Let's Wrestle Takes On Lincoln Hall
By Kim Bellware in Arts & Entertainment on May 3, 2010 7:00PM
Kim Bellware
Confident, jocular and just barely of drinking age, the North London trio Let’s Wrestle got us pumping our fists, stomping our feet and cheering on their stage banter as they turned in a quick set loaded with personality Saturday night at Lincoln Hall.
Contending with some absurd interference from an overenthusiastic smoke machine, there was enough fog to completely obscure the band onstage as guitarist and lead singer Wesley Patrick Gonzalez jokingly called out for more. Before disappearing behind a curtain of haze, he deadpanned to the audience, “Hi, we’re Deep Purple.”
In his playful aside, Gonzalez showed Let’s Wrestle’s proclivity for cheekily riffing on the bands that have inspired them while also understanding the difference between riffing on and ripping off. Even when their influences come across starkly, it’s hard for us to argue when they’re choosing top-notch groups to reference. “I’m in Love With Destruction” packed screechy notes and fuzzy guitars recalling varieties of early ‘90s post-grunge like The Wedding Present and Guided By Voices, seamlessly mixing with the driving basslines and chunky riffs from “I Won’t Lie to You” that would have been at home in ‘70s-era T. Rex song.
Deeper into the set, “Tanks,” “In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s” and “My Arms Don’t Bend That Way, Damn It!” gave plenty of opportunities for raucous pedal stomping and bursts of thrashing guitar that put the band’s sheer exuberance on display; it was almost impossible not to enjoy ourselves when we could clearly see that the band was having so much fun.
The band’s greenness was also telling at times, between the abrupt, almost awkward ends to songs and the inability to establish a rhythmic flow over the performance. Compared to the headliner, veteran rockers Quasi, Let’s Wrestle occasionally let their good-natured immaturity bubble to the surface, reminding us that they still have plenty to learn. Still, by the time they wrapped up their relentless, sweat-soaked performance, the audience ushered them out with earnest praise, calling for one more song.