Apr 12

Apr 12 Review: Wednesday at The Orange Peel

Over the past few years, each Wednesday homecoming show has become one of the most eagerly anticipated dates on the Asheville music calendar. Atop the usual excitement, their triumphant return to The Orange Peel on April 4 was the first opportunity for the hometown crowd to see the band play material from its sixth album, Bleeds, which was released in September to universal acclaim.

An hour before showtime, a large contingent of young fans began filing into the venue, staking out prime real estate for the moshing-inclined. By the time opening band Gouge Away took the stage, the room was mostly full.

The Florida-based five-piece — who is, in fact, named for that Pixies song — energized attendees with a 40-minute aural assault of post-hardcore and alt-rock, drawing from its 2024 album, Deep Sage. If you suspected a through-line from Gouge Away lead vocalist Christina Michelle’s primal screams to the more visceral moments of Wednesday’s catalog, you weren’t wrong — and Wednesday frontwoman Karly Hartzman later confirmed the connection.

The buzz of the sellout crowd grew to a roar as Hartzman and walked out to their instruments. But it would not be the entrance the band envisioned, as they were forced to endure an anticlimactic, albeit short delay due to faulty stage monitors.

“We don’t know what to do,” Hartzman confessed with a laugh.

The moment quickly passed. Then for the next 90 minutes, the bandmates returned to their comfort zone where they very much know what to do — playing at the peak of their powers for a commanding 20-song set.

Technical difficulties resolved, Wednesday launched into “Reality TV Argument Bleeds,” a shoegaze ripper of a track that opens the new album. From there, the band continued at a breakneck pace, album-hopping through songs from Rat Saw God (“Got Shocked” and “Hot Rotten Grass Smell”), dipping into I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone (“Fate Is…”), and back to Bleeds (“Wound Up Here [By Holdin’ On]”).

After the torrid opening sequence, Hartzman paused to credit Gouge Away for inspiring her own journey into “screamology.” She then welcomed Michelle back on stage for vocal harmonies on “Phish Pepsi,” noting the irony of choosing a country song for their collaboration.

Much has been written about Hartzman, and deservedly so. She is a force onstage, a dynamic frontwoman with a distinctive writerly approach as a lyricist — a rare talent in the indie world.

Less has been written about Asheville native Xandy Chelmis, whose innovative work on pedal steel is another essential ingredient of Wednesday’s sound. Chelmis demonstrates complete mastery of his instrument and knows how to make it country-wail with the best of them. But it’s the way his fuzzed-out, soaring slide guitar dances and bends around the lead on the band’s heavier tracks that’s truly a revelation, particularly in a live setting. Has anyone ever made a more compelling argument that pedal steel could’ve been seamlessly integrated into the ‘90s rock canon from Loveless to Nevermind?

As for the lead guitarist — you may have heard, Wednesday has a new one. This show served as a proper Asheville-introduction for Jake “Spyder” Pugh, taking over for that other Jake (MJ Lenderman), who has stepped away from touring to focus on his own project. Pugh navigates the catalog skillfully, exhibiting a natural chemistry with his new bandmates. (Hartzman reminded those who attended Wednesday’s Orange Peel show in August 2024 that they’d already seen Pugh perform with the band Space Heater. Who could forget the tall shredder with the infant-sized Croc sandal that dangles from the headstock of his guitar?)

The audience embraced Wednesday players new and old, reflecting the onstage energy with an impressive roster of crowd-surfers. Remarkably, an unofficial world-record was established for crowd-surfing to a country song during “Chosen to Deserve,” obliterating the previous record of almost one.

The lovefest around this hometown band is reciprocated by Hartzman, whose gracious stage banter makes frequent reference to her time in Asheville — her formative years as a musician. In the lead-in to a Gary Stewart cover (“She’s Acting Single I’m Drinkin’ Doubles”), the now Greensboro-based Hartzman remarked that she learned the song from listening to local station 105.5 FM The Outlaw.

Later, she reflected fondly on her college job at Heyday Music on Lexington Avenue, which helped her overcome early apprehension about music gear while learning to play guitar. As a tribute, she invited fellow Heyday staffer Tanner York on stage to join the band on guitar for a cover of Big Star’s “September Gurls.”

When Hartzman says that touring the world with Wednesday has only affirmed her love for her home state (and this city in particular), you believe her.

Following a superb rendition of “Elderberry Wine,” the lead single from Bleeds, Hartzman announced there would be four more songs with no encore, advising the moshers to ration their remaining energy accordingly.

The band then proceeded to unleash a blistering final sequence — a fitting bookend to its full-tilt opening block — tearing through “Bitter Everyday,” “Townies,” “Bull Believer,” and “Wasp” as Hartzman and the audience fulfilled their mutual agreement to leave nothing in reserve.

Among Asheville’s homegrown acts of The Orange Peel era, one could make a strong case that Wednesday reigns supreme. Superlatives aside, with its latest performance, the group has emphatically reasserted itself as a quintessential Orange Peel Band. The venerable venue’s immediacy aligns with the ensemble’s urgency in a way that would be nearly impossible to match on an outdoor stage or in a theater setting.

Wednesday could certainly choose to play to larger crowds in Asheville, as the exorbitant resale ticket prices attest. But for now, at least, all parties concur: don’t mess with the magic that happens when this band reunites with these fans at the corner of Biltmore and Hilliard.

Asheville locals won’t have to wait as long for their next opportunity to see Wednesday at The Orange Peel, as Hartzman announced a return appearance on Halloween. Get your tickets yesterday.

(Photos by Jonny Leather)