A. Savage delivers pensive, yet energetic show at Black Cat
By Olivia Mezzullo
After one of the most chaotic Metro journeys I’ve had in my life, my friends and I had no idea what to expect as we walked into Black Cat to see a performance from A. Savage. Andrew Savage is best known as the co-frontman of the band Parquet Courts, but he has also released two solo albums — the most recent being Several Songs About Fire, released in early October. I had been a fan of Parquet Courts for about a year and a half; I have always felt struck by Savage’s poignant lyricism, his elusive public persona and his true dedication to being an artist in all forms of the word, so I knew this wasn’t a show to miss.
I met up with my friend Franky and his friend Gryphon on the metro beforehand. One of the first conversations I had with Franky was about a shirt he was wearing with A. Savage’s artwork on it, so it felt like a full circle moment to be going to this show with him. Unfortunately, caught up in the excitement to see one of his favorite artists of all time, Franky left his phone on the Metro. We watched it travel further down the Green Line on Find My iPhone before we decided that the show was more important and we’d try to track down the phone later.
As we made our way up to the main floor of the venue, we saw Andrew Savage himself standing at the merch table. Gryphon and I went to find a place to sit as Franky got to meet Andrew and get his record signed. After scoping out the crowd and realizing we were probably the youngest ones there, Gryphon and I headed back to the merch table where we said a quick hello to A. Savage before he excused himself to catch up with a friend before his set.
The opener, a singer-songwriter named Sluice, played a fully acoustic set, which I think I would have been able to enjoy more in a smaller venue setting. Still, he was clearly a very talented guitar player, and I definitely will give his record a listen at some point. The audience, full of mostly IPA-drinking-millennials, seemed to be very into it, so he was definitely doing something right.
After the opening set, my friends and I made our way up closer to the stage. As A. Savage’s set began, I was blown away by how full and beautiful the band sounded playing together. Savage was on vocals and acoustic guitar, accompanied by someone on electric guitar, backing vocals, someone dressed up as a sheriff playing the keyboard, saxophone, AND the clarinet (he was amazing), a bass guitarist and a drummer/backing vocalist who was a girl. It was so refreshing for me to see femme representation in this band, as I feel like we don’t often see female band members as touring musicians of male artists. Everyone in the band was truly incredible and the music was imbued with so much passion for the art that they created. The saxophone was an especially good addition. The setlist was a good mix of stripped back and more acoustic numbers and energetic punk-rock-esque songs, as well as songs with a country or western-inspired sound. This made it hard to just space out and coast through the set — the setlist truly kept everyone on their toes and engaged with what was being played.
I especially enjoyed when Savage interacted with the audience or talked between songs. After playing the bittersweet opening track on his new album “Hurtin’ or Healed,” he turned to the right side of the audience where a few men were having a conversation during the set. He then introduced his next, more-upbeat song and told them that they could “return to their conversation now”, and joked that his next one was “more of a conversation piece.” I thought this was such a witty method of dealing with rude audience members. Since the pandemic, many have noticed a drop in concert etiquette and respect artists as they perform, so it is really refreshing to see artists advocate for themselves as they are performing.
One song that really stood out to me was “My New Green Coat,” which is about objects that remind you of people that have been in your life — both in the past and present. Savage introduced this song by telling us about his newest favorite object, a paper flower his friend gave him that he wore throughout the show. Savage’s clear voice really allowed the audience to take in his lyrics as well as the music, which is something I really enjoy when hearing new music live. The lyrics “My collection of Items signifying love / They don’t all spark joy but they all have meaning / Meaning tends to sit On the surface of the past / Because memories, like objects and people need cleaning” really stuck me, as I reflected on the different relationships I’ve had in my life and how it is so interesting that we have all been so greatly shaped by one another even if our time together is temporary.
Andrew Savage truly has a way with lyrics; he is able to write about his own personal experiences with life, relationships, and leaving places behind in a way that I feel like I can relate to my experiences. Being in my early twenties, it can often feel like my life is constantly going through rapid change — with a revolving door of people and places and things entering and exiting my life. Seeing A. Savage singing about those same feelings was comforting; change is constant, and art can help us process that.
After the show, Franky, Gryphon and I checked the location of Franky’s phone and it had been at the next Metro station for a while — someone had turned it in! We grabbed some pizza, walked over to the station, and Franky got his phone back after signing some papers from the attendant. It was the perfect conclusion to our adventure in Washington, D.C., seeing a show that I will definitely think about for a while.