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| The Wiltern marque 2/25/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Friday February 25th, 2022 marked the final stop of The Wombats' North American tour in support of their latest album, Fix Yourself, Not The World. It was a sold-out show at The Wiltern and I was doubly excited because it was my first time seeing a show there. As soon as I walked in I was in love with the art deco aesthetic. It's high ceilings, retro moldings and balcony reminded me of The Fox Theater in Oakland while the teared floor section with people spilling into the aisleways and on to the stairs reminded me of The Warfield in San Francisco. There was a lot of people there but it didn't feel like a sold-out show probably because it was my first time being there, I had no reference and it's such a big space. Down on the floor by the photo pit there was more wiggle room than there was anywhere else on the floor. The English three piece was pretty much right on schedule, starting their set right around 9:00.
The first song of the night was the first song off the new album, "Flip Me Upside Down". With it's upbeat tempo, easy beat drops, array of hooks and catchy chorus The Wombats' effortlessly proved they were there to have a good time right off the bat. They wasted no time transiting into the next song to which I wondered if it would be one of those shows with no banter. Turns out it was anything but one of those banter-less shows because from there on out front-man Matthew Murphy was all about connected with fans, cracking jokes, making shout outs of gratitude, sharing tidbits and introing songs from time to time.
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| The Wombats at The Wiltern 2/25/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
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| The Wombats at The Wiltern 2/25/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The last time The Wombats toured in the United States was back in 2018 when they released their fourth album, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life so the excitement of their fans had been brewing for nearly four years. Add to that the pandemic, and lock downs and new music, their very loyal fanbase was busting at the seams with excitement. It didn't matter if it was one from the archives or straight off the press of their 2022 release, when they played a song people were stoked. So stoked that they were dancing, jumping and throwing their hands up in the air.
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| The Wombats at The Wiltern 2/25/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
Of course some old favorites got a louder response but every song The Wombats played that night was met with boisterous elation and the band fed off of that energy. Over the course of the show their collective stage presence was amplified. They interacted with each other, bassist Tord Overland Knudsen was all over the place with no shortage of leg flails and animated facial expressions and Murphy repeatedly went to the edge of the stage to get as up close to fans in the front as possible. They really did a great job keeping fans engaged and it wasn't just because the show was being live streamed. This wasn't my first time seeing them and they put on a good show every time I have seen them.
A little later on in the show someone in what I thought was a teddy bear costume joined the band on stage only to return on the next song with another costume creature. Turns out they were dressed as wombats, naturally and Murphy claimed that one of them was their tour manager. After his going solo with Love. Fame. Tragedy in 2018 it was good to see him back up there with Knudsen and Haggis. They're good together, they looked good, they sounded good amd they performed even better. After nearly 20 years together, The Wombats don't phone it in, they deliver a show worth seeing, even when it's show 14 of a 14 show run.
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| The Wombats at The Wiltern 2/25/2022 photo by Nikki DeMartini |
The Wombats hop back over the pond to start their Europe/UK tour next month. Hopefully it won't be another four years before they tour the States again.
The Wombats at The Wiltern 2/25/2022
photo by Nikki DeMartini
2/25/2022 set-list
1. You Flip Me Upside Down
2. This Car Drives All By Itself
3. Moving To New York
4. Cheetah Tongue
5. Techno Fans
6. Ready for the High
7. Pink Lemonade
8. Everything I Love Is Going To Die
9. Kill the Director
10. People Don't Change People, Time Does
11. Lemon to a Knife Fight
12. Worry
13. Jump Into the Fog
14. Wildfire
15. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)
16. If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming With You
17. Greek Tragedy
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