poppedmusic

Dream Wife

Jimmy’s, Liverpool, 6 August 2021

Words and Photos by Gary Lambert

I’ve been excited for Dream Wife since the very second this gig was announced.  Dream Wife are quite possibly my favourite band of modern times.  A band that makes me wish I was sixteen again and be insanely deeply in love with a band rather than the sensible love of a more mature gig goer.  It’s everything about this band that is magical.  The power, the bright pop sensibilities, and the uplifting, self-improving messages are everything I want from a band.

With Crawlers being sadly ruled out of contention, the responsibility for warming up the show and technically opening the Liverpool edition of FestEvol fell to Piss Kitti.  I’ve watched Piss Kitti over the last few years hone their raw edges and create a sound that is vibrant but controlled.  The four-piece still give you a wild set of DIY rock n roll, but the energy gets directed into a creating a sound that bounces through the amplifiers straight to the audience.  With lead singer Esme crowdsurfing through the final track, Piss Kitti still offer chaos, but it is songs like Girls in I-D and Rollerblade which grab your attention more.  I was honestly really impressed.

Dream Wife were Dream Wife.  It was brilliant.  You could sense how excited the band were to be playing their first indoor show since the release of the wonderful So When You Gonna… last year, and Rakel kept on telling everybody it though to hammer home the message that what we were doing, being with friends and sharing a love of music, was special.  And it is special.  The feelings generated by live music make living a happy life so much easier.  The balance of the Dream Wife set too was excellent.  There was a noticeable difference in tone between their first two albums on record, but in the live arena it was impossible to tell which tracks came from which album.  Sports, Fire, Hasta La Vista, Somebody, FUU all created a similar electric reaction.

No, I take that back.  FUU is still a transcendent piece of punk rock that made every shit moment of what was a bad mental health day for me feel like a fair price to pay in exchange to being this alive and excited.

Dream Wife for life.