Photo Credit: Sophie Webster
This year, Dream Wife spent their Valentine’s Day in, as they themselves put it ‘Nottingham – the city of love’. Their intimate set at Bodega, as part of their Social Lubrication tour, was both electrifyingly high-energy and heart-warming, with an incredibly special guest appearance…
Opening with the title track of their stellar 2023 album, Social Lubrication, Bella Podpadec and Alice Go took to the stage and immediately made it their home. Rakel Mjöll, entering just a few seconds behind them, completed the incredibly tight trio who were directing every single word around the room, making eyes with the entirety of the crowd, one, by one. It’s impossible not to be drawn in by Mjöll and it really does not take much convincing.
While Dream Wife have played in Bodega’s big sister, Rescue Rooms, there was something completely magical about this setting in particular. Maybe, it was because romance and intimacy was in the air for Valentine’s Day, but in actuality, it’s more likely to be due to the family affair that this gig became. After the unbelievably fun, fan-favourite Hey Heartbreaker, which rocked everybody’s socks off, Alice dedicated track three, Love You More, to her grandmother, who was in the back loving every second of her granddaughter’s performance. This was an incredibly special set for the Nottingham crowd, with a soft and gooey centre despite the driving force that the band deliver on stage with every scream and every strum.
Dream Wife’s performance style combines punk-rock power with delightfully high camp interludes, to create an atmosphere that is quintessentially them. After So When Are You Gonna… Mjöll went around the stage seductively checking the temperature of her fellow bandmates. After asking Go how hot she was, the guitarist immediately apologised to her grandmother before revealing cross shaped nipple tape, before absolutely shredding it for Hot (Don’t Date a Musician). Even the bartender got involved, as Mjöll gestured towards them accusing them of probably also being a musician, as the song does. That’s the best part of a Dream Wife set – everybody is involved, and welcome, no matter what.
It’s part of their mission, with notices around the venue asking any crowd-goers to report if they don’t feel safe or if there’s anything making them uncomfortable. Another incredibly welcomed gesture was when halfway through the night, the band invited all the “bad b*****s” to the front, with emphasis on height over gender. The band are very clear that being a ‘bad b***h’ has nothing to do with gender, and this anti-binary sentiment is present throughout their set, at the core of everything that they do. There was one particular individual that REALLY wanted to come to the front – Alice’s grandmother. Making her way onto the stage, getting in on all of the action, it was clear just how much this meant for the band, and it became an emotional moment.
“I am the ORIGINAL bad b***h.”
The set saw another well-loved Dream Wife staple with hit track Sports! which sees Podpadec and Go captain different sides of the room in a farcical, pantomime-esque competition for the loudest sound. Of course, everyone’s a winner, but it’s still a cute little moment from the band to inject even more life into the crowd and prompt that interaction.
To round out their visit, Bodega heard a wonderfully chosen cover version for the band, with All the Things She Said by t.A.T.u. It suited their fire-hot force perfectly, leading into a climactic track, both on Social Lubrication and for the set – Leech, a song dealing with soul-sucking toxicity, demanding more empathy. Mjöll let loose onto the microphone with rage, which was accompanied by the rest of the room. Paired with F.U.U., an older favourite which is also fuelled by rage and a desire for respect, the Dream Wife message was once again assured, upheld and adored. The crowd chanted back “Dream Wife for Life!”, with appreciation before entering into the night, truly and completely rocked. 9/10
Written By: Izzy Morris
