The Wombats Light Up AO Arena, Manchester

AO Arena, Manchester, UK – 22nd March

WORDS AND IMAGES ISOBEL EVE SCOTT

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PHOTO CREDIT ISOBEL EVE SCOTT

It’s yet another unsurprisingly rainy day in the city of Manchester. As I walk past the AO Arena, I notice a long line already queued up outside the venue, with fans braving the elements to secure that coveted front-row spot at the barricade. Tonight, the queue is for The Wombats, who are stopping off in Manchester as part of their tour promoting their latest album, Oh! The Ocean.

Kicking things off for the evening is Merseyside-based six-piece band, Red Rum Club. Having been together for about six years, they deliver a solid mix of old and new material. The crowd really responds to ‘Vanilla,’ which proves to be a heavy hitter and the perfect choice for a set closer. It’s clear that Red Rum Club have honed their craft, and their sound resonates well with the audience.

Excitingly, Red Rum Club will be playing their biggest-ever headline show at Aintree Racecourse on the 16th of May. It’s definitely a date worth marking on the calendar for fans of their energetic live performances.

SETLIST:

1/ Vibrate

2/ Black Cat

3/ Would You Rather Be Lonely?

4/ Afternoon

5/ Eleanor

6/ Hole in My Home

7/ Angeline

8/ Vanilla

Next up are Manchester's own Everything Everything. It’s been just over a year since they released their latest album, Mountainhead, and their slot as tour openers offers a fantastic opportunity to showcase their work to a new audience. For me, ‘Cold Reactor’ stands out as a highlight of their set, and it even prompted me to check out the rest of their album in full after the show.

Though they’re not new to the scene, Everything Everything still has plenty of fresh energy, and it’s great to see a number of fans already singing along at the barricade. It’s always a special moment to witness that connection between the crowd and the band during an opening act.

SETLIST:

1/ The Mad Stone

2/ The End of the Contender

3/ Pizza Boy

4/ Enter the Mirror

5/ Kemosabe

6/ Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread

7/ Cough Cough

8/ Cold Reactor

9/ Distant Past

10/ No Reptiles

It’s around half-past nine when the lights finally dim for the main event. The AO Arena fills with excited screams as The Wombats take the stage, opening with ‘Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come.’ Despite being a new track from their latest album, it fits so seamlessly into their set that it already feels like a longtime staple of their discography.

One of the most memorable moments of the night is when the band asks the audience to light up their phones during ‘Lethal Combination.’ In a venue as vast as the AO Arena, the sight is breathtaking, and it’s easy to get swept up in the emotion of the moment. As I glance around the arena, I can’t help but marvel at how thousands of people, all united by their love of The Wombats, are singing along to the same lyrics together.

Frontman Matthew Murphy takes a moment to thank their hardworking touring crew, and it’s a touching gesture. I can only imagine the amount of effort it takes to put on a show of this magnitude, let alone an entire tour. Special shoutout to the venue’s camera operators, whose stellar work ensures that even those of us at the very back—like my 5’4” self—can still enjoy a great view of the show via the big screens.

The energy throughout the night is absolutely infectious. Both The Wombats and their fans seem to have brought their A-game, creating an atmosphere that stands in sharp contrast to the dreary weather outside. The excitement in the room reaches new heights when the band announces their “fake last song” and launches into the iconic ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division.’ I’ve been hearing this song on the radio for as long as I can remember, and it feels surreal to finally experience it live.

When the band returns for the encore, the buzz in the room is palpable, even from my spot all the way at the back of the arena. There’s an overwhelmingly joyful atmosphere that pervades the venue, and it strikes me that The Wombats are one of the few mainstream bands that seem to embrace such an optimistic, positive outlook in their music.

They close out the night with ‘Greek Tragedy,’ a track from 2015 that found renewed popularity thanks to a remix by Oliver Nelson in 2021. While it’s a little jarring to hear the original version after getting so used to the remix, it’s heartening to see just how well the song holds up on its own merits. The crowd’s reaction is proof enough that this track has earned its rightful place in the band’s impressive catalogue.

SETLIST:

1/ Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come

2/ Moving to New York

3/ Cheetah Tongue

4/ Techno Fan

5/ Kate Moss

6/ Ready for the High

7/ 1996

8/ Pink Lemonade

9/ I Love America and She Hates Me

10/ Kill The Director

11/ My Head Is Not My Friend

12/ Lethal Combination

13/ Blood On the Hospital Floor

14/ Tokyo (Vampires and Wolves)

15/ Patricia the Stripper

16/ The World’s Not Out to Get Me, I Am

17/ Method to the Madness

18/ Lemon to a Knife Fight

19/ If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You

20/ Let’s Dance to Joy Division

ENCORE:

21/ Can’t Say No

22/ Turn

23/ Greek Tragedy