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Review: Wet Leg, Bristol Beacon – ‘Infectious, eccentric, magnetic’
For the artist formerly known as Rhain, Wet Leg’s Bristol Beacon concert might not have been a homecoming gig in the very strictest sense of the term but it was certainly a triumphant return to her stomping ground.
It was a gig which showed just what an astonishing journey singer-songwriter Rhian Teasdale has been on since she left her native Isle of Wight for the brighter lights of Bristol at the behest of local music mogul Aled Chivers and his Chiverin initiative which was founded at the Louisiana in 2014 to showcase the local music scene.
“Without Chiverin I’d still be working in a café on the island,” Teasdale said in a previous interview almost a decade ago when she was no doubt dreaming of nights like this at the Beacon as she honed her art with gigs at local venues like Thekla.
Long before Wet Leg, Rhian Teasdale started her music career in Bristol
Fast forward to the weekend’s storming sell-out gig at the Beacon and there was a bit of, erm, Wet Leg-pulling by the vocalist’s bandmates, coaxing out her obvious fondness for all things Bristol which one of her guitarists said was “a bit of an in-joke” before her own public display of affection.
“I used to live in Bristol and I love Bristol,” she told an audience whose ages ranged from young teenagers to golden oldies, before dedicating what she said was the “hugely appropriate” song u and me at home again to the city.
“Maybe we could order in, maybe we could grow,” she sang. “Baby, we’re just stoned again, funny how that goes, I’m over everybody else, happy comatose.” Whatever state she was in, Bristol should be proud to have helped ‘Rhain’ get her musical act together.
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Teasdale has certainly come a long way since her Bristol days, via Wet Leg’s recent Albert Hall show as well Grammy and Brit Awards success, support for Harry Styles and Glastonbury this year with big outdoor gigs on their way next summer in Manchester, Leeds and London.
And Wet Leg’s Beacon show was emphatic evidence of what a roll the British indie rock band are on with their infectious brand of electro-pop-punk fused with an eccentric sense of fun and a magnetic, captivating frontwoman.
A 19-song set kicked off with Catch These Fists, setting the tone for a memorable occasion with lyrics which show Wet Leg are in good company.
“I don’t want your love, I just wanna fight,” sang Teasdale, “I just threw up in my mouth, when he just tried to ask me out,” and soon the crowd was roaring along with her as banger after banger followed.
They certainly maintain a long tradition of British bands with a fondness for musing about the wonderful inanities of British life, from the Kinks to the Clash – who also sang about supermarkets – and Blur then Arctic Monkeys, who also just happen to be Wet Leg’s Domino Records stablemates.
Teasdale has led the band on the road to showcase their second album Moisturizer and its love songs which followed their eponymous, stomping debut album, and she is clearly up for a fight.
Kitted out in what looks like a two-piece wrestler’s outfit complete with tassels and glittering shoes, Teasdale sounds great as she flexes her biceps, giving off Iggy Pop/Dave Gahan vibes with writhing, body-confident stage presence.
“You think I’m pretty, you think I’m pretty cool,” Teasdale teased and she was spot-on as she owned the place, the plexiglass green guitar she donned every now and again adding to the exhibitionism.
Following their meteoric rise to fame, exhibitionist Teasdale’s musical partner Hester Chambers chooses to remain in the background and often turns her back to the camera in photographs
Wet Leg’s co-founder and lead guitarist Hester Chambers maintained a low profile in the shadows for much of the evening which worked well as the Beacon’s acoustics never allowed the five-piece’s instruments to get in the way of Teasdale’s penetrative singing.
They proved they’re very much a scream with Ur Mum accompanied by a mass audience scream.
While there was no encore things did end on a magnificent high thanks to Chaise Longue which kick-started their meteoric rise before CPR and mangetout emphasised that Wet Leg are anything but one-hit wonders. A highly-anticipated third album is now on its way.
Main image: Wet Leg
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