Live Review: Wombats at iTunes Festival at London Roundhouse – 16th July 2011
It was a cunning move when the Scouse indie trio the Wombats swiftly arrived to fill in for the absent Duran Duran at this year’s iTunes Festival. They approach the stage confidently, performing ‘Our Perfect Disease’ (video here), the first track off this year’s release ‘This Modern Glitch’ (reviewed by John here). Tonight’s set list was to consist of a collection of the band’s signature, easy-to-digest tracks, including the fantastic ‘Party in a Forest’ and ‘Kill the Director.’ In fact, a babble of “This is no Bridget Jones!” could still be heard ringing around the reverb-filled halls, even after the fans had begun to file out of the venue.
One such highlighted moment was the raucous ‘Moving to New York.’ The delightful collective blaring of “it’s like Christmas came early for me!” is a certain indication of the looming stature that the Scouse trio has created for themselves in just a few short years. Their unique sound is remarkably fun and energetic, providing an enormously upbeat attitude to every member of the audience. Call it corny, but the ironic flair of ‘1996’ is simply wonderful. Interchanging between note-perfect vocal harmonies, the Wombats display an ever-improving sense of musicianship.
As the night continues, a small scuffle in the audience is noticed by almost immediately silenced by the slushy synth tones of ‘Techno Fan’ (video here), providing an instant sprinkling of positivity around the Roundhouse. As always with the Wombats, there are no long pauses between their tracks, aside from a quick guitar change or a much-needed wipe of a towel. Onstage banter included a geeky comparison of the towering ceiling of the Roundhouse to the Dynamic Duo’s lair, the Batcave.
A final rendition of ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division’ added a superb finishing touch. Although the superb energy of the band is no different to any other Wombats concert, there is a spark about the encore in tonight’s coliseum, and the band has proved time and time again that they are able to impress even the most diverse of fans with their dazzling finesse.
2 Responses
2nd August 2011
Feeling a tad jealous that you caught the Wombats live! So far I’ve only caught studio versions of their tracks and always felt they’d be strengthened even more when performed live (particularly 1996..)
Right off to Youtube with me to see if I can find some sneaky footage!!
2nd August 2011
Fingers crossed you’ll see them live some day Michelle! They’re definitely worth the wait!