Wet Leg Turns Up the Heat in the Desert
Article written by and photos by Kili Goodrich
British indie-pop band Wet Leg brought the Moisturizer Tour to Phoenix, Arizona, on October 3rd. Packed wall to wall, the fans who filled the Arizona Financial Theater were left breathless, and absolutely hydrated with a nonstop thrilling performance. The Grammy-winning indie pop band is co-founded by Rhian Teasdale (lead vocals, guitar) and Hester Chambers (guitar.) Adding to the catchy and furious mix are also members: Josh Mobaraki (guitar, keyboards), Ellis Durand (bass), and Henry Holmes (drums). The band's debut self-titled album was released back in 2022. Fans were easily gripped by tongue-in-cheek lyrics paired with grungey guitar sounds. It was no let down continuing on with that appeal when their second album, Moisturizer, was released back in July of this year.
A sea of fog hazed the stage. The clouds seeped deep into the swells of the buzzing crowd. Even with vision blurred, you wouldn’t have missed Teasdale walking through the thick of it. Parting the fog with such confidence and ease. With a translucent neon green guitar hanging from her body, Teasdale’s arms were curved in strength, lifted into the air. A spitting image of what control over a moment looked like. The rest of the band stayed tucked behind the hazy folds before the lights began to flicker. The light production was absolutely hypnotic. Fitting for the first song, ‘Catch These Fists.’ With lyrics, “you should be careful, do you catch my drift? ‘Cause what I really want to know is can you catch these fists,” ignited the entire performance in a throat-punching experience.
Without time to catch your breath, ‘Wet Dream’ kicked next into gear. The fog still thick, and full, was not dismissive to the fans who wore lobster claws on their hands. An ode to a recurring motif in Wet Leg’s music video for the song. The band has always been known to be bold and creative with their aesthetics. Lobsters themselves can be symbolic to resilience and become transformative. Which can be mirrored in the band's dream-like and fun appearances with songs that can channel soft and hard sounds all at once.
With Teasdale commanding the stage, the fog seemed to part for her — separated by jagged movements, and gentle kneeling to fans. There was a sudden feeling that one was spun in several circles, and left to stand hard on two feet. The performance was barely touching the surface of a loaded set list, and Wet Leg was already clutching the crowd with command. Still, you fell obedient to the dizzying spell, because the live performance of catchy dead-panned songs was absolutely overwhelming in the best of ways.
‘Oh, No’ is a song about disillusionment with the digital world. Doom scrolling, attached to loneliness, added lightly to the grungey space. ‘Jennifer’s Body’ was a fan-sung favorite. A generation connected to the classic horror film, yes, but the likeness spills over into overwhelming adoration. A type of delicious eternal devotion. Embracing the performance intensity was pushed further with ‘Being In Love.’ The song encapsulates the intensity and confusion of new love. How the experience feels gut-punching and overwhelming to the point of losing sleep. Overall consumption and how easy it is for a heart to slip into.
A personal favorite song from the band's latest album was ‘Davina Mccall.’ Speckled in the crowd were fans lifting their cell phone lights into the air. A transition from the constant intensity of the night. Though this performance was equally focused on holding. The connection with the crowd was never in troubleshooting status. The performance was a deep hypnosis. Only did the trance break when fans slipped their eyes away to look at those beside them to dance even harder. ‘U and Me At Home’ was where that fan-to-artist connection held the most strength. The crowd echoed lyrics back loudly to Teasdale as the artist swept gently across the stage with the mic extended. The exchange felt united.
With five songs left, ‘Too Late Now,’ thrummed in the air. A slow pulse that sonic-races into a pace one is all too eager to keep up with. ‘Angelica,’ is everything sardonic and awkward about going to a party. A thick texture of being social in friendship, centered by social anxiety. The letter ‘D’ in balloon form was tossed around the crowd as the band kicked off their first released single, ‘Chaise Lounge.’ The letter is a reference to the first verse of the song, “I went to school and I got the big D.” I couldn’t help but also find it amusing that the song sings, “Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?" A reference to the film Mean Girls. The film has a meme-worthy moment noting the date, October third, which was fitting considering the day of this performance, and the film quote in the song. The entirety of Wet Legs’ performance felt like a fever dream spun on adrenaline-pumping nostalgia.
— but it didn’t end there. ‘Mangetout,’ a dismissive bold declaration towards a nuisance of a person. The song title is a clever pun in itself of man-get-out. Trevor, get lost. Forever. While chests lifted to only fall for a caught breath, Teasdale eased over to the side stage. ‘CPR’ walks a line of wondering if a consuming love is a kiss of death or life. A metaphor for a medical emergency. Towards the tail end of the song, Teasdale lifts a crimson phone mic’d and ready with a dialing call to only reveal that this romantic love is a declaration of being in love. The song then explodes into another chaotic frenzy of “I'm in love, and you’re to blame.” Lyrics that show how the Arizona audience was left feeling. We’re in love, and Wet Leg is to blame.
