Wet Leg Bring the Energy to Golden Gate Park at Outside Lands

Wet Leg have built their entire ethos around not taking themselves too seriously while writing some of the smartest, catchiest guitar pop of the last few years, and that balance was on full, joyful display during their afternoon set on the Lands End stage at Outside Lands. Touring behind moisturizer, the band proved that the leap from their breakout debut to album number two has only sharpened their live show, not softened it.

They opened with "catch these fists," a statement of intent both musically and lyrically, before "Oh No" and "Wet Dream" had the crowd singing along with the kind of deadpan delight that's become Wet Leg's trademark. The band leaned hard into the new record, "liquidize" and "jennifer's body" landing with a heavier, more confident low end than their earlier material, proof this isn't a band coasting on a viral moment but one genuinely expanding their sound. "Ur Mum" got one of the loudest responses of the early set, the crowd gleefully shouting back a chorus that somehow still sounds fresh no matter how many times you've heard it.

"Too Late Now" and "davina mccall" kept the momentum rolling through the middle of the set, guitars tangled together in that loose, effortlessly cool way that's defined this band since day one. "pillow talk" and "Angelica" showed off a slightly more melodic, dreamier side without losing any of the wit, before the inevitable arrival of "Chaise Longue" sent the entire field into a full-throated, arms-up singalong, still one of the most purely fun moments any band can deliver live.

The band closed with "CPR" and "mangetout," the latter sending the set out on a satisfying, slightly unhinged high, guitars ringing out over a crowd that had clearly not stopped moving since the opening chord. Throughout, the chemistry between the band members was obvious, in-jokes and easy grins passed between songs, the kind of loose confidence that only comes from a band that's spent the last couple of years proving they belong on stages exactly this size.

Around them, the early-afternoon Lands End crowd was still filling in, the smell of garlic fries drifting across the grass, sun hats and sunglasses everywhere as festivalgoers settled in for a long day of music. Wet Leg's set gave that crowd exactly the kind of smart, hooky, endlessly quotable energy that makes an early slot feel like a headline performance.

If Wet Leg's moisturizer tour comes through your city, don't miss it. This is a band writing some of the best guitar pop out there right now, and Outside Lands proved they've only gotten better live.

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Photos by: Alive Media