UPDATE (April 23, 8:30 a.m.): This review has been correctED to reflect that Wavves' name is just "Wavves," and to remove references to "the Wavves."

Wavves Fitzgerald's April 18, 2013

I didn't get the memo, but apparently we were celebrating 420 early at Thursday night's Wavves show at Fitz. That place was not only sold out and packed ass to elbows, but it was also hot-boxed to the point of making me dizzy. In other words, the entire thing was too awesome. Here's what happened.

Wavves were scheduled to play in the downstairs room at Fitz. I'd never actually been to a show downstairs before last night; I have just always managed to stay in my comfortable little box upstairs, so the entire thing was new to me.

Fitz downstairs, as I soon found out, is like watching a show in someone's living room. The ceiling is low, the room is small-ish (especially when it's crammed to max capacity), and there's a feeling like the entire room is vibrating when the speakers are blaring and the crowd is thrashing around. It was a vibe I could definitely dig.

Anyhow, the second opener, the L.A.-based skate-punk kids known as Fidlar, were a few songs deep into their set when the first waft of skunkiness blew past me. It fit right in with the moment; the lights were swinging, keeping rhythm for the band, thanks to the crowd surfers bumping up against them, and the noisy punk-kid thrashing was gearing up.

A couple more songs into Fidlar's set, and I start to notice just how skunky that place has become. Holy cannabis, Batman. There was no way to escape. Between the dark, cave-like room and that ever-lowering ceiling, it was like a tripped-out version of smogging out the car, only with better music.

I wasn't planning on mentioning the openers, but damn, Fidlar was raw and rad, and I can totally respect that doe-eyed drive to play every minute of the show with full force. There's something genuine and kind of innocent when bands play shows for the sole reason of loving what they're doing. Hell yeah, boys. That's what music is about.

Wavves were up next, and their entrance kicked the oxygen levels out the damn door with the quickness. As they geared up, everyone in that crowd must have lit up. What was once a tolerable level of semi-discreet smoke became a force to be reckoned with.