REVIEW: Wednesday 5/5/23

Wednesday -  Teragram Ballroom

Long story short, Wednesday happens to be one of the favorite bands of KXSC. After the release of Twin Plagues back in 2021, the anthems of “How Can You Live if You Can’t Love How Can You If You Do”, “Birthday Song”, and “Cody’s Only”, appear to seamlessly represent all backgrounds of the folks here at college radio. With all of us coming from broad spectrums of the US, like Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Chicago, Wednesday’s sound and aesthetic feels like you are in your hometown friend’s basement show, almost perfectly reflecting what our generation of college radio kids grew up around. So, if you turn on KXSC’s programming on any given day, if you listen for about an hour, we assure you some kind of Wednesday or MJ Lenderman song will be playing.

After the announcement of the new Rat Saw God Album, KXSC was pleasantly ecstatic, and we can assure you— we were ready to rumble at whatever LA date they were planning to play. Once the LA date was announced, KXSC bought 22 tickets for each of our staff-member Wednesday fans, and hosted a momentous pre-show celebration, which ultimately emphasizes our excitement for the night.

After arriving at the Teragram Ballroom, we quickly set up camp, to watch another of our favorite bands, Toner. Back in February, Toner played a house show thrown by KXSC. Seeing them on the Teragram stage, opening for our favorite band, really exemplified how meaningful of an event this show felt to our scene. Wednesday reminds us of our DIY hometown scenes, so seeing Toner, in this context, ultimately emphasized how involved Wednesday is with the happening DIY around us. After dancing around to Toner’s “95’ Slow,” the excitement to see Wednesday only heightened.

After dispersing for a couple of minutes of chatting with friends, and buying beers from the bar, Teragram dims their lighting, and Wednesday steps out. Amidst immense cheers and excitement from the crowd and rumbling with the KXSC section of the soon-to-be mosh pit, the band starts playing the opening track of Rat Saw God, “Hot Rotten Grass Smell”. Within the first song of their set, Wednesday introduces their live interpretations of their signature wailing guitars, and a huge booming kick drum. After their intro song, Wednesday whipped out one of their current crowd pleasing, religion referencing, and ultimately extremely southern feeling hits, “Bath County”. With just two songs played, the band pauses to acknowledge all that’s just happened. For old and new fans, the two tracks encapsulate what the band ultimately stands for-- a reflection on upbringings and experiences in mundane America, referencing that smell of hot humid grass known all too well in southern East Coast summers, and religious guilt that often floods even the edgiest of suburban grown youths.

After a few minutes of more tunes, and ultimately some more minutes of ass shaking, the band whips out yet another crowd pleaser, and potentially a current lesbian/queer anthem, “She’s Actin Single (I’m Drinkin Doubles)”. With the stark contrast between country singer Cody Johnson’s original composition of the tune, and Wednesdays wail-y, emo, and ultimately queer rendition, this song somehow felt like a DIY-band Kenny Chesney concert. Every crowd member holding their PBRs to the sky, singing along to the lyrics matched by Wednesday’s strategic and tight, though seemingly shit-kicking and “fuck it” feeling hits leading into the phrase, “ I’m drinking double”—it felt as if the band is completely reclaiming genre of country for those with mullets, whom smoke Camel crush cigarettes, and are probably in ethically non-monogamous relationships.

A couple minutes later band leader, Karly Hartzman, states, “We’re gonna keep the country songs going,” right into the opening riffs of their song “Chosen to Deserve”, potentially one of the most “country” sounding anthems on Rat Saw God. With lyrics outlining how their friend took too much Benadryl while trying to trip out and see shit crawling up the walls, and emphasizing that she’s the girl “you’ve chosen to deserve,” Hartzman vocalizes a little bit of self-degradation, while eventually forgetting some lyrics between choruses. Though with a little bit of help from the crowd and band members, singing along to the anthem, “Chosen to Deserve” may have acted as one of the peaks to their performance. Encapsulating Wednesday’s reclamation of country, lyricism about being young and not taking care of yourself, and the ultimate reliance on their community to finish the song, “Chosen to Deserve” emphasized the feeling of at-home-ness that Wednesday so beautifully encapsulates.

Though playing a sold out Teragram Ballroom, the band and audience made the night feel like a basement show in your hometown. For KXSC, seeing our friends Toner open, and having 22 of our best friends in the audience, Wednesday’s show at the Teragram beautifully encapsulated why we love music and why we do college radio. Though Wednesday is now in the big leagues, for some reason they still feel like friends, and that’s what makes their music just so good. To me, being from Pittsburgh PA, Wednesday reminds me of all the DIY rust belt bands, and reminds me of doing dumb shit in high school. But beyond Wednesday’s reflection of not respecting your body while growing up, within their sonic elements, overall tightness of the band, and complete endearment and passion within their music, they have become a band that encapsulates a niche but widely known and understood experience with coming of age.

At the end of this epitaph of an evening, Wednesday had time for one last and necessary song, the all-encompassing “Bull Believer''. Allowing their fans to shake a little bit more ass and jump around in the pit during the song’s first half, they ultimately reach the story’s midpoint, slowing down the tempo and allowing people to find their friends and lovers for the upcoming peak of the evening after the craze of the pit. After scurrying to find my friends after the pit, I had to scream along to the lyrics, “you were playing Mortal Combat'” and “Believe me, Believer” with all of my best friends in one section of the crowd. Eventually, Hartzman enters the pivotal section of the song by singing “finish him”. While holding friends and lovers tightly for this final minute leading up to Hartzman’s screaming peak, this slow section of the song allowed a few moments of reflection on the evening, friends, and the abilities of such a community. Quickly snapped out of this moment of reflection by the massive hits emphasizing this phrase, clearly the entire audience was screaming along.

Wednesday somehow encapsulates all that we love about music. The sounds, the storytelling, the spaces, the fun, and the community and people behind it all.

Thanks for such an amazing night. 

-Betsy Schmeler