Wednesday, hailing from Asheville, North Carolina has been on tour for 10 whole weeks. Coming from Milwaukee with their current opener Tenci, the two bands collectively put on an emotional soul-baring performance as the tour wound down to the last three shows for a while. A pair made in heaven, Tenci and Wednesday called to folk and country roots ramped up with rock sensibilities: a modern day rockabilly for the youth. Tenci entered the stage first, each person with their own quirks. Jess Shoman on lead vocals and guitar with a voice unlike any other, Izzy Reidy on bass and supporting vocals, Curtis Oren on saxophone, Flute, and guitar, and Manae Vaughn on drums. A band of few tricks, Tenci is a band that is about the music, and playing really good music for anyone willing to listen. The lyrics and themes can be repeated 10, 20, maybe even 25 times, and the level of attention, honesty, and care given to every iteration will reveal something new. Tenci is a band that is earnest in relaying things as they are in a way that pays homage to folk songwriting structures and in a way that feels tangible to a contemporary audience. Beginning their set with the song “Two Cups” off of their 2022 release, Tenci immediately pulled in the crowd. Every aspect of the music was considered and held valuable. The voice of Jess Shoman careened through the air, sometimes chirping, other times reaching a fever pitch, a full on scream. However, it wasn’t all about Jess’s voice. Sometimes Jess and Izzy would split the responsibility and Izzy’s harmonies would wind seamlessly into the music, creating a whole new texture. Other times, Jess’s vocals would begin as a slow thrum, almost like wind, and build until the saxophone would come screaming in, huffing and puffing. The drum was like a steady friend through most of the music, sometimes teasing a rhythm or a tempo to the other instruments but other times being the stable backbone for hard conversations to rely on. Behind the beautiful interactions taking place between instruments in the music, there were also real people on that stage and in that band. Jess happily proclaimed between songs that it’s okay to be proud of being from the suburbs of Chicago before wrangling the crowd (with the help of fellow band member Curtis on the flute) into singing Happy Birthday for Izzy. This exemplified the level of care not only for the music, but also every single person responsible for making the music happen. This included deep gratitude for Wednesday, but also the sound and light guys and family members like Jess Shoman’s grandma. To end their set, Tenci played “Be” as Jess and Izzie leaned against each other, showing a very real version of the support apparent in their music. After a brief pause, the members of Wednesday waltzed onto the stage ready to sonically blast the crowd eagerly awaiting their entrance. Wednesday was originally scheduled to play at the Turf Club, a smaller venue, and had recently been moved to First Avenue. With the room packed wall to wall, they certainly deserved to play the well known venue. Meeting and maybe even surpassing the crowd's energy, Wednesday came out with screaming guitars and wailing vocals that immediately had the crowd softly head banging. With a look that exactly matched their sound, Wednesday is the whole package. Coming from North Carolina, they’re a little bit southern and a lot of rock and roll. All five people on stage had long curly hair cut into either some form of a mullet or a shag, representing the typical image of both genres. Further, lead singer and guitar player, Karly Hartzman, had on camo shorts and a black snakeskin guitar. You could say she was a glittering example of the music she was playing. After a few of these unruly and wild rock focused songs, Wednesday slipped into a slightly different mode as Karly introduced that they were about to “get a little bit country.” Xandy Chelmis on the steele and MJ Lenderman on guitar helped to make the country fantasy a reality for the people crowded into First Avenue. With heavy twang and meandering guitar chords, Karly easefully crooned with a southern twist on her typical sound hitting both songs from Wednesday’s song catalogue and the only cover of the whole set. Karly also took a moment to tell the crowd how to dance like a true southern, which she described to have a whole lot more hip movement. After the foray into the more country end of the Wednesday Spectrum, the band returned to their more typical sound. This is when what Wednesday is really good at began to shine. With lyrics that speak to suburban America and the pain and indifference that live in the quiet, overlooked corners of this country, Wednesday’s guitars and drums scream with the thick of feelings. The discomfort and anger at living in these spaces is palpable as Karly breaks from her typical glimmering voice to a full on scream. The remainder of the set wound itself up with brief pauses such as the moment where MJ Lenderman, the guitarist, had to pee. This meant the whole band had to leave and Karly was left to play an unreleased song alone. At this point it was revealed that there would be no encore (they’re too overdone of course) and that there would be exactly 5 songs left in the set. As each bittersweet moment passed, it finally came time to hear the last song. This last song was dedicated to all of the pain found in the unfairness of recently passed laws in America and Karly gave her all as she let out every ounce of pain. After this dizzying catharsis, both Wednesday and the crowd honored that moment and peacefully left the building, leaving the thick of emotions behind.

-Ophelia Becker