The Saints and Chimers at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco

Oft-overlooked seminal punk rockers and contemporaries of the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, The Saints, treated San Francisco to a pair of truly epic shows featuring original Members Ed Kuepper (guitar) and Ivor Hay (drums) joined by legendary musicians Mick Harvey of Birthday Party fame on guitar, Peter Oxley on bass and Mudhoney’s Mark Arm doing justice to the late Chris Bailey’s vocals on an homage to the classics from their 1973-1978 releases (I’m) Stranded, Eternally Yours and Prehistoric Sounds.

Chimers kicked off the evening at 9pm as the crowd was still making its way into the historic room, the long line out front when doors opened seemly opting for seated options upstairs which left plenty of room for latecomers to catch the bands up close. Hailing from Wollongong. Australia, the duo tore through a generous 45-minute opening set that had Padraic Skehan and Binx vibing through their set of post-punk grinders that welcomed The Saints horn section for a late set flourish.

With a quick changeover (The Saint’s equipment was mostly already on stage), the band look the stage with a rousing cheer from the San Francisco audience but no other fanfare as the band launched right into “Swing for the Crime.” The stage that looked ample during the opener’s performance all of a sudden looked incredibly small and intimate with Arm posting up center stage with his mic stand and Kuepper stepping into easily the role of the evening’s master of ceremonies.

Not surprisingly the setlist balanced the band’s first three albums, but made it a point to mix things up significantly from the previous night, much to the delight of the many in the room who had gone all in on the band’s rare visit to San Francisco. After all, it could be their last.

The energy level picked up during the back third of the set resulting in an unnecessary kerfuffle during the intro to “All Times Through Paradise” that distracted Arm who lost his focus and ended up resetting the song as the culprit was escorted out the front doors by security. Probably for the best as The Saints ended the set on a particularly frenetic note with the one-two punch of “Demolition Girl” and “Nights In Venice” from (I’m) Stranded that got even the grey hairs in the room moving.

Even if you’re casually familiar with The Saints catalog, this is a show not to miss! The North American let of the tour wraps up in Washington DC on November 16 after which the band heads to Europe.

The Saints Setlist: