Wednesday on a Saturday
Karly Hartzman of Wednesday—All photos courtesy of Jordon Ranft
Have you ever listened to shoegaze and thought, “I wish there were more discordant guitar screeches?” Have you been humming along to an alt-country ballad and said to yourself, “This should be more aggressive and sad at the same time?” Good news, you are a fan of the band Wednesday. Since 2017, Wednesday has been grinding out some of the most exciting sounds in the alt-rock world, blending the raw sincerity of garage rock with 21st-century country twangs and some high-brown ambiance thrown in the mix. It’s accessible and catchy, it’s off-kilter and strange, it’s a good time. I was lucky enough to catch them live at the Oakland Fox Theater on October 18th of this year, and the show has been stuck with me ever since.
First up for the openers was Friendship, a Philly-based indie outfit that delivered a series of slow, heavy bangers. It was my first time seeing them and, as they claimed, their first time in Oakland. Their music isn’t exactly designed to hype a crowd up but rather to set a mood. Standing within the vault of the Fox, with its bizarre Art Deco moulding and statues of a vaguely Buddha-like character with glowing eyes on either side of the stage, Friendship acted as scruffy emissaries, indicating the start of a journey into another realm.
SASAMI was next up, and what a gear shift. The multi-instrumentalist fashions herself as a bit of a genre chameleon, with each album dipping into a different style. Previous outings have seen her exploring everything from indie singer/songwriter vibes all the way to progressive metal and industrial. Her most recent album, though, is an examination of all things pop. The set was high energy and packed with attitude. SASAMI sang, played guitar and French horn, and strutted across the stage with a fierce and dominating presence. At one point she declared, “I’m going to be the act that starts a pit,” and then conducted the crowd into the formation of not one, not two, but three circle pits.
I’m not sure what is most impressive about Wednesday. Their song arrangements are incredible, swooping in and out of high-velocity noise rock and introspective atmosphere. I can dance, mosh, or cry to them, often within a period of minutes. Karly Hartzman has a voice that at first seems unadorned and straightforward, until she takes off on an run during the more country-inflected songs and blows your head clean off. They are a quintessential American rock band for the 21st century. They also seem like completely down to earth and friendly people. During the set, Hartzman spoke effusively about how much she admired Friendship and SASAMI, going as far as to share the anecdotes for how they originally met. She encouraged everyone in the audience to start their own band. She graciously told the fine people of Oakland that they were better than the crowd she had in Los Angeles. All of this while ripping through one of the most hypnotic and compelling sets I’ve seen in a while.
I know most people are probably just here for the pictures, but if you’re reading this, go see Wednesday live immediately.
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