The two night celebration for the 20th Anniversary of Popscene, the 80's dance club turned band debuting club night kicked-off last Thursday night with Ivy Levan and The Wombats.
It was close to 11:30 when DJ Aaron Axelsen welcomed The Wombats back to Popscene; he thanked everyone for being there to kick off the party celebrating his club.
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| The Wombats at Popscene 1/22/2015 Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The trio from Liverpool England played their first show at Popscene August 9th, 2007 in support of their debut album A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation, then again in 2011 supporting their sophomore album This Modern Glitch. Keeping with tradition, last week they played their third show at Popscene supporting their forthcoming third album, Glitterbug, due out on April 6th. Lead singer Matthew Murphy greeted fans at the sold-out show with a peppy hello before unassuming, blaring guitar consumed the venue.
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| The Wombats at Popscene 1/22/2015 Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Murphy poked fun at the fact they had to stop the show after the first song, "Your Body is a Weapon", because of a noticeable ringing re-verb from his "broken guitar": reassuring show-goers that the issue was either to his guitar, an amp or the Wombats curse which caused fans to laugh and chant "Wombats curse". As Murphy, bassist Tord Overland Knudsen and a couple stage hands worked to fix the problem off stage; drummer Dan Haggis had fun keeping fans engaged with jokes and a short lived rolling drum solo to answer shouting demands. After about ten minutes the rest of the band returned to the stage, Murphy with different guitar to play and much to the delight of fans the show continued with "Jump into the Fog". The sound of fans singing every word was faintly heard over the wailing guitar and effervescent bass as a youthful energy transmitted between the band and their fans. Most of the set was heavily lead by loud guitar riffs and quick bass hooks, The Wombats play hard which adds an element of punk-rock to their indie-pop.
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| The Wombats at Popscene 1/22/2015 Photo by Nikki DeMartini |
They played a few new songs, including a slow tempo "Give Me a Try" which carries more of a quintessential indie feel with soft hooks and vivid keys while the new single, "Greek Tragedy" sounds more like their older stuff. Knudsen and Haggins' back up vocals effortlessly harmonized and smoothly accentuated every song of the set and when he wasn't behind his mic, Knudsen jumped around the stage vivaciously playing bass without a glitch. Fans happily kept up with the beat clapping along to every song they knew and dancing to the less familiar ones.
The technical hiccup at the top of their set was hardly an interruption, in fact it turned out to be a great introduction for the loud music they make. Before they ended their set, The Wombats recalled how they blew the power the first time they played at Popscene and they pulled off another awesome set with ease last week! San Francisco show goers can definitely expect Popscene to continue to introduce more great new bands for years to come!
Don't forget your ear plugs when you head out to see The Wombats when they play at The Fillmore on May 16th!
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