06 June 2019 (gig)
25 June 2019
In 1987 The Wedding Present offered us a fine collection of breakneck speed indie classics on their debut album George Best. Songs like Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft and My Favourite Dress became bedroom anthems for a generation of lovelorn and disgruntled teens.
A few years back David Gedge and his then current version of the Wedding Present visited this very venue to play that album in full, and what a night it was. Tonight they're here again to celebrate the 30th (yes, it really is that long ago!!) anniversary of their 2nd long player, Bizarro. This crowd of seasoned Wedding Present fans tonight await in anticipation to see if Gedge and co can bring the album back to glorious life.
Will they play it start to finish all in order? When they walk on and launch into Rotterdam it's clear the answer is no. The subdued start is short lived when the next track up is Bizarro opener Brassneck. After playing a couple more from the album David breaks his silence - "We are the semi-legendary Wedding Present" he says with a wry smile. He goes on to explain they'll be playing the whole thing but spread throughout the set. This is fine, this band has struggled to put a bad song out over their long and varied career, and tonight, wedged ( or maybe Gedged ) inbetween the Bizarro tracks are a host of gems plucked from a whole bunch of other semi-legendary albums.
Thirty years ago this whole crowd would have been one giant mosh pit, but it's a bit more sedate tonight. Not that everyones not loving it, I guess we're all a bit less energetic these days. It's only when indie disco floor filler Kennedy is launched into that a few of us manage to get a bit of a mosh pit going down the front. The gruff vocals, the riff, the repetition, the perfection.
This band put 100% into this performance tonight. Gedge still clearly has the passion and hunger to perform his little masterpieces to their full potential and has clearly rehearsed his band into the dark hours for months on end.
There are no fillers on this album, but highlights tonight are the brooding and intense Bewitched and the 9 minute epic of Take Me which causes mass exhaustion in our little 7 or 8 strong mosh pit! The 7 minute jangly, frantic outro is just a joy to bounce along to!
Close Lobsters cover Lets Make Some Plans and Fleshworld are other personal favourites tonight, and set closer Nobody's Twisting Your Arm is the perfect ending to a truly semi-legendary night!
The crowd tonight have been fantastic, as has the sound. This venue seems to be the perfect size to capture a cosy personal atmosphere and the acoustics are a sound man's dream in this place. More bands of this ilk please Falmouth Princess Pavilion!
