Everyone should devote a moment to Wet Denim. On Friday the 29th at San Fran, I embarked on the enraptured journey of hearing Wet Denim's sophomore EP On The Line live. Also, for added magic, we had My Cosmic Girl and First Reserve open for them. Before this performance, I had only heard a little about Wet Denim through friends, but upon investigation through the band's social media presence, I should have been immersed sooner. I discovered the euphoric highs and melancholy lows in their songs and was lucky to hear brand-new material that took two years to culminate. To describe them they are indie rock with a sprinkle of indie pop. Who was on stage to provide such goodness you may ask? Nick Goodwin (lead vocals, guitar) Joe Ledword (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals, keyboards) Jack Ledward (drums, percussion, guitar) Luca Crampton (electric guitar, synthesizers, samplers, ambience).

Immediately stepping into the familiar San Fran venue you look around seeing groups of friends with gleaming smiles. My Cosmic Girl (pictured above) causes the first lively claps and establishes how the night will burst in rock music. Their demeanour stepping on stage was generously affectionate and glowing, with opening chords reflecting their folk-rock style. The crowd immediately started swaying because of the bubbly vitality of their performance. It felt like Fleetwood Mac was in the building. Then First Reserve (pictured below) plunged into a more psychedelic rock energy on stage. They might be more under the radar but should be acknowledged for their stage presence and sound. The guitar work was buzzy which you could even feel in the floorboards as everyone danced. A noticeable favourite of mine was their performance of a song that included the lyrics Love Song For A Boy which was so personal and sweet. Just as formidable on stage as the other performers and was a fantastic choice to lead into the main act.

Then arrived Wet Denim (pictured below), first in the dark but then transitioned into the red and blue vibrance of LED. There’s a Kings Of Leon style to their material with everything from their guitar rhythm to their main vocalist and drums. It’s important to note the video playing on the left wall which showed the band's music video of one of their songs. It added a creative element to the performance and a smart way to get people to look further into their music. Colourful rock is the best way to describe their sound with a little electric shock energy to it. Cascade which is the first song from their EP was a personal favourite of mine. In this live performance, Nick was encouraging the crowd to join in the chorus of one of their original songs. They also added a unique rock cover of The Naked and Famous song Young Blood which was a nice in between their original songs. We all, as an audience, matched the shaking of Nick's (lead vocals) curly hair. I also appreciate when a band interacts with their audience and Nick spoke for the band by saying “We are so happy to be back here in Te Whanganui a Tara. It feels like home here.”

All four pieces of the band Wet Denim showed their ability to thrive in front of a crowd. Without boxing them into a genre too much, I thought their guitars worked into the pop-rock formula perfectly. You could tell by the end of the show, that they had practised their work and were very pleased with their original songs. If you haven't heard them already, it’s worth making space to listen to their work or see them live.

Photo Credit: Stella Gardiner Photography
Wet Denim Photo Gallery
My Cosmic Girl Photo Gallery
First Reserve Photo Gallery

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