NOTE: All photos are copyright of Dean Keim 2025
The classic indie pop band The Wedding Present played The Music Hall of Williamsburg in celebration of the 35th anniversary of their second album Bizarro from 1989 (which they played in its entirety). I was lucky enough to catch them the last time they came through town in 2017 and played the Bell House, promoting a new album called Going, Going, but their tour in 2013, stopping at the Bowery Ballroom, was another full album tour in which they played the 1991 disc Seamonsters. After seeing this band enough times, you really start to trust that no matter if they are playing old classics or new tracks, they will always bring a surprising amount of energy to their songs. Most other indie pop acts are chill to the point of passing out on stage with their performances but The Wedding Present are guaranteed to light a fire under your butt and make you bounce and shake around like Tigger on crack. The only member from the original lineup is frontman and guitarist David Gedge but his wildly frantic strumming was amplified by the hellacious axe player Rachael Wood who joined the band a couple tours back. Rachael added some truly sprawling explosions of crunchy wails for some gorgeous crescendos to their epic jams.
A new generation of the UK indie scene opened the show with a group called The Tubs, who I knew of mostly because vocalist/guitarist Owen Williams and bassist Max Warren were in a noise pop band, Joanna Gruesome, that I used to rock out to and even saw a couple times back in the day . This is their first US tour since forming a few years back with guitarist Dan Lucas and drummer Taylor Stewart filling out the roster. I found this to be a surprise powerhouse of a band that I was not expecting to rock so hard. They played songs from both of their albums like “Freak Mode” and “Wretched Lie” as well as a new song called “Who’s Gonna Love You.” The band always seemed to be pushing the power levels of what could be considered indie pop, sounding like a charged-up version of The Smiths or a wacked-out Welsh cousin of The Chills, and I loved every minute of their passionate opuses. I will also say I found drummer Stewart’s drunken tirades to be the perfect comedic relief to an awesome opening set, including recitations of cross-country cuisine on tour from IHOP to White Castle, Denny’s to Sonic.
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The Wedding Present came out and played a few choices from their other albums, including “A Million Miles” and “Come Play With Me,” before they lunged into Bizarro, where they kicked out fan favorite classics like “Brassneck,” “Kennedy,” and the epic jam of “Take Me”. Then Gedge warned “I’ll see you in 9 minutes,” as they let loose this timeless behemoth opus at breakneck strumming speeds. He also took questions from fans who would occasionally shout queries from the audience. When asked why it took so long to tour again, he explained that the pandemic got in the way, but they had also been dropped by their booking agent and that finding a new one took some time. You felt their deeply pent up frantic need to jam out as their set exploded with bewitching hooks, jangling riffs, fuzzy basslines, and animated drumming. They finished out the show with the classic masterpieces “My Favorite Dress” and “Dalliance” before hitting the wall at full speed and finally coming to a well-deserved rest with the bewitching classic “Crawl.” It was an amazing show that exemplified why this band will forever be a rock and roll paramour.
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