Wednesday at The Rickshaw Theatre

Review – Wednesday at The Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, May 22 2024

To listen to the band Wednesday is to hold multiple realities in your hands at once. You will believe in the beauty of lyrics, the joy that country music can bring, and the power of a good scream. You’ll love Wednesday the rock band, Wednesday the country band, and Wednesday the grunge band. They’re a band for people who might not normally love country music, or screaming, until listening to Wednesday—this band might surprise you with what they do, and how much you’ll like it.

Getting to see Wednesday (on a Wednesday, no less) last week at The Rickshaw Theatre felt like a many-in-one concert experience. For the slower, more musical stuff, the crowd roared the lyrics and swayed. Near the end of the show, vocalist and band founder Karly Hartzman instructed the crowd to let those who weren’t there to mosh the time and space to exit the danger zone, before they started the high-energy section of the show. There really was something for everyone.

To start, Wednesday came out to “I’m With You” by Avril Lavigne, reminding the audience of the other musical artist in Vancouver that night. With a Rickshaw Theatre branded lager in hand, and looking around at the people and atmosphere, you’d be hard-pressed to mistake it for an Avril Lavigne concert. The lighting, energy, and vibes of the night suited the venue: an unpolished, friendly, converted movie theatre with its original plush seating and plenty of room to dance.

As an ensemble, Wednesday felt very authentic and comfortable on stage together. All of the banter between bandmates felt genuine, as if they weren’t putting on anything or trying to act a certain way. When Karly complained about her guitar not staying tuned, guitarist MJ Lenderman dryly commented that, “You have to tune by the metric system here.” One gets the sense that they love being on tour with each other, or, as Karly put it, “We’re eating like crap and sleeping like crap—it’s the best.”

Wednesday’s music tugs at the heartstrings in many different ways. “How Can You Live If You Can’t Love, How Can You If You Do” reminds us about the pain and beauty that comes with loving another. “Quarry” and “Chosen To Deserve” are nostalgic ballads about youth and the grotesque beauty of growing up. Before playing “Bull Believer,” an eight-and-a-half minute emotional journey full of tonal tension and heavy vibrations, the band encouraged the audience to “direct the intentions of their screams at the ongoing situation in Gaza.” Wednesday isn’t afraid to address current events and “get political,” for lack of a better phrase. They embrace the power their music contains, and those of us at the Rickshaw were all the better for it.

With their recent signing to music label Dead Oceans, it’ll be interesting to see what increased commercial success does to this small band with a huge sound. One can only hope they maintain and improve on what they currently have, and don’t compromise what makes them unique: their uncanny ability to make even the loudest and most incoherent melody—somehow—incredibly catchy.

Contributors

Hannah Madden-Krasnick

Hannah is a writer and software developer based in Vancouver, BC. You can find her at a cafe, knitting a friend a sweater, and around town training for her next triathlon—except on Wednesdays, when she'll be dutifully watching Survivor. If you see her on her phone in public, she's probably reading a book, as she considers for the dozenth time if she should buy a Kobo. The next time you see her at a concert, let her know your thoughts on eReaders, and she'll show her gratitude by sharing her glitter with you.