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About a month ago, I found myself perched in the chair of a study room on the second floor of the library surrounded by several of my friends. I really considered writing more of my thesis. To no one’s surprise, I did not. Instead, as my friends sat deeply immersed in their classwork, I rambled on about music and my excitement for the upcoming Wednesday show. It wasn’t until I used the word “twang” (a word I use often when describing their music) that my friends perked up and started giggling. I sat there confused as to what was so funny, and you can imagine my surprise when they told me they were unfamiliar with the term. I then dove into explaining various Southern twangs and drawls for way too long. Our spirited back and forth came to an end when one of my friends asked, “so are we talking about the way you say oil??” I could’ve argued that I say the word oil with more of a drawl, but I was too caught up in a fit of laughter.
The night of the show, I found myself swept up in a whirlwind of Southern twang, unexpected nostalgia, and buzzing excitement as North Carolina’s Wednesday delivered one of the most insane performances I’ve ever witnessed.
Setting the stage for the energy of the show were three very specific things:
- I walked through the doors of Denver’s Gothic Theatre and was immediately greeted by the single greatest piece of merch I’ve ever seen…
A black t-shirt branded with the words:
If you think I’m a bitch
You are right!!!
If you think I’m bossy
Correct as well
If you think I’m going to put up with your shit
GUESS AGAIN
‘Cause I’m a fan of the band
Wednesday
I happily purchased this shirt, along with a bumper sticker declaring “One Day I’ll Kill The Bitch Inside My Brain.” I’m a sucker for good merch.
- As the stage underwent its change from openers Friendship to headliners Wednesday, members of the band carried out trinket after trinket. Soon, the stage was covered in various vintage dolls, individual doll legs, stuffed animals, and even a fringed lamp that sat on a small bedside table surrounded by miscellaneous décor. It was an image straight out of an antique store in the South.
- Their walk-out song was “USE THE KEYBOARD KNIFE” by 300SkullsAndCounting. Need I say more??
Just listen: https://soundcloud.com/300skullsandcounting/use-the-keyboard-knfe-5
The show hadn’t even started, and I was already convinced that Wednesday had to be made up of some of the coolest people ever. This thought was immediately confirmed as Karly Hartzman took the mic, and the band erupted into the opening song off of their newest album Bleeds. “Reality TV Argument Bleeds” is a song that builds and builds and builds until it explodes (my favorite kind of song). I was floored at the intensity and rawness of Hartzman’s vocals, and I could feel the same shock and excitement from the rest of the crowd. With half of my body hanging over the barricade, I looked over to my right and grinned at the immediate and unanimous head banging that lined the barricade and went back as far into the crowd as I could see. The energy was all up from there.
“Circle pit after five songs!? Hell yeah!!”
“Hot Rotten Grass Smell” off of the band’s third album Rat Saw God was the fifth song of the set and really seemed to set the crowd into motion. A pit opened up, and my head started buzzing with the sound of distorted lap steel. In that moment, all you could do was scream and mosh. It was almost cathartic.
As you can probably tell, I was quite enamored by Wednesday and their stage presence. There were only a few moments throughout the show where I thought to press play on my voice memo app. If you hear my voice…no you don’t.
At one point in the show, Hartzman giggled and hollered out, “ wow, I love to get y’all moshing and then listen to all of the panting afterwards.” We all giggled with her, and I became hyper aware of my breathing from there on out. She made a few comments like this, but would then beautifully transition into a more mellow and vulnerable song.
One of my favorite of these moments was when they played “The Way Love Goes.”
This song is also off of their newest album Bleeds, and I cried the first time I heard it.
Knocking on that screen door
Even though I can see right through
As the song continues, Hartzman reflects on a past relationship, and there’s a sensitivity to her voice unlike any other moment throughout the show. She keeps her head down, and the crowd goes quiet.
Feel like I’m almost good enough to know you
I oversold myself
On the night we met
I’m not as entertaining as you might’ve thought I was then
And I’m scared to death
There’s women less
Spoiled by your knowing
Newer and much sweeter
Many much more patient with much more than I can give
You have seen me angry
I know it’s not been easy
And I know it can’t always be, and that’s the way love goes
The lyrics of this song make me slightly sick to my stomach every time I hear them, but I’ve never appreciated Hartzman’s vulnerability more. The song is straightforward in its message, but her delivery fills you with an aching feeling that takes more than a quick moment to subside. This song has become one of my favorite Wednesday songs after hearing it live.
Thanks to my dear friend Caroline, here’s a recording of “The Way Love Goes”
Following their performance of “The Way Love Goes,” the energy picked up once again. With a smirk of sarcasm, Hartzman remarked, “nobody likes this fucking song for some reason!!” They then immediately went into their hit song “Elderberry Wine.” I could go on and on about how this song was absolutely my song of the summer. Between the insane twang of steel guitar and sets of storytelling lyrics, this song made me spend my entire summer craving rain boots, a creek, 4 wheeler rides, and an Angry Orchard on the porch of my grandparents’ farmhouse.
Out of all of the songs played at the show, this was the one that had the entire crowd singing along. Rather than moshing, everyone swayed and danced. It was a change in energy that I really enjoyed. I was able to catch the end of the song with my voice memo app.
I probably screamed from excitement when the band strummed the first chords of their song “Townies.” To me, this song is the epitome of the alt-country genre that Wednesday has come to own. Hartzman reflects on being a teenager in Greensboro, North Carolina, focusing on a bittersweet portrayal of small-town life. I feel particularly drawn to this song, and was overcome with nostalgia at this point in the show. Having grown up in small-town Bellville, Texas, I felt that she was painting a picture of my hometown with lyrics like:
Catchin’ up with the townies
Some have gone but most are still around
The ghost of them surround me
or
Went to a party in the county
Stokin’ bonfires with leaf blowers
I stayed smiling the entire song as people crowed surfed and giggles from the band created momentary interruptions.
While there were many moments throughout the show that practically brought my jaw to the floor, nothing could have beat their closing song. Their song “Wasp” really leans into hardcore with its explosive nature.
I’m sick, can’t fuck, push the paint around
Castrated in my mental death
Hartzman crawled up to the front of the stage as the band played with an intensity that made my body hum. It’s moments like these that make me wonder if I should start wearing earplugs at shows.
For a moment, I stood gripping the barricade in awe, unsure how Hartzman could possibly still have a voice after performing this song night after night. However, Denver was Wednesday’s final show of tour, and they promised their all. We certainly got it.
If you haven’t taken the time to listen to Wednesday’s newest album Bleeds, I beg you to do so. Album of the year.
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