Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Carl Chambers enjoys a fully charged greatest hits set plus a host of newer productions from The Wombats
Image by Carl Chambers
The three members of The Wombats, lead singer Matthew Murphy, bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen and drummer Dan Haggis, complete with a stuffed wombat peering out from his kit, came on stage at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena to a rapturous welcome from their predominantly and clearly delighted younger audience. With five major label studio albums already under their belt their current UK tour supports their latest and sixth creation Oh! The Ocean, which aptly will cross the Atlantic with the band in the new year for several dates in the USA, and then they’re back here again in the summer.
Their set was made up of older hits such as Let’s Dance To Joy Division, Greek Tragedy and personal favourite Moving To New York, along with brilliant newer productions like Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come and If You Ever Leave, and I’m Coming With You, masterfully delivered to an appreciative crowd in their usual energetic style, complimented as always by a fully charged Knudsen wildly leaping around with his bass as if he himself was plugged into the mains, while Murphy and Haggis provide a slightly less turbulent but no less entertaining performance, lapped up by the assembled throng with increasing appreciation. This band is still on top form if tonight’s show is anything to go by, with further excitement beckoning both here and across the pond in 2026.
