The Red Rum Club opened the show. Surprisingly, they started earlier than the posted 7:30pm start time. Their set was fantastic and they promised to be back soon. Expect to see a review of them here in the future.

The Wombats formed in Liverpool, United Kingdom in 2003. For their latest album, Fix Yourself, Not the World, they all recorded remotely: Frontman Matthew “Murph” Murphy from Los Angeles, bassist Tord Overland Knudsen from Oslo, and drummer Dan Haggis from London.

For the second song of the set, they play “Moving to New York” from their 2007 album, Proudly Present… A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation. Everyone starts dancing as they sing along. “So I’m moving to New York / ‘Cause I’ve got problems with my sleep / And we’re not the same and I will wear that on my sleeve”. It’s a great pop song that forecasted Murph moving to the United States.

Midway into the set they play “Is This What It Feels Like to Feel Like This?” This is a great song that feels like it ends just a bit too early at just 2:46. It could definitely use one last chorus, possibly with a key change.

Later on is “Lemon to a Knife Fight”. Murph sings “I push and you tend to shove / I give in and you don’t give up / I’m not getting out of here this time / I brought a lemon to a knife fight”. This is a great example of his fantastic songwriting. The last line is such a memorable quote and perfectly captures a relationship experience.

It’s a giant singalong for “This Car Drives All by Itself”. This song sounds similar to Walk the Moon’s style with the group singing.

Murph says they just have two songs left while doing air quotes. This is his signal that they will do an encore. They then launch into “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You”. It’s a beautiful song about a couple going through a hard time and him saying he won’t give up on her.

In the encore they play “Let’s Dance to Joy Division”, which has over 160 million streams on Spotify. “Let’s dance to Joy Division / And celebrate the irony / Everything is going wrong / But we’re so happy”. This song summarizes The Wombat’s style well. It’s deep lyrics mixed with joyful danceable music. It’s a perfect choice for one of the final songs.

See the full setlist here.

Cost of a ticket: $42

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney