Photos & Review: Mika Earley
The Wombats carry something timeless. Though they officially formed in 2003, their music sounds as if it has been around for decades longer. Opener Barns Courtney embodies this tendency towards perpetual youth. He infused the audience with an infectious energy that extended beyond the space of seven songs. The crowd was nearly jumping out of their skin to shout lyrics back at him, learning the choruses to songs that they likely searched for and downloaded after getting back home. Under the guise of a shiny optimistic sound, The Wombats transitioned into themes that Courtney began to touch on with “Fire”. “Cheetah Tongue” encapsulated this duality that can emerge alongside coming of age. This time will not always follow a clear or predictable trajectory that can be romanticized into a palatable story. And yet that did not discourage The Wombats from trying. Following this line of thought the show transformed into more of a party with each song, culminating as a horde of wombat mascots that swarmed the stage.
Check out The Wombats on tour here: