NOTE: All photos are copyright of Dean Keim 2025
The revival punk project called The Saints ’73-’78 swung through NYC and played the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Friday with a host of prominent guest stars like Mudhoney’s frontman Mark Arm who provided the vocals. The Saints are a sadly far too overlooked band in punk rock history books but are definitely a band you’ve heard many times if you love classic punk at all. They started in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia around 1973 and, in the mid 70’s, they became the first punk band outside of the US to get any international commercial attention, although they were soon overshadowed by British punkers like the Damned, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash. They released three consecutive epic punk albums in just two years but, by 1978, the rest of the band had left and even though frontman Chris Bailey revived the band with other members periodically, the fans largely felt the magic of those vibrant early ears were just not matched. After Bailey died in 2022, founding members Ivor Hay (drums) and Ed Kuepper (guitar) decided to hit the road and pay homage to those early days. It also happens they are touring just before the release of an album of Chris Bailey’s final songs as The Saints called Long March Through the Jazz Age, which coincided closely with what would have been his 69th birthday. But this tour will not be playing any of that new material as this outing is all about reliving those kinetic early days.
Another more recent Aussie band called The Chimers opened the show with a raw punk power of their own. Singer/guitarist Padraic Skehan and drummer Binx are a powerful and raw duo, taking no prisoners as it pillages your rock n’ roll soul. The band was born out of the isolation of the pandemic shutdown but their garage rock sound has a very “in your face” feel that recalls other guitar and drum duos like The White Stripes and Japandroids while still setting its own wild course. Their edgy bounce has a spring in its step and a power to the sonic energy it produces. I was impressed by the quality of their songs as well as their howling and wailing vigor.
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The Saints ’73-’78 is a band that possesses an army of rock power supporting Ed Kuepper, Ivor Hay, and Mark Arm, including guitarist Mick Harvey from The Bad Seeds, bassist Peter Oxley from The Sunnyboys, as well as a 3 piece horn section that added a lot of swing. The band has lots of fans among rock royalty from Nick Cave to Bob Geldof exclaiming them to be the best punk band ever, and I could tell from the packed house at the Music Hall of Williamsburg that they still have a huge fan base hungry to relive those early days. They were early to the punk rock scene and, thusly, drew more from proto punk acts from the late 60’s and early 70’s like the MC5 and especially The Stooges. While there were hints of the 50’s and 60’s R&B artists they clearly loved, their sound employed more of the fast tempos, raw vocals, driving rhythms, and the “buzz saw” guitar sound that made them a uniquely powerful outfit. Mark Arm made for a able substitute for the late Chris Bailey as I found their voices to be very very similar, but it is quite clear that Arm had been a serious fan since his own formative days so the similarities do make sense. Their set this night didn’t include the entirety of their first three albums, but they definitely hit the right spots with classics like “This Perfect Day”, “Brisbane (Security City)”, “Messin’ With the Kid”, ending the regular set with the power duo of “(I’m) Stranded” and “Know Your Product” before coming back out for a few more big fan favorites like “Demolition Girl” and “Nights in Venice”. There was very little chatter between songs and Arm was far more reserved than he usually is with Mudhoney, but it is clear these guys came to rock and those moments they really lit the punk rock fuse made the whole night perfect.
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