After a long and agonising wait, Wolfmother finally returned to the UK for the first time since their Hyde Park performance in 2014 – This was part 1 of their European tour.
With an essence of Black Sabbath meets Led Zeppelin, they brought their unique, energetic and riff filled 70’s vibe fused with 21st Century hard rock to a sold-out Brixton Electric, London, and it was the come-back of all come-backs.
Wolfmother were supported by the self-proclaimed “fuzzed up, grooved out, hook-laden alt rock” group Blue Stragglers. This three-piece band, who hail from Horsham, West Sussex, opened the show with a powerful and passionate performance that lasted from start to end.
Gritty and grungy, their songs built up with catchy melodies and increasing intensity before finally smacking you hard in the face, truly electrifying.
Lee Martin (vocals and guitar), Ali Waite (bass) and Andy Head (drums) wasted no time, and their packed set included the loud, feverish and melodic ‘In Love for Half an Hour’, ‘Late at a Festival’ and concluded with the EP’s “festival anthem”: ‘All Mine (Sometimes)’.
On this night, Blue Stragglers’ infectious energy fuelled the fiery crowd and those memorable hooks have played over and over in our minds for days since.
After the crowd had been adequately pumped with premium 4 star, Andrew Stockdale (vocals and guitar), Bobby Poulton (bass and keys) and Hamish Rosser (drums) entered the stage to exuberant applause.
Loud and invigorating from the start, Wolfmother’s canorous riffs and belting high notes kicked things off with the crowd pleaser Dimension; encouraging immediate audience participation and the first mosh-pit of the evening. This unfaltering enthusiasm from both crowd and band was a constant throughout the whole full-throttle 90 minutes.
The aforementioned mosh pit seemed to grow stronger and stronger with every song. Crowd surfing ensued and there was the obligatory rogue fan who tried to join the band on stage (but was very quickly dealt with by security).
Energy levels were certainly high, all gassed up by the 19 song set list comprising of a good solid mix of old and new, including fan favourites: ‘Woman’, ‘Midnight Train’, ‘Victorious’, ‘Vagabond’ and the grand finale, ‘Joker and the Thief’.
Of course, no great rock and roll show would be complete without an encore and Wolfmother certainly didn’t disappoint. Returning to the stage after a very brief departure, they finished the show with ‘Upload’ and ‘Love Train’.
Apart from an early pedal-board failure during White Unicorn, which was seamlessly covered by the intuitive reactions from Poulton and Rosser, the show was faultless.
We can only hope that it’s not another lengthy wait before they return next.
PHOTO SET TO FOLLOW
WOLFMOTHER played Brixton Electric – May 31st 2022 – Support from Blue Stragglers
Live gig photography – Mark Thompson
Words – Lucy Thompson
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