The Wombats @ Circolo degli Artisti
aaamusic | On 30, May 2011
[cincopa AwCAVkaIVjyl]
Rome, 25th May
It was a very unforgettable night at Circolo degli Artisti: The Wombats gave the audience one the best gigs of the year.
We met Tord, the bass player in the afternoon to interview him for AAAMusic (interview coming soon!) After the opening of Morning Parade, the show which brought to an end the European tour with the Wombats started.
The five-piece band from Harlow warmed the audience up, and the air was really hot in the sold out venue, showing some good pieces of electro music, tinged with sadness, as their beautiful single “Under the stars”.
After a fast set change, The Wombats got hold the stage acclaimed by a jubilant crowd of crazy fans.
The first thing to state before reviewing the gig is that ”This Modern Glitch”, their new album, contains ten potential singles and they have a more explosive and involving effect performed live.
The band had a real good time on stage and entertained people, who often became an integral part of the show. For example, Dan, the drummer, realized that a fan had a melodica, so asking people to be silent, encouraged him to introduce Jump into the fog playing some notes, and after that improvisation, the band started the song perfectly in tune and time with him.
The show started with Our Perfect Disease, that opens the album as well, and went on alternating old songs (as the mega single Kill the director and Patricia the Stripper) with new ones, as the last irresistible single titled Techno Fan, that had a destroying impact on the crowd that wildly moshed in a venue that turned into a sauna. Schumacher The Champagne deserves a mention, to be the tune that mostly reminded us that the band is from Liverpool, as well as their illustrious “music ancestors”.
Also there was a hilarious moment when Tord wore a panda mask (the day after I discovered that it belonged to an Italian band called Loud South) playing an instrumental outro.
Backfire at the Disco is another gem that gets the crowd excited, while 1996 allows people to breathe with that touch of teenage nostalgia. Moving to New York, My First Wedding and Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves), the last one would have definitely become a classic if released in 80s, thanks to its synth intro and obsessive refrain, are an incendiary final, made of massive synths and anthemic choirs. These guys work well together showing to be close friends and amazing musicians, Murph sings and plays guitar and synths at the same time, Tord goes wild with his bass jumping on the stage, while Dan succeeds in creating chaos even if he’s sat at drums.
Encores open with the beautiful Anti-D, the most touching track of the new album, to end with the too much waited Let’s dance to Joy Division, the dancefloor filler hit of the first album, in a punk progression ended with an ironic and liberating stage diving for all the band and backliners jumped on stage to party. Recommended to see them live again, we’ll wait for Iday in Bologna.
Author: Luca Cirillo & Roberta Capuano
Photos: Courtesy of Yun Creative Labs
