… All the while the Australian media of the day looked on with a fair amount of bemusement.

Fast forward 49 years, and with The Saints ’73-’78 having just completed a run of US dates and now on the UK & Euro leg of their world tour, it’s deja vu all over again in terms of the response in the upper hemisphere… This time it’s the American press who’ve taken the lead – natch, given the American shows came first – and who are hailing the band as something akin to the second coming, singling out the ferocity and brilliance of Ed Kuepper‘s guitar playing, the singular swing of Ivor Hay‘s drumming and Mark Arm‘s ability to fill the shoes of the late great Chris Bailey – or perhaps to wear different but equally as appropriate footwear – in particular:

Under The Radar: “Watching Kuepper play guitar is like watching someone at the very top of his game … do things with his right hand that humans shouldn’t be able to do… Kuepper always had a tone and sound that resonated with a heaviness that most punk bands couldn’t pull off. Therefore, it was just STUNNING to see it done live…. Out of everything I’ve seen this year, I can’t think of anything more exciting and thrilling. This was one of those performances that makes this longtime fan grateful to be there and to be alive!”

Backbeat Seattle: “Kuepper’s churning, propulsive rhythm guitar (every bit as essential to the Saints’ early acclaim as Chris Bailey’s vocals) has lost none of its razor edge and Hay’s solid drumming pushes the band along at a brisk clip. Mick Harvey’s tasteful leads added a nice bite and Mark Arm’s vocals were just what the punk rock doctor ordered.”

Illinois Entertainer: ‘“(I’m) Stranded” brought the audience to a fever pitch, inciting a full-throated singing from the fans as well as some semi-moshy behavior among rowdy older punks near the barrier. “Know Your Product”… maintained the crowd’s peak energy with the Saints’ influential blend of catchy brass licks and the jet-engine roar of Kuepper’s guitar.”

Spill Magazine: “They really had no choice but to perform “Nights In Venice,” a track from their debut album, (I’m) Stranded. The song explodes, and it’s no surprise that the crowd erupts at the end. Kuepper and Hay have formed an eight-piece band who perform a tight and rocking version of the song. The energy is incredible. This is followed by “No Time,” a track from the same album. Again, the band grabs the song and turns it into a force of nature.”

Chris Morris (esteemed LA music writer – RS, Variety, Billboard etc):“The Saints show at the Teragram tonight could not have been better if I had dreamed it myself… Beginning with “This Perfect Day” and ending with a second encore of the inevitable raver “Nights in Venice,” the band dug deep into the meat of their formidable early catalog… Kuepper… lashed the crowd with dense, intense, feedback-laced playing all night… Mark Arm … laid down a stupendous performance that deftly channeled the spirit and sound of the group’s co-founder Chris Bailey… A lot of friends were in the house, and at the end of the gig they unanimously talked about the show with excited ecstasy. Further words are failing me at the moment. ”

Hudley Flipside (Flipside magazine legend!): “Ed moved with his guitar like electricity. As Ivor drummed perfection and consistency as the full moon above us. The lights… made our eyes close and tune into that place of lyrics in our hearts when we sung loudly with Mark Arm…”

Falling James (of Leaving Trains & LA Weekly fame): “All around me at Teragram Ballroom, people were spinning and shaking and stomping and screaming and singing along or staring upward silently in rapt fascination, fully mesmerized and in a state of wide-eyed shock and sheer, unadulterated, pure, ever-loving joy… as founding guitarist Ed Kuepper summoned forth those monumental, incendiary, massive guitar riffs that frame some of the greatest songs of all time, all hammered home with stunning authority by founding Saints drummer Ivor Hay and such estimable all-stars as, you know, Mudhoney vocalist Mark Arm, the Birthday Party guitarist Mick Harvey and Sunnyboys bassist Peter Oxley…. “

Of course, the band’s audiences were star-studded too, with the likes of Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore, Steve Turner (Mudhoney), Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), Penelope Houston (The Avengers), Ian MacKaye, Guy Picciotto & Brendan Candy (all from Fugazi), Matt Sweeney (The Hard Quartet), Mac (Superchunk), Mary Timony (Wild Fang) and many others making the scene.

Not to be outdone, the Brits – who we should not let forget actually dumped on our boys a bit back in ’77 after the initial outpouring of adoration because Ed, Chris, Ivor and Kym did not give two f**ks about the rules that quickly bound the London punk scene – are also responding ecstatically to the band, who played their first shows their last week, and who did a live session for Mark Riley on BBC6 on the weekend from the BBC’s legendary Maida Vale studios.

The Yorkshire Post: “A judiciously chosen set pares down the catalogue to perhaps their 19 best songs which Arm delivers brilliantly in either an Iggy Pop-like drawl or full-throated rasp. This Perfect Day is especially brutal… All in all, a stunning reminder of the raw power of one of the finest punk bands ever.”

The band will have come off stage at the Electric Ballroom in London around the I hit send on this – we look forward to reading the responses to that.

For those of us who can’t be there, there are still copies of a new TheSaints ’73-‘7812″ EPLive Nights in Venice Vol.1 – released on In The Red and limited to a crazy 800 copies only – available (along with loads of cool merch) via The Saints ’73-’78 official website. But it before disappears forever or have a listen via the usual digital outlets.