REVIEW: WHEATUS AT BRISTOL FLEECE (09/10/11)
When a band famous largely for only one hit announces that tonight they will be playing a set made up entirely of audience requests you do start to slightly worry. I mean how many times can they play THAT song? I’m sure they had another hit right? Did they, oh yeah that cover of that 80’s song that no-one can quite remember who did the original. It was of course Eurasia and as with most covers it never quite lived up. So would tonight live up to my already seemingly low expectations of what tonight could bring? The answer strangely is both a yes and a no.
There is a family atmosphere about this Wheatus UK tour after nearly 30 dates together everyone seems to get on swimmingly and the diverse looking dysfunctional family on stage were some how mirrored by the equally eclectic members of the audience crammed in to the Fleece either for a touch of childhood nostalgia or genuine cult fans. As the requests poured on the stage from the opening I was genuinely amazed not to hear THAT song screamed aloud. Instead a collection of album songs and new songs were played much to the delight of the Wheatus cultists.
The main problem for me, however, is that front-man Brendan B. Brown all snotting and spitting all over the stage and his band didn’t quite have the same charisma and charm that his surrounded tour family seemed to have. From MC Frontalot a grammer touting rhyme spitting English teaching rapper or the madness pop that was Math the Band. When it finally comes time for THAT song “Teenage Dirtbag” the crowd seems happy enough but in my opinion you’d be better off checking out Math the Band live and catching the video for THAT song on You Tube for your nostalgia fix.
Words and photo: Laura Palmer
