With a name like The Wombats you would expect the indie-rock trio to be from Australia but you guessed wrong. However you would be easily mistaken by how much time the UK favourites actually spend down under with what feels like at least one or two tours a year. But their passionate and constantly growing Australian fanbase are not complaining about the bands love affair with the country. After a massive coveted set at Splendour In The Grass and some intimate sideshows in the middle of the year, they’ve returned for a massive run of dates that see them celebrating the release of their fourth studio album ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’.
As they came to the near of the tour they arrived in Brisbane with a sold out crowd at The Riverstage to deliver a bright, energetic and fun live show with special guests Eves Karydas and Cloud Control. As the sun set over the Brisbane River and the warm summer temperatures seemed to cool off a little, The Wombats bursted on stage to the opening riffs of ‘Cheetah Tongue’. Along with an array of rainbow coloured lights and some cheeky animated imagery of Wombats they kept the singalongs going strong with ‘Give Me A Try’, ‘1996’ and ‘Techno Fan’. After all, this tour was to promote their new record so album cuts like ‘Black Flamingo’, ‘Ice Cream’ and ‘I Don’t Know Why I Like You But I Do’ made an early appearance while the rest of their set comfortably sat in the greatest hits and fan favourites department.
Looking out to the sea of screaming faces and punters sitting on top of others shoulders, the band confessed they looked like they were in for a good night. The euphoric vibes kept on rolling with ‘Emoticons’, ‘Lemon To A Knife Fight’ and ‘Pink Lemonade’ delivering carefree and fun moments. Whilst this was a headlining show, they were able to create an atmosphere that made it feel like they were headlining a massive festival. Everyone in the venue was smiling and singing along to every track with old favourites ‘Moving To New York’, ‘Jump into The Fog’ and ‘Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) receiving a massive response. Closing out the show with the song that started it all, ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’, I think it’s safe to say no one was ready for this vibey Friday night to be over just yet. As lead singer Mathew Murphy returned to the stage with an acoustic guitar in hand, he asked everyone to turn on their phone lights as they lit up the outdoor amphitheatre hill to the euphoric rendition of ‘Lethal Combination’. “I really wish tonight was the last show because Hunter Valley doesn’t stand a fucking chance now” Murphy exclaimed to the excited crowd. And with that extra praise the crowd sang extra loud for the final tracks ‘Turn’ and ‘Greek Tragedy’ as the band said good night but not goodbye as they promised to be back VERY soon. And let’s be honest, with their track record they will probably be back in 6 months and so will everyone that attended tonight.
Check out the full gallery captured by Tam Cam Photography HERE;
Photos by Tam Schilling