Live Review: Savages, A Dead Forest Index

Melbourne noise duo A Dead Forest Index sat at the helm of tonight's gig, and made a noble attempt to set the tone. Their gothic drone pieces were atmospheric and interesting, and their occasionally intangible shapes generally hovered around the same core of moody elegance that the headliner did. It was a mixed bag but overall rewarding.

Ferocious London post-punkers Savages played an impressive set that felt like a shrieking amalgamation of the Birthday Party and Bauhaus. They are known for their intense, almost trance-like focus and didn't disappoint, and frontwoman Jehnny Beth was as immaculately presented and frighteningly combustible as mid-career Nick Cave. Their sleek monochrome look complemented their central manifesto concerned with switching off distraction and focusing on the purity of honest expression. At one point Beth stared down someone with a smartphone, refusing to allow them to hide behind a screen during the show.

A fantastic one-two punch of Strife and City's Full started the set, and before it exploded into the reprise, the haunting breakdown in the latter song (“I like the stretch marks on your thighs/I like the wrinkles under your eyes”) was icy perfection. Gemma Thompson's guitar work felt like she had learnt a secret language with it. It never felt like she was merely exploring different sounds and textures, it was too confident and too calculated for that, no matter how feral or abstract it got. Ayse Hassan's propulsive bass charged ahead of the rest of the band, establishing tone and structure, letting Thompson paint broad gritty strokes over the top and allowing Beth's versatile voice to inject eerie life to their confrontational lyrics.

This was a band in complete control, and it was as electrifying as it was intimidating, which is exactly what they were aiming for.