THE WOMBATS // BEACH BALLROOM, ABERDEEN
THE WOMBATS BRING THEIR NEW ALBUM 'BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE' TO ABERDEEN'S BEACH BALLROOM
THE WOMBATS PERFORMING AT ABERDEEN'S BEACH BALLROOM - 19.03.2018
PICTURE BY: COREY MCKAY PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★
The Wombats are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 2003. The band is composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis and bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and has been since its inception. They recently released a new album Beautiful people will ruin your life. With this album they are touring the UK and Europe during 2018. The Wombats are one of those indie bands from the good old days that have managed to stick around through thick and thin. From their post-punk revival on their debut, to the synth-heavy tricky third album “Glitterbug”, they’re a band that have consistently demonstrated their ability to change with the times.
As a band with its members now in their thirties, it comes as no surprise that the once youthful frenzies have been replaced with more mature takes on themes of isolation and modern romance. Even with their age they still manage to go on a huge tour and bounce around the stage at every venue.
The first support was BLOXX. DIY praised female fronted, 4 piece, alt rock / indie pop band, BLOXX are known to fuse grungy undertones with classic indie-influenced melodies to create their unique, yet comfortably familiar sound which is most evident within their live shows. BLOXX are Ophelia - guitar and vocals, Taz - lead guitar and backing vocals, Mozwin - drums, and Paul - bass. The band opened the night and even though it was early on in the evening they still had a massive crowd to perform to. This was great as you could see how confident and professional the band was on stage. They had great stage presence and performed many amazing and unique songs throughout their set.
The second support of the night was The Night Cafe. They are a band from Liverpool and they already have a great following on social media. They had a long set to ensure the crowd was completely ready for the main act. They were a very chilled and relaxed band which was a nice change. They looked so passionate and confident with their music and they clearly were appreciating every moment on stage. For both support acts the ground was shaking already due to the crowd dancing and jumping along. I honestly don’t know how this was possible as the concert venue is downstairs.
As the Wombats came on the floor shaking got stronger and stronger. It was a great build up. They played a mix of new and old songs throughout the night and that allowed all the young and older fans to equally, giving a performance that would leave any fan with a smile on their face. During the performance they made it personal and ended up singing Happy Birthday to a fan at the front of the crowd and then dedicated their next song of the night to her. It is ouches like this and small acts of kindness that makes the night special for many. They ended the night with many favourite hits and with massive balloons that came from the balcony above. They all ended up on the stage and one point and the band loved running around the stage and licking them back into the crowd.
THE WOMBATS will make appearance at this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals in August on the Main-Stage, as well as playing other UK and EU festivals across the summer period
SETLIST - THE WOMBATS : BEACH BALLROOM, ABERDEEN - 19.03.2018
Cheetah Tongue
Give Me A Try
1996
Kill the Director
Black Flamingo
White Eyes
Techno Fan
Emoticons
Lemon to a Knife Fight
I Don't Know Why I Like You but I Do
Pink Lemonade
Moving to New York
Jump Into the Fog
Lethal Combination
Let's Dance to Joy Division
ENCORE:
Turn
Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)
Greek Tragedy