The audience expectantly looked on as Wavves finished assembling their gear on Great Scott’s stage, Tuesday, June 22nd. Guitars already tuned and drum-set erected, Wavves were asked to wait fifteen minutes before beginning their show. While they seized the opportunity to re-fuel, the audience grew restless, ready to hear what they came for – Wavves’ signature feel-good racket. And come fifteen minutes, Wavves served a beautifully knotted mess of sound, well worth the wait.
Bassist Stephen Pope flaunted his blonde cotton-candy-like fro as he whole-heartedly picked and provided background vocals for “So Bored.” Ramming forward, Billy Hays, the chief banterer of the evening, supplemented the bit with resolute yet joyful drumming. And while the mesh of noise grew thick and involved, Nathan Williams’ boyish whine easily weaved through it all.
Wavves’ up-beat concoctions, including a few from their upcoming album King of the Beach, excited the audience into frenzy. Like the music, the concert-goers collided with gusto while dancing jubilantly. But, “Weed Demons” cooled the setting (probably more effectively than Williams’ spray of water onto the crowd). Pope distorted sounds while Williams sighed fluid sentences, and like some modern-day Gregorian chant, the song effused peacefulness.
Currently on tour in Europe, Wavves will return to the States by August. They haven’t posted any new East Coast dates yet, but as those fifteen minutes proved at Great Scott, the wait will have been more than worth it when they finally do make it back to a Boston stage.