Photo Credit: Julia Friedland

Words by Sophie Eley

Liverpool-formed, indie rock veterans THE WOMBATS, kickstarted their ‘Oh! The Tour’ UK arena run on Tuesday with a dynamic performance at Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham. Titled after their sixth album ‘Oh! The Ocean’, which hit #4 in the charts following its release, the band played a standout set filled with tracks from their latest release all the way back to their classic anthems. After a series of intimate record store performances in February to celebrate the album’s release, this performance was the first of a number of dates at larger venues. 

Supporting the band was Manchester’s art-rock band EVERYTHING EVERYTHING. Known for their electric sound, the arena welcomed the band with open arms as the crowd erupted into cheers after their first song ‘The Mad Stone’, with frontman Johnathan Higgs greeting the arena with a confident “Good Evening Nottingham”. Captivated by the bands presence, the audience embraced songs like ‘Pizza Boy’, ‘Jennifer’ and ‘Spring / Sun / Winter / Dread’. The set built to a thrilling close with ‘Cold Reactor’ and ‘Distant Past’, clear fan favourites evident by the sea of hands. The set concluded with ‘No Reptiles’, a standout from their latest album, leaving a lasting impression on the arena in the build up to the main act .

THE WOMBATS took to the stage with the leading track off their newest album, ‘Sorry I’m late, I Didn’t Want to Come’, a fitting song to start off the set, before immediately transitioning into fan favourite ‘Moving To New York’, which had the arena bouncing from front to back. This energy persisted as the band launched into ‘Techno Fan’ and ‘Cheetah Tongue’ as lead singer Mathew ‘Murph’ Murphy joked  “As far as I can tell, we’re still The Wombats”. Tracks from their latest album ‘Kate Moss’, ‘Can’t Say No’ and ‘I Like America and She Hates Me’ were seamlessly woven throughout their set, standing strong alongside a number of highlights from their 20 year career.

Breaking up the set, Murph takes the stage solo as he performs an acoustic version of ‘Lethal Combination’, delivering a rare, intimate moment in the midst of the unrelenting energy created by the songs preceding. It was not long until this energy was rematched as the trio performed ‘Is This What It Feels Like To Feel Like This‘, a song voted by fans ahead of the show, as cheers rippled through the arena as the intro began, proving just how appreciative the crowd was. 
“For the next six songs, I want you to go crazy,” – Murph declared and the crowd gladly obliged. The night built to a cinematic finale with ‘If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You‘ before ‘Let’s Dance to Joy Division‘ saw the arena explode with confetti, enhancing the already electric atmosphere. Following the encore, the band closed with ‘Greek Tragedy’, delivering a faultless send-off as oversized balloons rained down over the ecstatic crowd. The euphoria was palatable from the band to the audience, making it clear that the bar has been set high for the rest of THE WOMBATS‘ tour.