WOW Hall Welcomes Fleshwater + Julie to Eugene
4.20.26 - Eugene, OR
The first surprise was that the shoegaze/post-grunge bands Fleshwater and Julie were coming to Eugene. The second surprise was that in sold out within the day.
You have to understand, it’s not often that high-demand artists entirely skip big cities like Portland or Bend in favor of Eugene, so it was such a wonderful surprise to see this lineup hitting the 541.
The night started out with the San Francisco trio Midrift. Their upcoming album Silhouette is set to release June 5th, and they played several songs from the project. The WOW Hall was already packed wall-to-wall— did I mention that the show was sold out?! The line was wrapped all the way around the block far before door time even got close.
Midrift truly opened with a bang. Tracks from previous projects like “burden” and “unrequited” were played, alongside the unreleased title track of the new album, “silhouette.” From the first set of the night, the mosh pit was already forming, and I think that’s a pretty high compliment to the opening act.
Julie, another California trio, was up next. This is truly where the energy of the artists and the energy of the room made itself known. Because this was a co-headlining tour, both Julie and Fleshwater had longer sets which was amazing. Their debut album, my anti-aircraft friend, came out in 2024, and the WOW Hall was lucky enough to hear four tracks from that project— “catalogue,” “very little effort,” “clairbourne practice,” and “feminine adornments.” Their whole setlist sounded amazing live!
Fleshwater closed out the night, and I think it’s safe to say that the spark in the room was most concentrated here. Screams erupted from every direction as soon as they took the stage, and I completely understood why. I’m a relatively new fan to these bands, but it was easy to see that Fleshwater is who people stayed the whole night for. Immediately, they burst into a loud flurry of lyrics and distortion in “Endless Sky.” They transitioned into more songs from their most recent project, 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky, such as “Green Street” and “Jetpack.”
Songs from their 2022 album “We’re Not Here To Be Loved” were the cherry on top. The constant moshing and crowd surfing continued through classics like “Closet,” “The Razor’s Apple,” and “Linda Claire.” I couldn’t believe how rowdy the crowd could get in such a small space, but it was beautiful to see. I have no doubt that the night with Midrift, Julie, and Fleshwater was a night to remember for everyone.
