“We’re Just Chillin’” | The Crossover Episode

Brennan Wedl

Billed as the night’s “special guest,” singer/songwriter Brennan Wedl emerged on stage armed with two guitars - one acoustic, one electric - and a microphone. She stood before the still-filtering-in crowd at The Met Saturday night with a brief hello, saying, “Philadelphia, PA - there’s no place like it.”

While she earned the crowd’s good graces quickly, later in the set we were offered a confession: Wedl had played Khyber Pass Pub about six years back and, in the delirium of tour life, she thought she was in Pittsburgh. “I learned fast to not fuck with Philly,” she quipped. According to her, the night’s set was her penance for her past sins. And while the anecdote was playful, if there were any actual amends to be made, she certainly made them with her set.

Wedl walks a fine line as an artist. Currently based in Nashville, she has a varied background in the music world, including a past stint as part of queercore band Dazey & The Scouts. As a solo artist, her alt-rock tendencies remain fully intact, albeit through a folky, singer-songwriter lens. From delicate, hypnotic guitar riffs to chugging power chords, Wedl is able to weave in and out of various styles, sometimes within the same song. Her lyricism paints vivid pictures of intimate experiences. She’s a storyteller, and she’s not afraid to express intimate moments and deep thoughts clearly. Whether these are autobiographical, fictional, or a mix of both, the narrative elements remain compelling and curious. It all evokes that feeling of nostalgic, simple-life Americana, but without the pandering and maybe with a little more heightened realism and messiness.

Her talents as both a guitarist and vocalist are unquestionably top-notch. From a broad vocal range to intricate guitar playing to catchy melodies, she packs a punch, especially for a one-woman performance. By the end of her set, all asses in the venue were firmly in their seats…

Before finishing, Wedl was joined on stage by Katie Crutchfield, a favor that would be returned a little later in the evening.

Brennan Wedl, simply put, was awesome. Her place on this tour is not just a natural fit, but also a fantastic segue into the lengthy and mesmerizing display about to be witnessed by us all with MJ Lenderman and Waxahatchee, or, as put by Wedl herself, a “crossover episode.”

Waxahatchee & MJ Lenderman

Ok, so remember when Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett teamed up to perform songs from both of their discographies as a duo, and it was really cool? Because this is the same deal, but with MJ Lenderman and the woman behind Waxahatchee, Katie Crutchfield. In short, it’s really, really awesome and a touring genre I think we need more of.

Lenderman and Crutchfield were joined by multi-instrumentalists Colin Croom and Cole Berggren, rounding out the act into a tight four-piece that perfectly complements one another from song to song. In such a low-key and intimate performance setting, every single nuance and musical subtlety became more apparent and easier to appreciate, including overlaying lead riffs and solos, slide, keys, vocal harmonies, and everything in between. While the primary driving instrumentation came from Lenderman and Crutchfield’s guitars, Croom and Berggren contributed support with stellar musicianship on an arsenal of instruments that included slide and electric guitars, keyboards, harmonica, and probably a few other miscellaneous additions I’m failing to recollect.

The proficiency and musical craftsmanship on display from all four was second to none. They effortlessly created a soundscape that was not only excellent from an ability standpoint, but also served to elevate the mood of the performance. It all felt deeply vulnerable and sincere, and it was impossible not to find myself sitting in a hypnotic state of emotional ambivalence as I tried to decipher why I felt sad, happy, longing, and hopeful all at the same time. Melancholic beauty is pretty on brand for me, so by night’s end, I can emphatically and truthfully express that the performance resonated with me deeply in that capacity.

At the start of this tour, Katie Crutchfield announced her surprising-to-fans pregnancy. “I have to use a guitar strap now because there’s no more room on my lap,” she joked at one point.

It’s worth mentioning for a couple of reasons: 1. It’s impressive that she’s touring at all while expecting, and 2. The thematic vibe of this show and, I imagine by extension the entire tour, is intimacy. From the ornate stage setup evoking Nirvana’s famous MTV Unplugged performance, but with even more of a living room vibe, Wedl’s declaration at the start of the show that “we’re all just chillin’,” and the relaxed, stripped-down melodies, it’s apparent that the target mood is “ultimate mellowness.”

And in that, Crutchfield, Lenderman, and co. succeeded. While I experienced the aforementioned emotional cocktail of “sad but hopeful,” the performance remained supremely chill. From my vantage point, the most dramatic thing to happen was when someone dropped a full beer right as the lyrics of “TLC Cage Match” hit the refrain of “and I know why we get so fucked up.” Poetic? Ironic? Serendipitous? Perhaps all three…

The band weaved their way through highlights of each other’s respective discographies, each elevating the other’s songs into something ever-so-slightly new. After the main set, the band re-emerged for a four-song encore of covers. Brennan Wedl came back for the final three as the supergroup ended the evening with Kathleen Edwards’ “Six O’Clock News.” And as Crutchfield sang the lyric, “gonna have your baby this coming June,” the crowd erupted. It was a triumphant way to end the night after what felt like Lenderman and Crutchfield inviting us into their living room for a night amongst friends.

From the usual high-octane explosiveness of the rock shows I regularly attend, I am once more grateful for a night of chillness that so clearly showcases how artists don’t always need to be loud to be exciting.

Setlist

^ MJ Lenderman song
* Waxahatchee song

Manning Fireworks^
Evil Spawn*
Joker Lips^
Chapel of Pines (Great Thunder cover)*
Rip Torn^
Angel Wings (Snocaps song)
Pick Up The Pieces^
Lilacs*
TLC Cage Match^
Burns Out at Midnight*
Under Control^
The Wolves*
You Don't Know the Shape I'm In^
Crowbar*
She's Leaving You^
Much Ado About Nothing*
Love Streams^
Wrecking Ball (Gillian Welch cover)
Catholic Priest^
Tigers Blood*
Wristwatch^
Right Back to It*

Encore:

My Life (Iris DeMent cover)
Abandoned (Lucinda Williams cover) (with Brennan Wedl)
All the Right Reasons (The Jayhawks cover) (with Brennan Wedl)
Six O'Clock News (Kathleen Edwards cover) (with Brennan Wedl)