18-05-2022: The Wombats, supported by the Vistas, De Oosterpoort Groningen
I have been a fan of the Wombats since their debut album A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation. I totally lived that album, know it from the front toe the back. It was such a good debut album. So I you don't know the Wombats, let me shortly make some introductions.
Even though their name might be misleading these guys are not from Australia where Wombats roam free, these guys are from the UK, Liverpool to be exact. They have been active since 2003. There debut album came out in 2007, and their song Let's Dance To Joy Division, ended up even in the dutch charts, now generally speaking most of the music I listen to does not make it in the Dutch charts, so this is quiet the accomplishment for an indie rock band.
The band had consisted of the same 3 persons as when they started out: Matthew Murphy the lead singer, Tord Øverland Knudsen on bass, and Dan Haggis on drums. Let me start by saying boy, do they know how to give you a performance. They have so much energy! And also like that the band has been consistent in their band members. I have noticed that this is not the case with all the bands I see live.
So let's get back to it shall we? I actually only decided to go to the show 2 days before the show. As it is a week day show, and I have to get up early to go to work. I will tell you about this some day, but just a little spoiler, I have company with my sister in the pet food industry. If you would like me to tell you a bit about this, just let me know in the comments. Anyways, I thought to myself, if I could just go on Thursday instead, I could sleep in because Friday was my day off. Only when I checked for tickets the show was sold out, so that option passed by. I just didn't want to let this concert slip me by, I am still too big a fan of this band.
So there I went, googled where I could park my car, had a fast meal after work and I was on my way. I had never been to De Oosterpoort, so this really was a new location for me, luckely there is a parking garage next to the venue. Bonus points for that. It actually is a very nice venue, reminded me a bit of the Afas Live, but then a lot smaller.
Support Act: Vistas
I arrived right on time, got myself something to drink and found a good place to watch the support act, I actually had not even looked at the support act (I usually do though). They really got me by surprise because these guys are actually pretty good! Their sound indie rock, the kind I really like.
Well, if I have to compare it to something some of the Wombats songs came close, I had a bit of a flash back to an other support act I once saw, Blossoms. Although their songs are a little quieter. I think we will hear more from this band in the future. It's happy, it is catchy, what else do you want? Yes it makes me a very happy girl, so I decided, since it seems like The Wombats did not have any vinyl with them, I bought their album instead.
I almost forgot, I was not the only one liking this band, there were actually people singing along. You do not see this very often. Also the guys standing next to me were like, this is cool, let's dance!
People were actually paying attention to the support act!
The Wombats
Then it was time for the Wombats from the start the guys brought their energy to the stage. They played some songs of the new album, but there was also room for the other albums they made. I loved for example that they played Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials. Which was really awesome, I was surprised that they played this and I absolutely loved it! They also played Moving To New York and Kill the Director. And of course as part of the encore, Let's Dance to Joy Division. if they would not have played it I would have been really disappointed. Even though I heard it a million times, I still adore it! Also don't you hate if you go to a concert and the band does not play any of your favorite songs?
I died many times during this concert, let me tell you concerts are a real work out! You need to jump at the appropriate times, show of your dancing skills, and that all combined with singing along with the lyrics. I should go to these kind of concerts more often, maybe I wil loose some weight in the end. Just kidding of course, my weight is not going anywhere.
What I love about this band is that they bring so much joy to the stage, they all smile, have fun with the audience, they seems to enjoy themselves very much. All though I think Matthew is the more quiet and serious of the three, but even he was all smiles by the end of the show. What was also great about this show, and this might seem very silly, but the playlist they put on in between the support act and the Wombats, was great, it kept everybody right in the mood and everyone was singing along with the music while waiting, it just gave such a good vibe for the rest of the evening.
Talking about the audience again, the audience consisted for the most part of students, Groningen being a large student city and all, that really didn't surprise me. They were all well behaved although the girl in just her bra, was something I didn't really care to see but oh well that happens. At least she had a decent bra on.
What I found very annoying was that it happend again just minutes before the show, someone tried to push me out of the way to make room for her and her friend. They were all like: OMG we made it so close to the stage. And I was like really, hello I was already standing here, and I am not going to move for you. The one girl was really into the music, but her friend, that was standing next to me seemed to be very misplaced. I am not sure if she really enjoyed the concert or not. It was really weird, because she was dancing but out of the beat, and more like she was at Armin van Buren show or something. It just really struck me as weird.
What I did find amusing was the guy on the other side next to me. I am guessing he was around end 40 ish? He had a very well trimmed beard and laughing lines around his eyes. I am guessing that he was with his son, who was most definitely a huge fan of the Wombats. They were laughing together and talking. What really amused me was that he seemed to be enjoying the concert even though he was just standing there quietly unmoving watching. You could clearly see he was enjoying himself. So special to share that with your son I think I thought it was cool.
So Matthew tend to stray from his mic, not too long, but when he played a solo on his guitar he would step out right on the edge of the stage. The first time he did this, the girl that could touch him so close she was to him, started hysterically jumping up and down clapping her hands I think she had the night of her live. Loved it when I saw this.
This concert was great, just what I needed, a great break from work. The venue is great, one minor problem, the parking garage is very low, I was scared I would be stuck between the lights. The paths were so narrow that my car could just about fit between the wall and the blok on the otherside. I was glad to be on the road an out of that garage.
Have you ever been to a Wombats show? Let me know in the comments.
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