The Wombats
SSE Arena, Wembley // London, UK // February 1st, 2019
Words by Molly Chen
Thousands of indie pop fans braved the cold and made their way to the SSE Wembley Arena last Friday to catch The Wombats on the last leg of their UK arena tour. With over a decade of success on the scene, the Liverpool-native trio certainly has the expertise to put on a good show.
Welcomed with enthusiasm and utter joy, Matthew ‘Murph’ Murphy, Dan Haggis and Tord Knudsen took the dark stage before kicking off their dynamic set with ‘Cheetah Tongue’. Clouds of confetti shot over the crowd as The Wombats set the tone for an exciting night. In a seamless transition, they followed up with ‘Moving to New York’, a classic Wombats hit punctuated by rhythmic synths and spirited clapping that echoed around the arena.
With an extensive discography reaching back over ten years, The Wombats struck a perfect balance between mature new releases and timeless fan favourites. A cloud of haze fittingly lingered on the stage and the final pieces of confetti fell through the air as the band started in on ‘Jump into the Fog’. A colourful outline of the London skyline took form behind the band as fans belted the final chorus to ‘Give Me a Try’ back at Murph, who then deemed them ‘absolute legends’.
Nearing the set’s halfway point, Murph took a moment to thank fans for turning out before kicking off with ‘Lemon to a Knife Fight’, a catchy number that Haggis advised the crowd to ‘think of as one of [their]five a day’. Murph prefaced ‘Pink Lemonade’ with a brief anecdote about the time he convinced himself his partner was cheating on him – the delusion that inspired the bubbly number. In one of the most spirited moments of the night, the audience took the first line of ‘Kill the Director’ – ‘I’ve met someone who makes me feel seasick’ – before Murph came in, ending the endearing song with the entire audience chanting ‘this is no Bridget Jones’. The band wrapped up their set with the award-winning ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’, while four dancers in wombat suits joined them on stage, one carrying Haggis off and leaving the crowd cheering for more.
The Wombats concluded their impressive show with a three-song encore, beginning with Murph returning to the stage alone and asking fans to get their phones out. White light bounced off of the arena’s walls and fans climbed on their friends’ shoulders, waving their phones around in a tender acoustic moment as Murph played ‘Lethal Combination’ on his own. Knudsen and Haggis returned shortly after and followed up the intimate moment with ‘Turn’ as rainbow lights were cast across the crowd. The band transitioned into their high energy closer, but not without first taking a moment to thank the crowd again. With a fanbase ranging from teens to 30-somethings who have been alongside them from the start, a huge factor in The Wombats’ continued success has been their dedicated fans. Confetti cannons shot off one last time as another human-sized wombat was lowered down from the ceiling, sporting a rainbow cape and wielding a guitar to play along to ‘Greek Tragedy’ in a epic finale.
The Wombats have remained one of the most consistently successful groups on the indie scene, and the reason for this is clear – simply put, they’re great songwriters and fantastic performers. Having established themselves over a decade ago, their engaging production encapsulates the bittersweet nostalgia of the 2000’s while also demonstrating their steadily increasing maturity over the years. There’s a chemistry between the trio that can only come from making music together for so long, and is a dynamic that culminates in an impressive and vibrant performance that will surely hang in fans’ memories – and just makes them undeniably fun to watch.
