Wavves, the surf-rock punks from So-Cal, came through Madison Monday to play a show at the Majestic. When I spoke with guitarist Alex Gates last week, he told me the only shows they’ve been doing since their last tour were one-offs in college towns. So, naturally, they felt right at home.
Because of the fascists who dictate my class schedule, I was forced to miss most of the opener, Chicago-based youngsters Twin Peaks. I caught the end of their set, though, and now I know why they’ve created such a buzz. The five-piece was having fun on stage and set the crowd up nicely with their own brand of crashing garage rock.
Wavves wasted no time getting started. They had no interest in making the audience wait. Within five minutes of Twin Peaks leaving the stage, Nathan Williams walked out with a wine bottle in his hand, picked up his guitar that was “really cool but just will not stay in tune,” and began playing.
The bells of “Sail to the Sun” chimed in, the opener of their album Afraid of Heights, and the crowd braced themselves for the ensuing mosh pits. Wavves raged on through a flurry of hits, stringing together crowd favorites “Idiot,” “Linus Spacehead” and “Beat Me Up.” It was about this time Williams promised the Majestic that when he finished his bottle of wine, he would jump into the crowd from the balcony.
Thus far, Wavves has officially released four singles off of their new album, V, but they didn’t stop there on Monday. They played three of those four, and sprinkled in a couple more that have yet to be released. They also included, “No Life For Me,” a track off of Williams’ collaboration album with Cloud Nothings.
In a nice surprise, they played a track off of their second album, Wavvves, an album that was recorded when Wavves was still a solo project of Williams. “So Bored” started a line of songs closed out by their ultimate fire-starter, “Post Acid.”
Again shunning the concept of making the crowd wait for the inevitable, Nathan addressed the crowd, “This is when we would usually go backstage before an encore, but we’re just gonna keep playing.” They crashed into a trio of “King of the Beach,” “Demon to Lean On” and “Green Eyes.”
Immediately after, Williams made good on his promise. He chugged what little wine was left, went backstage and reappeared on the balcony. He called the crowd over below him and flipped onto his screaming fans, who caught him dutifully.
I touched on the dichotomy of Wavves’s self-deprecating lyrics with their fast-paced anthems in my discussion with Williams. You sing along, and you almost don’t even realize what you’re saying. Halfway through the show, they dive into the eponymous single off their last album, and have the crowd screaming, “I’ll always be on my own, f----- and alone.”
But nothing stops. The moshing continues; the crowd surfing carries on. The great thing about a show like this is that it accomplishes what it meant to do. It transcends the workday and lifts you to a better place: A place filled with sleeve tattoos, eyebrow piercings, and music that’ll wake the neighbors.
