Over the past twelve months The Wombats have played more shows in Australia then they have in their hometown of Liverpool. Tonight’s show marked their third appearance in Melbourne, this time on their own This Modern World tour. Their frequenting of our country may leave skeptics asking “why?” but for anyone that got a chance to catch the performance they put on to a packed out Festival Hall you would understand why their Australian fans keep asking for more.
As soon as Festival Hall’s doors opened a barrage of well-dressed Melbournians piled onto the floor and surrounding seats, filling the room with an excited murmur that only grew louder as the crowd grew in numbers. The large scale Festival Hall stage was already set up, the back wall emblazoned with a large black screen, a white ‘W’ cutting through it only hinted at what was coming.
On the floor, the crowd took their seats, a mix of tracks ranging from Blondie to Foster The People filled the background for their conversation, but as soon as 7.30 arrived (Festival Hall sticks to a tight schedule) and the lights went out they all got out of their cross-legged positions and piled to the front of the stage just as Owl Eyes and her band came out.
Even though it was still early, and hours till the headliners were set to go on, the crowd was keen and Owl Eyes had a decent gathering giving her their attention. Her vocals were crisp and strong, her band was tight and together they were a great opening band, setting the standard high for the rest of the night.
Brooke Addamo danced around the stage entertaining the crowd with her breezy, hippy-like moves and a stage presence the size of a well-weathered pop star. She had the crowd under her enchanting spell, and the applause that followed every song proved exactly that. Finally, as she offered the crowd a cover of Foster The People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”, the crowd really switched on; singing, dancing and clapping along with Owl Eyes and her band. She finished the set strongly with her track “Raiders”. It was safe to say the crowd was already warmed up.
Before it was Faker’s turn to take the stage, the crowd began pushing and heaving forward trying to secure satisfactory viewing positions. Returning from their extended hiatus, Faker was met by a rousing applause. If anyone had high expectations for this set, they were clearly not met. Faker was not the high-energy, fun rock band everybody was used to, but that didn’t stop the first few rows of the crowd jumping and singing along.
Singer Nathan Hudson’s rough, husky, uneven vocals were a stark contrast to the act that preceded him; it was time to add a little rock into the venue. The set got off to a less than energetic start, with Hudson stuck behind his guitar, leaving the running around to guitarist Nicholas Munnings. Finally as the band launched into “Quarter To Three”, and Hudson put down his guitar and was able to walk, run and jump around the stage, the energy picked up.
It wasn’t until “Hurricane” (clearly a crowd favourite and arguably one of their biggest tracks) – packed with Hudson’s signature stage moves (running, crouching, jumping and climbing on anything in reach) and even an awkward break dance thrown in – that the crowd really got into it. The energy wasn’t consistent and the crowd didn’t welcome Faker’s new material with open arms but as soon as the band launched into single “This Heart Attack” the crowd were right back where Faker needed them to be.
They are a great band, and it has been proved in the past, but tonight there stage presence wasn’t where it usually is. Nevertheless, for the most part the crowd were jumping and singing along, rock had been injected into the building and the stage was set for the main attraction.
By the time it was The Wombats turn to take the stage the venue was (almost) packed from wall to wall. As the lights went out the crowd roared; it was obvious who they were here to see. The Wombats casually entered the stage under a sea of red, white and black lights, leaving the raucous to the crowd who immediately broke into chants and cheers, the flash of cameras only adding to the spectacle. The band immediately led into “Our Perfect Disease”, a thumping pulse line projected on the screen behind them matching the jumps of the crowd. However, it was the next track “Kill The Director” that was the perfect energy lifter as the crowd danced, clapped and screamed along immediately trapped under The Wombats exciting and infectious spell.
The set that followed was nothing short of exceptional, as memorable moment followed memorable moment. The Wombats provided a healthy mix of high-energy songs and entertaining banter, the projections on the screen behind them adding the finishing touches. Drummer Dan Haggis had funny man duties for the night, and after a quick Australian accents joke the band ripped into “Girls/Fast Cars”, the crowd continuing their energetic high. The Wombats set spread nicely across their material and the crowd welcomed tracks from both their releases enthusiastically.
Bounding through tracks including “Party In The Forest (Where’s Laura?)”, “Jump Into The Fog” and “Patricia The Stripper” kept the crowd moving, and any chance vocalist Matthew Murphy or bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen had to leave their microphone stands and dash across the stage they took.
The middle section of their set took the energy down a little bit, as Schumacher The Champion called for the crowd to get out their phones and lighters, creating sparkly sidelines around the venue.
“Techno Fan”, clearly the biggest song of the night, saw the crowd completely give themselves away, as Murphy called for the them to “jump up and down and lose their inhibitions”. The lasers came out to play, as Festival Hall was painted in sea of green lights, explaining why the venue had been filled with smoke. “Last Night I Dreamt” and “Backfired At The Disco” kept the energy going as The Wombats continued their true to record stage show.
The beauty of their performance was not just the way in which they performed their songs, not just their professionalism and tight, crisp delivery. It also wasn’t just the fun light shows and interesting projections displayed behind them (though they were great). What made the performance so spectacular was the ease in which The Wombats captured the crowd’s attention, without the need for a flamboyant stage show, they just amped up the energy, weren’t afraid to make fun of themselves and gave themselves wholly to the crowd.
They jam-packed as much of their material as they could into their hour and a half set, as the crowd was treated to “1996”, “Moving To New York” and “My First Wedding”. The Wombats energy never faltering.
It wasn’t until “Tokyo (Vampires And Wolves)”, the final song of their set, when the lasers came out to play again and the crowd released whatever energy they had left. From wall to wall the crowd was bouncing and dancing. As soon as the song finished and The Wombats left the stage the crowd broke into “one more song” chants accompanied by stomping, clapping and jumping.
In true rock star fashion the band bided their time backstage but the crowd didn’t give up. As soon as the intro to “Anti D” kicked in, the crowd went crazy and their energy didn’t falter as The Wombats powered through “Walking Disasters” or the obvious winner of the night “Lets Dance To Joy Division”.
The boys finished their set with an instrumental rock out, tonight entitled “The Melbourne Face Melter” giving the crowd one more chance to go crazy, Murphy playing the entire section with a full-head panda mask on. As the band left the stage in a sea of applause, it was obvious their work here had been done. Every moment of their set has been seamlessly sewn together in perfect, sweaty, exciting harmony.
– Gloria Brancatisano
