Concert Review: Wednesday Shows Off Growth in Second Cleveland Show in Two Years

Wednesday matured a lot in the 22 months between Cleveland-area shows.

When the Asheville, North Carolina quintet visited the 400-capacity Grog Shop for a sold-out show in January 2024, the band was great but still finding its way on the stage. Well, between then and Wednesday night at Globe Iron, a venue that fits three times the size of its previous crowd, it found its way and then some.

This was a band that, while perhaps not transformed, was comfortable on a bigger stage (something lead singer/guitarist Karly Hartzman even noted at one point) and had the songs to fill a big room.

The group is seizing on a moment as it tours behind this year’s excellent Bleeds and the popularity of single “Elderberry Wine.” But this latest run is without guitarist MJ Lenderman, who has also seen his solo career explode (he drew a similar-sized crowd to the same venue in May) and no longer plays most live shows with the band.

No matter, as Lenderman’s live replacement Jake Pugh and the rest of Wednesday ably tore through their 80-minute set with a prowess that only comes from playing the same songs over and over again. The new ones eschew some (but not all) of the country and southern rock tinges that permeated previous albums and have a crunchier, harder-rocking sound that evokes 1990s alternative bands like Hole. The dynamics in opener “Reality TV Argument Bleeds” set the tone for the rest of the night, which pulled heavily from Bleeds and predecessor Rat Saw God.

Major props go to bassist Ethan Baechtold and drummer Alan Miller for powering the show. And kudos to pedal and lap steel guitar player Xandy Chelmis for crafting parts for styles of music that don’t traditionally feature his instruments.

But all eyes were on Hartzman, and for good reason. She’s a captivating frontwoman, with vocal stylings that vacillated between warbly singing and piercing screams. She also appeared thrilled to strum her guitar on songs like “Pick Up That Knife” and “Wound Up Here (By Holdin On).” In between, she commanded the occasionally rowdy audience, even getting some to mosh in a certain place.

The encore-less show ended with “Bull Believer”—in which Hartzman said she screamed because US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have, like in other parts of the country, descended on her home state to arrest those suspected of being in the country illegally—and the thrashy “Wasp.” They led the night to end on a loud note, though the power in which the band played was unsurprising given the preceding songs.

It’s amazing what can happen in less than two years.

Opening artist Daffo, the moniker used by artist Gabi Gamberg, and their backing trio ably ran through a repertoire that pulled from different strands of rock and outsider pop from the past 30 years. Touring behind this year’s debut album “Where the Earth Bends,” the performance was engaging and a good way to spend 35 minutes.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that their sound was too similar to Wednesday’s, and that the pairing seemed a bit on the nose (though Gamberg’s appearance when Wednesday pulled out “Phish Pepsi” was quite welcome).

Setlist (courtesy of setlist.fm and my recollection):
1. Reality TV Argument Bleeds
2. Got Shocked
3. Fate Is…
4. The Burned Down Dairy Queen
5. Wound Up Here (By Holdin On)
6. Hot Rotten Grass Smell
7. Candy Breath
8. Formula One
9. Phish Pepsi
10. Handsome Man
11. Quarry
12. Pick Up That Knife
13. Toothache
14. Bitter Everyday
15. Bath County
16. Elderberry Wine
17. Townies
18. Bull Believer
19. Wasp