The Llano Idea

Unless you’ve been hibernating this past winter or live in a remote region of the earth with no Internet access, odds are you are at least aware of a little band called Wavves. Hell, you should be since your favorite music blog in the world covered this one-man band a couple of weeks back. In an effort to promote his upcoming LP imaginatively entitled Wavvves (with the added ‘v’ for emphasis), Nathan Williams has hit the road, taking along drummer Ryan Ulsh for an extensive European tour before heading back stateside for SXSW.

As one of the lucky ones, I got to catch their live set in, of all places, a late-night café in Munich, Germany. Although German crowds aren’t particularly compatible with no-holds-barred, high-energy noise punk – where the term “letting loose” lies somewhere between “arms crossed observing” and “head nodding” – Wavves was able to break them out of their comfort zone with only the aid of driving drum beats and distorted guitar.

Instead of trying to recreate the cacophony of sounds associated with every Wavves song, Williams opted instead to sift his live music through a coarse audio strainer, leaving out the harshest of elements to better highlight the more melodic parts. Although noise punk purists would probably scoff at such a move, the clarity in sound made the vocals more distinguishable, allowing fans next to me to utter to each other “so THAT’S what he’s saying!”


There was no dull moment the entire show with Williams filling his 40 minute set with future hit after future hit. With Ulsh’s powerful drumming (especially on the catchy-as-hell opening), “So Bored” was the opposite of malaise – jolting the crowd out of their nonchalant funk. Williams went especially berserk on “No Hope Kids”, excitedly jumping around on stage and shouting used-to-be-truthful lines like “Got no job / Got no money” between pauses from headbanging. Although most of his songs center on high intensity and speedy tempos, Wavves isn’t a one-trick pony. Exhibiting his ability to slow it down, Williams shined vocally on “Weed Demon” – making his “oohs” and “ahhs” sound about ten times creepier live.

No doubt Williams is aware of his sudden new popularity and is seeking to ride the wave (ha!) into upper echelon indie circles. Awkwardly present at his Munich show was a filming crew composed of three cameras and a boom mic operator which, after glancing at a crowd of less than 100, made for a rather surreal experience. Other bands with similar crowds are lucky to get a handful of grainy Youtube videos with each show, and here Wavves has a professional camera crew! Although a bit presumptuous, the reason behind this overexposure isn’t too difficult to figure out. All it takes is a glance over at the merch table where about 80% of the crowd purchased either a vinyl or CD to realize that this band is certainly going places.

So far, the only announced SXSW date is midnight at The Music Gym Patio on March 19th. No doubt more will be included before Wavves heads out on a more extensive American tour, so be on the lookout!

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UnclePhil Column, Live Show Reviews, Music, Upcoming Shows downloads, Live, mp3, SXSW, WAVVES, Wavvves