music.minneapolisfuckingrocks.com/post/116249226/wavves -
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Last Visited: 7/5/2009
AW Music has a great layout of what happened, but Pitchfork Editor and Captain Ryan Schreiber has the best first-hand account of the happenings:
"From the moment they took the stage, the duo was clearly not in any kind of mood to be playing to a potentially adoring crowd [...]. While the audience- riding high on colossal sets from Phoenix, My Bloody Valentine, and Aphex Twin on alternate stages- grew increasingly impatient, singer/guitarist Nathan Williams fumbled through a disastrous soundcheck, alternately bickering with drummer Ryan Ulsh, complaining at the sound guy, and confusing the three components of their setup (drums, guitar, and vocals) on the monitors.
Still unsatisfied more than 15 minutes into their scheduled 2:20 a.m. set time, Nathan finally succumbed to shouts from the restless crowd and began lifelessly strumming his guitar in what appeared to be totally random chord progressions.
As drummer Ryan struggled in vain to find a tempo for Nathan's seasick improvisation, the music slowly turned into a half-speed [...]
After five minutes of directionless strumming and arbitrary snare hits, Nathan dodged the evening's first bottle and decided to wind the aimless tune to an abrupt close.
Then, rubbing his hands against his face, he declared in annoyed resignation, "All right, hi everybody, we're Wavves," [...]
Nathan began ineptly mocking the crowd ("Ooooooh, I'm on ecstasy!"), going off at length about his preference for California over Spain, and eventually telling them the festival was "one of the coolest things we've been part of in a while," dripping with sarcasm.
Finally, fed up with Nathan's petulant behavior, Ryan ran out from behind his drumkit and poured a full cup of beer over Nathan's head.
The act would be met with their most enthusiastic applause of the evening.
At 3:00 a.m. sharp, having dodged their share of bottles and even a shoe, the show mercifully came to a screeching halt: Ryan ran offstage, throwing his drumsticks at Nathan.