The performance I saw Wheatus put on in Brighton at Chalk was one of the best gigs, if not the best, that I’ve ever been to. 

Photos by Hannah Rudrum

Words by Hannah Rudrum

Wheatus opened with Leroy (one of their top ten songs on spotify) and then deviated from the set list continuously, taking requests from the audience all night long – they even announced there was a “spy” in the crowd to listen to the requests of the people in the back and corners of the venue, so they didn’t miss out on the fun. The unpredictability of what song was going to be next made the night so enjoyable, and the crowd loved having control over what was going to be played – that much was clear. 

The most shouted request was for Leroy to be played again, which the band kept putting off until finally they gave in to the “unhinged crowd of Brighton”, as Brendan Brown so eloquently named us. With “Something Fun” and “Wannabe Gangster” being the next most requested. They performed “Something Fun” the first time on this tour, with Bernard declaring he regretted agreeing as it was a hard song to sing – but regardless, they performed it amazingly, meaning that either the song wasn’t as hard as he made out, or he’s simply very talented (my bets are obviously on the latter). 

The band’s stage presence was fantastic, with fan/band interactions happening at every interval between songs – and at one point the bassist, Matthew Milligan, put on a Santa hat given to him from the audience and the band started singing “Christmas Dirtbag” and Matthew jokingly asked if there were gifts from ‘Santa’ in their bus. 

Half way through the not-Christmas edition of teenage dirtbag, Brendan paused the performance and told the rest of the band that the “unhinged” Brighton crowd must want to sing the bridge, and then told us there was no way Brighton wasn’t going to be “the most special, ridiculous show on the tour”, which pretty much sums up the whole night. 

After well over an hour, Matthew told the band they had to finish up because it was “club night” afterwards, and so they had to go… which honestly felt very fitting. 

They said goodbye to the crowd, but not before throwing out their drumsticks and set lists to the audience. Here’s hoping they come back to Brighton quickly for another amazing and crazy show

Photos by Hannah Rudrum