Wavves & Vampire Hands @ 7th St. Entry

(Wavves)

You could tell from the proliferating number of kids with skinny jeans and American Apparel gear loitering outside the 7th Street Entry Sunday that there was a buzz band in Minneapolis Sunday night. On this particularly cool spring night the band everyone came out to see was Wavves, the San Diego based two piece fuzz-punk band led by Nathan Williams.

(Wavves)

(Wavves)

You know it is a fickle crowd when you hear more than a one group of people gathered before the set say they are there to “check it out” and are planning on “leaving if it sucks.” What the crowd lacked in devotion, it made up in numbers, as the 7th Street Entry was packed pretty full for the young band with only two full lengths under their belt. Williams, who records his albums as a solo artist, was joined live by a Ryan Ulsh on drums to fill out his sound in the live setting. Amusingly, the members of Wavves, who looked like they were skipping high school to go on this tour, reminded me of the young skater punks who form a band in the movie High Fidelity. Williams’ guitar playing, which featured a less abrasive edge than was featured on their latest album, Wavvves, worked well with Ulsh’s frantic drumming to really highlight his poppy punk songs that have brought the band so much attention.

(Wavves)

Their set, which lasted slightly over 30 minutes, featured many of Williams’ best songs, including “California Goths,” “I’m So Bored,” “No Hope Kids” and “Weed Demon,” which was played after a crowd request for a song “about smoking weed.” Williams’ singing and guitar playing, which are often hid under massive layers of distortion on his records, sounded strong live and showed that he has some true songwriting chops beneath the fuzz. That being said, neither the band nor the crowd seemed to have any desire for the set to last much longer than its half hour lifespan, which is a cause for concern. Williams definitely has potential to be a great songwriter but he will need to make sure to stretch out his scope and not become a one trick pony that sounds repetitive after more than 30 minutes. While no one could possibly live up to the hype placed on his young shoulders, Williams did a strong job of showing his strengths that have brought him so much attention and laid the groundwork for becoming something close to what the tastemakers have made him out to be.

(Vampire Hands)

(Vampire Hands)

Opening the show (and the whole tour) were local boys done good Vampire Hands. As I have said before, Vampire Hands are one of my favorite bands from Minneapolis and they seem to be taking their chance to tour the country to packed houses and making the most of it. Other than some witty pre-set banter the band refrained from chatting up the hometown crowd, instead focusing on their propulsive and swirling psychedelic rock. Especially compared to the rough-around-the-edges set that followed them, the band came across as powerful and highly confident in their abilities and had the crowd moving from their first notes. Their 45 minute set showed that the band had earned their spot on this buzzed about tour and in all reality probably should have been in the headlining spot.

(Vampire Hands)

(Vampire Hands)

[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm.]

Wavves: Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia
Vamprie Hands: Purchase | MySpace

Also: Vampire Hands “Hannah in the Mansion” Review