The Wedding Present, Leicester O2 Academy, 30th Oct ‘13

Live Reviews

In 1992 The Wedding Present staked their minor claim in musical history by releasing 12 singles in the UK in one year, all of which entered the Top 40. The singles were collected together on an album called “The Hit Parade” and we’re here tonight to celebrate the album’s 21st Anniversary. 

As the O2 in Leicester is part of the university, expectations for tonight’s crowd was a mix of students and 40-50 year olds in faded band T-shirts; but it’s clear upon entering the room the academics of Leicester largely can’t be bothered with music written before they were born so it’s left to the more experienced gig goers to enjoy the performance.

 

Opening the show is Taffy from Tokyo. A 4 piece playing superb scuzzy, fuzzy 3 minute tunes from the poppy end of My Bloody Valentine. No stage announcements of the song titles possibly due to language barriers (how good is your Japanese?), but they have stuff on sale now worth listening to.

 

As the lights dim the creeping synth and throbbing bass line of ‘Interstate 5‘ starts up, the main man in black David Gedge and the current line-up of Patrick Alexander (guitar), Katharine Wallinger (bass) and Charles Layton (drums) in The Wedding Present‘s revolving door of supporting musicians (21 in 28 years and counting) take the stage.

 

 

 

Fan’s favourite ‘Brassneck’ gets the crowd moving with the shout along chorus “Brassneck. I just decided I don’t trust you anymore”. New song, ‘Two Bridges’ is characteristic indie power-pop, which after a false ending builds into an instrumental band thrash. The mood rightly sobers for a tribute to Lou Reed with a cover of ‘She’s My Best Friend’ from his album ‘Coney Island Baby’.

 

The opening chords of ‘Blue Eyes’ ring out and we’re back in January 1992 for the start of ‘The Hit Parade’. The first sight of middle-age pogoing occurs during the 

“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, yes it’s over” section at the end of ‘Come Play with Me’ and again during July’s ‘Flying Saucer’ which David tells us finished top of his Twitter poll of fan’s favourites from the album.

 

‘Flying Saucer’ sees David and Patrick echoing the pogo-ers by throwing themselves around the stage during an extended Wedding Present-style jangly-thrashy guitar ending (even their T-shirts incorrectly claim “Wedding Present All The Songs Still Sound The Same”).

 

Unfortunately too soon we reach December and ‘No Christmas’, but as the man says “We were The Wedding Present, we don’t, never have and never will do encores” there are two more tracks finishing with their cover of The Monkees ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’.

 

John Peel said “the boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the ‘Rock ‘n’roll’ era. You might dispute this, but I’m right and you’re wrong!” and with nights like this nobody’s going to argue with that.  

 

 

Alisdair Whyte

 

 

Wedding Present Website

 

Taffy Website