Live Review: The Wombats // The O2 Arena London, 15.04.22

The Wombats are an English indie rock band, formed in Liverpool in 2003 while the band members studied at LIPA. The group is comprised of Matthew Murphy, guitarist, lead vocalist, and keyboardist, Tord Øverland Knudsen playing the bass, backing vocals, and keyboards, and Dan Haggis on the drums, keyboards, and backing vocals. This week, the trio began a tour for their fifth album, Fix Yourself, Not The World.

While the O2 Arena filled up, Sports Team warmed up the crowd, with Abbie Mccarthy DJ-ing in between. There were a few great songs but the highlight of their performance has to be keyboardist Ben Mack looking remarkably nonchalant in his sunglasses and wandering around the stage.

After much anticipation, The Wombats made it onto the stage. They opened with the first two songs from their newest album, “Flip Me Upside Down” and “This Car Drives All By Itself”. However, the show really began when they played their third song, “Moving To New York”. The crowd came alive and we saw the beginning of the many, many, many moshpits to come – it truly felt like the crowd alone could have moved me to New York.

From then on, it was a “Lethal Combination” of Wombats classics intertwined with some of their newer tracks. Murphy discussed the band’s fixation on lemons before they performed “Lemon To A Knife Fight” and the fan favourite “Pink Lemonade”. I was particularly impressed by the live performance of “Ready For The High” which was notable for its guitar sounds and the sharp contrast in pitch between the verses and chorus. A breather from the energetic set came in the form of a heartwarming acoustic solo cover of “Lethal Combination” which had the entire arena singing together and waving torch lights.

The band began to wrap up their set with “Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)” and “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You”. The set ‘finished’ with “Greek Tragedy”, a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, which did not disappoint. After chants for “One more song!”, the band unsurprisingly returned for a three song encore. 

“Method To The Madness” is undoubtedly one of the best songs on their newest album and it certainly felt like madness in the pit, perhaps limiting how much the song itself could be enjoyed. “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” had everyone dancing away before they finished the set with “Turn”. It united the crowd for one final song and seemed like the perfect end to the night. A satisfied yet exhausted crowd filed out of the arena but not before Murphy’s daughter, Dylan, made her debut appearance on The Wombats stage.

Despite the chaotic crowd, it was a fantastic night, full of marsupials. Was it even a good gig if you don’t leave the arena with beer in your hair, bruises and a hoarse throat?

Words by Ella Gilbert

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