wavves2

Immediately following Ganglians' set Tuesday night at the Jackpot Music Hall, a tribe of previously docile hipsters charged the stage with bursting energy. By no means a slight against Ganglians, it was merely the excitement a Wavves performance garners from those young enough to throw elbows in the pit and rock skin-tight jeans. One such kid tapped me on the shoulder, presumably because of the camera around my neck, to warn me of the ensuing insanity I was about to witness not on stage but from the audience itself. Further questioning revealed that "it got pretty out of control last time I saw a Wavves show." Needless to say, there was a palpable buzz in the front of the crowd that surrounded the always cramped stage of the Jackpot that night. They came to hear good pop music - albeit a fuzzed out, Niravnaesque version of it, they came to dance, and more importantly to "get a little crazy." They would not be disappointed.

Armed only with a Marshall stack nearly twice his size, one of best living drummers - Zach Hill of Hella fame and a handful of lo-fi pop-punk songs, Zach Williams aka Wavves tore into a ramshackle version of "I'm So Bored." With the first lazy chord strum and Zach Hill's commencing drum clinic, motion exploded all around. By the third song of nearly pure distortion and greasy fast drum fills, the motion had turned into a mosh pit sing along. Prompting Williams to inform the audience that "we're just going to fuck up every song tonight!" The crowd cheered, Wavves was feeding off their energy and giving them what they wanted.

From there Williams seemed to loosen up, more comfortable with any imprecision and willing to sweat his ass off because of the appreciative response. Sporadic fits of headbanging erupted from both band and crowd, while new converts joined in the melee near the front. Notes were missed and a false start or two occurred but Wavves continued to plow though the ridiculously catchy material, including my personal favorite "No Hope Kids." There was not a dry t-shirt in the crowd and everyone had taken their fair share of lumps from falling bodies as Hill kept the set moving with a perfect beat, playing the foil to Williams' inclination toward no-wave guitar madness.

And then it was over as fast as it began. Calls for an encore died quickly as the house lights came up. It's not that they didn't want more, they simply understood what rock and roll is supposed to be about - abrasive pop tunes played from the gut so intensely that when it's over the musicians respectfully have to say, fuck you I'm done.

video by Tricia Rock

by: Brent Carter

" />Live Recap: Wavves | The Rathaus

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Live Recap: Wavves

September 18, 2009 Art, communication, The Rathaus

wavves2

Immediately following Ganglians’ set Tuesday night at the Jackpot Music Hall, a tribe of previously docile hipsters charged the stage with bursting energy. By no means a slight against Ganglians, it was merely the excitement a Wavves performance garners from those young enough to throw elbows in the pit and rock skin-tight jeans. One such kid tapped me on the shoulder, presumably because of the camera around my neck, to warn me of the ensuing insanity I was about to witness not on stage but from the audience itself. Further questioning revealed that “it got pretty out of control last time I saw a Wavves show.” Needless to say, there was a palpable buzz in the front of the crowd that surrounded the always cramped stage of the Jackpot that night. They came to hear good pop music – albeit a fuzzed out, Niravnaesque version of it, they came to dance, and more importantly to “get a little crazy.” They would not be disappointed.

Armed only with a Marshall stack nearly twice his size, one of best living drummers – Zach Hill of Hella fame and a handful of lo-fi pop-punk songs, Zach Williams aka Wavves tore into a ramshackle version of “I’m So Bored.” With the first lazy chord strum and Zach Hill’s commencing drum clinic, motion exploded all around. By the third song of nearly pure distortion and greasy fast drum fills, the motion had turned into a mosh pit sing along. Prompting Williams to inform the audience that “we’re just going to fuck up every song tonight!” The crowd cheered, Wavves was feeding off their energy and giving them what they wanted.

From there Williams seemed to loosen up, more comfortable with any imprecision and willing to sweat his ass off because of the appreciative response. Sporadic fits of headbanging erupted from both band and crowd, while new converts joined in the melee near the front. Notes were missed and a false start or two occurred but Wavves continued to plow though the ridiculously catchy material, including my personal favorite “No  Hope Kids.” There was not a dry t-shirt in the crowd and everyone had taken their fair share of lumps from falling bodies as Hill kept the set moving with a perfect beat, playing the foil to Williams’ inclination toward no-wave guitar madness.

And then it was over as fast as it began. Calls for an encore died quickly as the house lights came up. It’s not that they didn’t want more, they simply understood what rock and roll is supposed to be about – abrasive pop tunes played from the gut so intensely that when it’s over the musicians respectfully have to say, fuck you I’m done.

video by Tricia Rock

by: Brent Carter

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