REVIEW: The Wombats @ House of Blues 10/24
By Monica Sucic
On Oct. 24, the English alt-rock trio that is the Wombats took the stage at Boston’s House of Blues. The group has been a powerhouse of British alt-rock for the past decade and continues to energize audiences across the world with their roaring live shows and four albums.
The current tour follows the release of their latest album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, which was released in February of this year. This album follows three extremely successful albums; The Wombats’ debut, A Guide to Love, Loss, & Desperation put them on the 2008 alternative map with songs “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Moving to New York.” Encapsulating the angst of love and loss in your 20s, This Modern Glitch followed as the band’s second full album in early 2011. The Wombats kept their rough pop-rock sophistication and dark lyrics through their third album, Glitterbug, which was released in 2015 after much anticipation. The fan base has grown and changed over the years, but they remain ever-dedicated to each new release.
The Wombats kicked off their set with “Cheetah Tongue” from the new album and then flowed into “Give Me a Try” from Glitterbug. As bassist Tord Overland Knudsen spiralled across the stage, vocalist and guitarist Matthew Murphy encouraged the crowd to jump to the beat for “1996.” In flashes of soft blue and neon yellow, all of the House of Blues was engulfed in energy. Drummer Dan Haggis could be seen belting along with his bandmates. Spirits were already high, due to the Red Sox World Series game going on just across the street from the venue. Murphy took a brief pause to compliment the Sox and the city of Boston, making sure to emphasize the willpower of the audience to come out to a show “not just on a Tuesday, but on a game day!”
With a stacked set of 19 songs, the Wombats made sure to play a healthy mix of all their albums. They shredded some of the upbeat new songs like “Black Flamingo,” “Lemon to a Knife Fight,” and “Bee-Sting,” but the trio made sure to hit on old favorites like “Patricia the Stripper,” “Techno Fan,” and “Emoticons.” The last five songs of the set, even before the encore, ignited a fire among the crowd. The end of the set sparked with the shimmering “Pink Lemonade” off Glitterbug and then broke into the guitar-heavy “Moving to New York.” They continued with two hits off of This Modern Glitch, “Jump Into the Fog” and “Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves),” which had everyone singing along. When The Wombats hit “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” their most popular song, the entire audience broke into a hurricane of dancing and neon lights. For this last song, five people in wombat costumes began to jump on stage around the band.
For the encore, Murphy stood alone in the center of the stage to croon a heartfelt acoustic version of “Lethal Combination.” After Knudsen and Haggis rejoined him on stage, Murphy performed a powerful rendition of “Turn,” the first single from Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. Before the final song, there was a short pause where the entire room fell silent for seemingly no reason. Murphy had the audience captivated as he put on a Red Sox hat, then he sent everyone back into a whirlwind of loud guitar riffs with the dark pop-rock hit, “Greek Tragedy.”
The Wombats were one of my favorite bands in high school, and it was amazing being able to photograph them and finally see them live. While they might not be releasing anything for a while, they’re truly not to miss when they return to touring for their next album.
Photo gallery from the show can be found here.