The open-brick, humid, musty surroundings of the hanger-like Victoria Warehouse, which by the way, is fookin’ huge, catered well for the mysterious introduction of the Mercury Prize winning Wolf Alice, brashing punk numbers like Yuk Foo and Giant Peach, the set’s opening and closing numbers, pounding back off the brick walls. Tonight’s the grand finale of Visions Of A Life, an album that, not only received critical acclaim and a Mercury Prize award, but saw Wolf Alice become one of Britain’s biggest bands, and saw them stake their claim as the future of rock music.
Tonight’s a victory lap, and bass player Theo knows this, his arms are both aloft early on, encouraging the crowd to get rowdier and increasingly energetic, determined to not let the energy-levels drop for a second, whilst Ellie Rowsell walks around nonchalantly, she possesses an assured confidence nowadays that has developed throughout the Visions Of A Life campaign, whilst her versatile voice is still a surprise, the ability to switch from angelic to angry in an instant remains impressive, no matter how many times you see them.
There’s a swagger to Wolf Alice, a seeming invincibility. They’re not afraid to leave out Trainspotting 2 number, and fan-favourite, ‘Silk’, in favour of some old hidden gems, including ‘Blush’ and ‘White Leather’, both of which made my eyes water (I wasn’t crying I swear!). Why did they have to do that to us all?!
It’s a whirlwind of a set. A concoction of the various sub-genres of rock, a delicious buffet, each course offering flavours from across the world, from the west to the east, there’s something for everyone. Punk slides into grunge before indie-pop bops are played out, with a side serving of western twangs and romantic chart-toppers flooding in intermittently, the eastern offerings of ‘St. Purple & Green’ providing something different too. But the show never feels disconnected. Songs slide into each other with seeming ease, there’s a little bit of absolutely everything. There’s even snow at the end. Fancy that?!
But that’s the beauty of Wolf Alice. Four misfits, with individual, quite differing personalities. You can’t put them in a box, as people or as musicians, but they can do it all.
