The Wombats burst into Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on Tuesday, March 25, with an energy you wouldn’t expect on a school night.
They started the evening with Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come, which was the lead single from their new album Oh! The Ocean. It’s evident from this song that the band have injected a fresh funky feel into their new music, on top of that classic 00’s feel.
Lead singer Matthew Murphy revealed that this is the twentieth time The Wombats have played Glasgow, and they have a “big fat juicy love” for the city. He continued: “One of our first gigs out of Liverpool was King Tuts”, with drummer Tord Overland Knudsen chiming in, “Can we play Glasgow more?”.
While the crowd turnout may not have been the biggest to ever attend the Hydro, the performance from The Wombats’ passionate energy would have you believing that this was a sold-out show at Wembley Arena.
Following the trend of many touring artists of late, the band had their fans vote on social media for a surprise song out of three options. In the end, 1996 off their 2011 album The Modern Glitch, had the audience bouncing.
The band are known to engage full-heartedly with their fans, even allowing a lucky few to join them on stage under the condition they dress as the wombat himself. This time, a rowdy Glaswegian wombat ended up chasing the band around stage while playing the trumpet during Ready For The High.
Of course, the band ended the night with their nostalgic classic Let’s Dance to Joy Division, and then rallied up the Glaswegian crowd to “give it the big ‘yin Glasgow” before playing a terrific encore of fan favourite songs Can’t Say No, Turn, and Greek Tragedy.
The Wombats clearly care about their fans and their music, and that comes across onstage through their playful banter with one another, and how much they just love being on stage together.
The band seems to have never really grown up, still as cheeky and playful as they were back in 2007. They attracted a wide range of ages to the gig and showed that their music is timeless.
Listen to their new album Oh! The Ocean on Spotify here.
Featured Image Credit: Rose McEnroe / reSOUND Online
First year Journalism and Film Student
