The Wombats @ The Palais, Melbourne – May 11th, 2011 – Live Review

Review by: Luke Sutton

It finally happened. The Wombats headlined their own gigs in Australia, years after canceling across the nation and leaving thousands of fans devastated in its wake. With the announcement arrived confusion, mainly in the form of venue choice. The Palais Theatre is a seated venue in the heart of St Kilda, which coincidentally for The Wombats, once hosted Joy Division on its stage.

When The Wombats finally take to the stage at approx 8:40pm, they kick off the night with “Our Perfect Disease”, the opening track from sophomore album This Modern Glitch. With “Kill The Director”, leading man Matthew Murphy, better known as Murph, is smooth and charismatic as he leads the trio into a groove that is impossible to shake off. Five giant triangle panels, arranged to form a ‘W’ between them make for a light and visual show of amazing proportions. Imagery of rushing through trees appears for “Party in the Forest (Where’s Laura?)” along with foggy effects for one of the night’s highlights, Triple J fave “Jump Into The Fog”.

While The Wombats have only two (amazing) albums to their name, they decided to mix the set up with a B-Side from the Jump Into The Fog EP, entitled “How I Miss Sally Bray”. While it may have been lost amongst some of the more casual fans, its inclusion was welcome with open arms and certainly created chatter amongst the band and fans before its performance.

Casual banter (such as the discovery of the holy tambourine mid set) and the insane bass antics of Tord leave the crowd at The Wombats feet. Even “Schumacher The Champagne”, one of the bands weaker songs manages to ignite dancing, and even though dancing in the aisles is strictly prohibited in the Palais, it doesn’t deter the crowd. Set highlights towards the end arrived in “1996”, “Moving To New York” and “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)“, which unsurprisingly, was a huge hit and an amazing sing a long.

As a finale of a very hypnotizing “Anti-D” (thanks to the projection of blinking eyes on screen, the nights true highlight) leaves the crowd in awe. The song is a personal one for Murph, a testament to his strengths overcoming depression. It was surreal and beautiful, a song you could be oddly swept up into. The finale of “Let’s Dance To Joy Division” provided as expected; a gigantic thundering finale that has place The Wombats at dizzying new heights.

And that’s where The Wombats reign supreme, leading the charge on pop rock with clever lyrics and engaging hooks that leave you cheering for more, long after the house lights have come up and venue slowly empties, satisfied fans leaving with smiles on their faces and their feet sore from dancing the night away to Joy Division.

Review by: Luke Sutton

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* Live Review and Photos: Angus & Julia Stone, Boy & Bear, Lavelle Collins @ The Palace, Melbourne 25 March 2010
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