Tuesday 26th October, Omeara, London, Wet Leg
Riding high on the back of their You Tube viral hit ‘Chaise Longue’ this five piece from the Isle of Wight are the hottest ticket around at the moment. This their first heading London show sold out in a couple of days and their subsequent tour next year is already selling out with venue upgrades now happening too. And this is off the back of just two songs.
My expectation level of me being the oldest swinger in town was not misplaced with maybe just one of the professional cameramen at the front topping my years. But appreciating good music has no age barriers and actually the mix of ages was more than I expected.
The faces of Wet Leg are Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers with the former taking lead vocals and guitar duties. It’s difficult to categorise the band and it’s usually reductive to do that anyway but if pushed I would say that it’s quirky feel-good English pop. Female led XTC/Squeeze for the twenty twenties.
With just two songs generally available they still deliver a slick forty five minute set of original songs. The solid rhythm section and additional guitar/keyboardist adds more depth to their sound. There’s some nice harmonies between the four of them out front of stage which takes them a notch above the pub circuit. The other attribute that puts them above the field is the outstanding voice and range of Rhian. Shifting between delicacy and her practiced scream she covers all of the bases in between.
I get the feeling that their sudden rise is still a bit overwhelming as they are still very much learning their stage craft but once they click into gear for each song you can’t stop yourself from smiling, dancing along and generally having a great time.
The perfect antidote to a dull autumnal day with a short set of 3 minute pop songs. Their star is definitely in ascendance with a slot on Jools Holland to boot this weekend.
Just a word to Omeara, please put some air con in or turn it on as I had more than just a wet leg and even the walls were sweating.
Keep on quirky pop and rock and rollin y’all.