“I don’t know why we’re playing on a stage this big, but f*ck it,” said Kevin Krauter, vocalist and guitarist for Indianapolis group Wishy during their Friday night slot at Summerfest’s BMO Harris Pavilion. As the sun began to set over Lake Michigan, the band translated their buzzy shoegaze-indebted sound to arena-sized power pop. “You could be watching The Killers right now. Means a lot that you’re watching us.”
One of the fresher and more exciting acts on this year’s lineup, Wishy released their debut album Triple Seven last summer to plenty of indie buzz – spinning together noisy alt-rock and dreamy, jangly wallows with larger-than-life hooks. Taking the last slot at the pavilion before indie rock legends Cake, the group (co-fronted by Krauter and Nina Pitchkites) brought tuneful riffs for a feel-good, mellowed-out late afternoon show.
Wishy channels Y2K-era, Total Request Live-esque rock in everything they do – Krauter donned a tie-dye tank top and jorts, complimenting their bleached-pink haircut. There’s something very bittersweet about the group’s approach to familiar nostalgia, never feeling entirely stuck in the past, always channeling their influences into something greater and more visceral than the sum of their parts.
A setlist highlight was “Love on the Outside”, an anthemic rager that demands the stadium-sized volume that it received. The band broke up higher-intensity numbers with sweeter, more rhythmically ethereal cuts like “Spinning” and “Triple Seven”, complimented well by a view of the Milwaukee skyline as the sky began to turn crimson. Ending with album closer “Spit” was an inspired choice, kicking things into high gear one last time before closing out their debut Summerfest appearance. It’s time to buy stock in Wishy right about now, before their tickets get more expensive and Summerfest becomes an afterthought. Very exciting things lie ahead for the millennium-loving Indianapolis group.