Standing at the crest of The Park stage, it’s nearly impossible to tell who is more delighted to be here: the thousands of punters that have trekked up to Glastonbury’s highest point to see Wet Leg’s debut appearance at this festival, or the band themselves. “This is so crazy that maybe we’re all on another planet right now,” says vocalist Rhian Teasdale, before she and her bandmate Hester Chambers launch into unreleased track ‘I Want to Be Abducted (By a UFO)’. “Maybe we’ve all been abducted?”
Are we all having an existential crisis – or is this just real life? The duo’s set certainly keeps with the feeling that typical rules don’t ever apply across the delightfully surreal playground that is Glastonbury. As Teasdale and Chambers barrel through the highlights from their excellent eponymous debut album, banana-shaped balloons waltz with a wind of bubbles around the front of the stage.
Later, a wave of laughter ripples through the crowd as the pair point out a group of fans dressed in lobster costumes, a nod to the video for ‘Oh No’. “I forgot the words!”, screams Teasdale during the track’s second verse, yet carries on playing with real vigour. This combination of silliness and deft musicianship is Wet Leg in a nutshell: act goofy, but tear it up.
Teasdale and Chambers have a shared and endearing habit of embracing both their jokes and mistakes. The show is funny without becoming the punchline, and to pull it off is high-wire stuff. ‘Angelica’ is delivered throughout a series of playful facial expressions, while the pop-flavoured stomp of ‘Supermarket’ sees them, joined by their backing guitarists, bound carelessly around the stage with as much balance as a gaggle of penguins on ice. Add the gloriously colourful backdrop of Glastonbury’s Ribbon Tower and the effect is irresistible.
Wet Leg’s appeal to their tribe is summed up by how they deliver all of this wacky charisma totally deadpan, including runaway hit ‘Chaise Longue’, which seemingly doesn’t need an introduction. That single, much like the rollicking ‘Ur Mum’ that precedes it, which turns into a session of collective scream therapy. As Teasdale hits the song’s bridge, she throws her head back, and erupts into a deep, powerful shriek; the audience before her joins in, sending a wave of catharsis across the festival site below us.
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