LAST night, Australian hard rock band Wolfmother were in Manchester to kick off the UK leg of their highly anticipated Gypsy Caravan tour. Quays News entertainment reporter Andrew Collinson went along…
Support came in the form of American heavy rock quartet Electric Citizen – tasked with satisfying an already excitable crowd. They did not disappoint.
The Cincinnati four-piece quickly set the tone for the rest of their set with opening song ‘Savage’ from their debut album ‘Sateen’, which begins with a powerful scream from front-woman Laura Dolan, followed by guitar riffs which hail to their inspirations from 80s heavy rock.
Having only released their debut album in 2014, not many knew what to expect from Electric Citizen, and I bet nobody expected the band to be so comfortable on stage after such a short time together as a band.
However, they were more than comfortable, with intricate guitar work complimenting fast paced drum beats throughout the set.
The already lively audience kicked the noise up a gear as Wolfmother’s 9pm cue was nearing.
Andrew Stockdale and co came out ablaze with their lead single, ‘Victorious’ from their latest album.
New songs are always nervy affairs but the audience were more than a match for Stockdale’s powerful vocals in this song, which will no doubt have indicated to the band that they have got this song bang on.
Stockdale’s infinite library of riffs has delivered yet again with this track; the guitar and bass are fast and intricate, whilst Alex Carapetis drives the song with drums as tight as the saying suggests.
@wolfmother gig last night @MancAcademy could be the best I've ever been to, @positron76 absolutely smashed it #GypsyCaravan #WolfMother
— Stuart Green (@Stuey_Green) April 10, 2016
‘New Moon Rising’ was followed by arguably their most recognisable song ‘Woman’ which sent the atmosphere to another level. Mosh pits, crowd surfing, you name it, this gig had it. It seemed that the band were feeding off the audience’s energy and vice-versa.
The band were clearly enjoying themselves with a set of heavy classics, ‘Apple Tree’ and ‘White Unicorn’ and only a selection of new tracks.
https://twitter.com/HollyM_Photo/status/719145044985442304
‘Gypsy Caravan’ was one of the stand out songs of the night, not as fast paced, but just as heavy as the previous songs. Ian Peres’ distorted Rickenbacker bass powered this song and acted as a second guitar rather than a bass, drawing comparisons to Lemmy from Motorhead.
The bassist/keyboardist switched seamlessly between instruments, all the while keeping in perfect sync with Carapetis, leaving Stockdale to do what he does best…
There was some respite from the mayhem with ballad ‘Pretty Peggy’,another from the new album. It appeared to be a crowd pleaser, but personally I thought it was lacking something. Almost all of the band’s songs are distinctive and unique, but this wouldn’t sound out of place on a modern day Bon Jovi record.
This was the only negative of the set however, and normal service was resumed with crowd favourites ‘Colossal’ and ‘Vagabond’, perfectly setting up for the last song ‘Joker & the Thief’ which sparked a monumental response from the audience.
This was my first time at a Wolfmother concert, and my initial thought was just how good they sounded. Not just how good they were, but every lyric could be understood, every note could be heard. If I closed my eyes I could just as easily have been listening to the albums, which is testament to how little post-production has gone into their records.
I imagine going to see Led Zeppelin or early Black Sabbath wouldn’t have been a dissimilar experience to this, it is hard not to compare Stockdale’s soaring vocals with those of Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
@wolfmother were ace last night. Front row, baby!
— Rhys Johnson (@RhysTweetsStuff) April 10, 2016
But taking nothing away from Wolfmother, this band have a very unique sound, and an incredible one at that. They are a throwback to the origins of rock, but are not living in the past.
This is a band that says no to complicated light shows and pyrotechnics, their energy alone is enough to entertain.
By Andrew Collinson
@AndyDCollinson
Recent Comments