Wet Leg Come Back Strong At First Ave Tuesday Night
Wet Leg made a triumphant return to the First Avenue Main Room on Tuesday night. The last time they were here, March 2022, they were first booked at the Amsterdam. That sold out so fast that the show was moved to the Main Room, which also quickly became a sell out. Tuesdays show was a sell out too, as fans eagerly awaited to see how the band would showcase the new release Moisturizer.
First up Tuesday night were Mary in the junk Yard. While they may have been a trio, they had a rich depth of sound that create the illusion of a larger ensemble. The set was high energy. Kinda poppy kinda indie, all fun and catchy. The musicians all appeared to be able to communicate without speaking, locked in on each other, all the while radiating their energy throughout the room. Prepping for the show, I watched some YouTube videos and was pleasantly surprised that the band is much better live than the videos represent.
The lights went down, the smoke came up, backlit with orange and red lighting, created a post apocalyptic landscape on the First Avenue stage. Opening with “Catch These Fists” and “Wet Dream”, the band were taking no prisoners right out of the gate. The sold out crowd was whipped into a frenzied state. And there was no doubt who was leading the sonic attack. Rhian Teasdale commanded the stage like a Marvel superhero, chiseled and glistening in the smokey Main Room spots. Her sense of confidence infused the rest of the band, who looked like they were having the time of their lives on the historic First Avenue stage. The band, Jason Mobaraki on guitars and synth, Henry Holmes on drums and Ellis Durand on bass were tight and locked in, as only living, writing and working together can produce. Holy shit those strobe lights though. There was a couple of times during the set the strobes were just over the top, when I close my eyes I still see the outline of the strobes
Wielding an acrylic green BC Rich guitar like a modern day gladiator, Teasdale would wonder over to the kinda hidden spot on stage right where her partner in crime Hester Chambers stood for pretty much most of the Tuesday night set. Its clear that Teasdale is embracing her hard as nails front person persona, however there were cracks in the veneer where she let a softer more vulnerable side emerge. There were a few slower cadence tunes where she spoke of love and cuddling. But the Main Room energy was ramped back up to the stratosphere with the live version of “pillow talk”. The spacey jam section performed on Tuesday night would make Dead and Co. jealous. This began a string of bangers, including “pond song” and “Chaise Longue” the brought the electricity level back to where it was when the band first opened their set. “Mangetout” definitely had more energy live than the recording. The band seamlessly shifted from older material to newer tunes, like a perfectly curated play list. With a 18 song setlist, First Ave was treated to an all original no covers set, covering dang near the band’s entire catalog. The band closed the show with “CPR”, with Teasdale singing into an old school dial phone. With no encore, the Main Room crowd was escorted out to the sounds of the Bee Gees.
Wet Leg brought joy on their second stop in Minneapolis, and continue to morph into a mature, but not too serious, live act.
Photos by Vito Ingerto
