One might not think Boston would be a hub of alt-country fans. But last week, the band Wednesday proved that country music is universal, and that the universe might just be centered around our little city.
“Well, you got us on our day,” frontperson Karly Hartzman joked to the enraptured crowd at Roadrunner. “It only happens every seven.”
I don’t mean to be egocentric by calling Boston the center of the universe. Wednesday has been blatantly clear that North Carolina is their one true love. With lyrics like “Weeds grew into the springs of the trampoline / You saw a pitbull puppy pissin’ off a balcony,” the band’s dedication to rural America is obvious.
But it seems like all of the stars were aligned last Wednesday; Boston birthed Hartzman’s favorite band, the Swirlies, in the ‘90s. The owner of the band’s beloved Instagram fan account, @countrygazed, lives in Boston, and it was the largest audience the band had ever played for — a fact Hartzman reminded the audience of several times.
Wearing a hot pink Swirlies tank top, Hartzman, accompanied by drummer Alan Miller, Xandy Chelmis on steel guitar, Ethan Baechtold on bass, and lead guitarist Jake “Spyder” Pugh, coolly transferred their raw, unfiltered sound from North Carolina to Boston. The five-piece draws inspiration from ‘90s shoegaze, alt-rock, and country to inform their sound, although the outcome is exclusively their own.
By the time the opening act — hardcore noise-punk band Gouge Away — had concluded, the pit had already expelled a handful of its members. I can only imagine the instigator in that pit, whispering into the ears of impressionable young Wed-heads: “Crowd surf . . . You want to crowd surf . . . You need to surf this crowd . . .” One by one, throughout the entire night, they popped out of the crowd and floated right into the arms of the barricade guard, who bridal carried each euphoric surfer and placed them down, ready to relive the cycle all over again. If the crowd surfers moved in a cycle, it seemed as if they were the hamsters running the wheel that powered the band.
Hartzman kicked off the set with MJ Lenderman’s “Manning Fireworks,” an April Fool’s joke that referenced the former band member and Hartzman’s former partner. Wednesday, sans Hartzman, also makes up Lenderman’s “the Wind” touring band.
Once the silly pranks were through, that band got down to business — after the built-up guitar intro to “Reality TV Argument Bleeds,” Hartzman jaggedly screamed, quickly setting the tone for the night.
While Roadrunner was the band’s biggest venue yet, they quickly proved they could fill the space and then some. “Walk over the wet boards of a wooden bridge / When I don’t feel like bein’ comforted” Hartzman sang to the crowd of camo-wearing city folk while Baechtold and Pugh’s guitars jangled behind her.
Seemingly comfortable as ever on the stage littered with stuffed animals and old toys, Hartzman and the band effortlessly swooped in and out of their classic honeylike twang and blistering noise rock. On most of their songs, Wednesday combines the two sounds, but they never shy away from fully embracing either end of the spectrum.
“Phish Pepsi” is backed by lively Appalachian-style steel guitar from Chelmis, while “Candy Breath” references David Bowie’s iconic “Heroes” guitar-with-a-British-accent opening riff, and “Elderberry Wine,” the band’s summertime hit, is a sweet and honeyed song that explores the nuances of familiarity.
Before the final songs, Hartzman told the crowd that the last two would, in fact, be the last two. In a full circle moment from the beginning of the concert, at the end of “Bull Believer,” Hartzman screams. Starting softly, she sang the phrase, “Finish him,” which she repeated over and over, becoming more and more guttural each time. I can’t be sure, but I would bet that at least three crowd surfers revealed themselves during the length of her harsh growls.
With “Wasp,” the most hardcore track off their album “Bleeds,” Wednesday ended the night. They could have kept going though — the hamsters in the crowd would have run on that wheel for hours longer.
As a longtime Wednesday fan, the fact that Roadrunner was the largest venue they have played shocked me. In my mind, the group is at the top of the indie pyramid. With a recent feature in the annual “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, it seems clear that if they aren’t already at the top, it’s only a matter of time.
Soon, this Boston show will be just a blip on the timeline of Wednesday’s meteoric rise, although for the crowd of Wed-heads/hamsters/camo-wearing city folk, the night was monumental. Life changing, even.
