I think I was a bit of a latecomer to Les Savy Fav – I was introduced to them by the band Jetplane Landing who, clearly massive fans themselves, titled a track off of their 2007 album “Why do they Never Play Les Savy Fav on the Radio?” – I went out and grabbed a couple of albums right away and was blown away by how fun they were, even on CD. Tonight would be my first time seeing them live and, even with no shortage of people claiming they’re one of the best live bands around, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.

First up though, Ditz. I was fascinated by their performance at Brighten The Corners last year and, even in a much bigger venue, they dominate their surroundings. The music is brilliant – the way everyone plays off of each other creates an often dissonant sound but it’s delivered with such energy, the drums and the bass really punching through, driving the songs along. Vocalist Cal spends more time in the crowd than on stage, performing up close and personal as they work their way through the crowd, eventually hanging off of the balcony and throwing old confetti on the crowd below. The audience’s reaction is incredible, as they deserve. They’ll be selling out the Electric Ballroom themselves in no time.

Les Savy Fav set the tone early on, frontman Tim Harrington walking on stage dressed like the pope, complete with glittery glasses. Opening with Raging in the Plague Age the band send the energy levels in the room soaring from the get go – every element sounds incredible and is delivered with a heap of fun. Unsurprisingly Les Savy Fav are another band who aren’t limited by the stage and Tim is in the crowd, hugging fans and singing at them in no time, not even returning to the stage to check the setlist. A few songs in, after the photographers leave the pit the band invite a few people over the barrier to fill up the space. A few people turns into a lot of people and there’s an extended crowd dancing away up close with the band. While this is happening Tim disappears again and, during Hold on to Your Genre he’s spotted hanging upside down from the Electric Ballroom Balcony.

Dirty Knails, at the mid-point of the set, is one of the real standout tracks to me – the guitar parts on this track are incredible, they play off each other excellently and it really shows the band at their best. There are a few new songs in the set too – first Legendary Tippers which the band put out earlier this month alongside two other new tracks from the forthcoming new album. They go down brilliantly and it’s great to know that there is new material on the horizon, their first album since 2010. With an encore comes the chance for an outfit change, this time Tim strips multiple layers of skin tight morph suits revealing a new layer of the body with each step while performing ROME. The night ends with The Sweat Descends, a fitting end to an evening of energetic fun.

Easily one of the best nights of music I’ve watched in months, I don’t think I stopped grinning at any point of Les Savy Fav‘s set – it’s unpredictable and chaotic but in a joyous way and they involve the crowd more than most bands – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band try and move the security barrier before, let alone lift audience members over to bring them closer. Incredible. One of the best live bands around, hopefully the release of the new album this years will see them performing more regularly.