by Tiffany Taylor
For the first stop of their US tour, Wet and opener Demo Taped started in Philadelphia to kick things off. It was hot for a Tuesday night and the crowd of fans waited outside of the doors of Union Transfer to eagerly be let in. The feeling was calm and patient as we all sat around excitedly waiting for the one and only Demo Taped to take the stage. Adam Alexander makes up what he calls an “Electric Soul solo project dedicated to spreading love and good vibes.” I was not aware of any of his music prior to the show, so I put my faith in Wet to deliver a charismatic opener.
The show began at 8pm with a relatively small crowd, but Alexander was not worried about numbers. He came in with a fiery passion and an unbreakable confidence. From track to track he was slowly establishing a vibe, hooking the crowd in with emotional lyrics against a pop-dance-synth backdrop. For me personally, I was feelin’ it from the beginning, my energy was just feeding off of his, which was explosive. The highlight was his remix of “It’s All in Vain” by Wet. My overall feeling was that Demo Taped was extremely humble and willing to deliver his all to the crowd; a definite interesting, wild card opener for the main event: Wet.
Wet came on sweet and strong- opening with their hit “It’s All in Vain.” Kelly Zutrau’s voice is infallible and beautiful. The rest of the band delivers with raw, untouched sound that ultimately speaks for itself. Without hesitation, they moved into “Deadwater” a song that also equates as on of their more known tracks on the album Don’t You. After a short recognition to the crowd, Zutrau announces that they’ll be playing a new song that comes out October 20th, a day after the show. After that, “Move Me” begins and the room is filled with the words “Call me by my real name.”
Zutrau does not talk much and her crowd interaction is minimal, but when she does it’s so coy and sweet. Before the song “These Days,” she opens up with how it’s her favorite on the record. Wet does an incredible job, especially in the song, of isolating the crowd and taking them away for a moment; all we’re feeling is the music and feeling the emotions that are embedded into it.
Towards the middle there is a nice interlude of fan favorites: “Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl” and “You’re the Best.” She takes the time to mention the importance of new songs on this tour and how excited they are to play them for all of us. That leads into “The Middle,” a new song that captures the essence of Wet as a group: feeling and power. Throughout the entire set from Zutrau to the band, everything speaks for itself. There is no explanation needed because the shoegaze melodies and the deep drum machine beats keep the room elevated for the entire hour we were all listening to Wet. Everything from the lighting- blues, purples, reds- set the tone for a simplistic and enlightening experience, allowing you to feel everything.
During the song, “Island,” Zutrau proclaims she “wrote it about being in love with someone who doesn’t love you.” WIth every breath of “Just say the words,” we’re taken away to another place and towards the end of the song she actually leaves the stage to let the band stand alone and build up feeling: lights flash from blue to bright white with sudden quick flashes and then it is dark and silent. Ending the show, she comes back out to play two songs the way she wrote them during the writing process. In “All The Ways” the whole crowd was singing along. They ended as a full band with “Weak-” everyone singing “You make me weak…”
A perfect ending,
To a perfect evening.
