On a cold Sunday evening, I joined a long line of eager fans who were organised enough to buy tickets for the Isle of Wight duo Wet Leg's first ever show in Aotearoa. This was one of the first of many acts performing to sold out crowds here as part of a series of Splendour in the Grass sideshows.
As the line slowly trickled in filling up the Tuning Fork, Tāmaki Makaurau band Daffodils opened up the night, performing to a receptive and appreciative audience.They ran through a set of catchy pop songs, satisfying the comparisons of 80’s bands like The Cure, Joy Division and our own Mockers that I'd often heard.
The band made up of Jade Bryham (keys, backing vocals), Louis Graham (bass, backing vocals), Isaac Keating (drums) effortlessly created the musical backdrop for frontman Theo Spike Salmon to let loose on, bringing an X-Factor energy similar to that of the Mockers Andrew Fagan.
Daffodils mostly played newer material off their latest EP Stay the Night but songs like 'House Across the Street' and 'Stay The Night' had the crowd singing along with catchy familiarity. I think it is safe to say that Daffodils left an impression on a crowd assumedly only there for Wet Leg.
Daffodils playing live at the Tuning Fork Photo: Charlotte Ryan
After just the right amount of fashionably late, Wet Leg stepped on stage and didn't muck around, kicking off their show with their second single 'Wet Dream', the entire room started screaming, jumping, and dancing feverishly, including the bar staff.
We were treated to an hour of their music, including unreleased songs, like 'Obvious', which silenced the whole room, and then onto the more familiar louder guitar-heavy songs like 'Oh No', 'Too Late Now', and 'Angelica'.
For a band that formed during the early stages of the pandemic and rapidly gained popularity last year, they were entirely comfortable on stage, unleashing a well rehearsed set which saw the band's founding members, Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers moving back and forth to the mic, sharing singing duties.
There were moments that broke the barrier between artist and audience, like when the microphone fell off the stand, leaving Rhian to step back and laugh and the crowd to take over. Their banter was warm, sassy and witty, on brand with their lyrics, for example when someone in the crowd threw to them what appeared to be a single towel, Hester commented “Well we shower together anyway”.
Other funny moments happened when Rhian made a joke out of accidentally saying "Star Truck" instead of star-struck when recounting a story, before the band made up of Henry Holmes (Drums) Ellis Durand (bass, backing vocals) and Joshua Omead Mobaraki (Guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals) huddled to discuss doing the accidentally missed out cover of Ronan Keating's song Rollercoaster, which seemed to make the very ‘cool’ crowd a bit uneasy.
Another highlight was the audience screaming with them at the end of ‘Ur Mum’, lasting a decent thirty seconds, then Rhian asking the crowd “Do you feel better now?.... I do!” She then put down her guitar, and talked about the boredom of living on the Isle of Wight and fantasising to be abducted by aliens before breaking into 'I Want to Be Abducted (By a UFO)' in an unleashed style reminiscent of Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
After playing their debut breakthrough single ‘Chaise Longue’ to the exuberant audience who happily participated in the call and response of the lyrics “Excuse Me?”, "What”? Wet Leg said "thanks, guys" as they left the stage, and the smiling faces of a satisfied audience filed out of the Tuning Fork.
Wet Leg will be back in Tāmaki Makaurau in March 2023 as support for Harry Styles and I can't wait to go, despite not knowing a single Harry Styles song.
Wet Leg setlist:
Wet Dream
Being In Love
Convincing
Supermarket
It's Not Fun
Obvious
Oh No
Ur Mum
UFO
Too Late NOw
Rollercoaster
Angelica
Chaise Longue
