LIVE: The Wombats with Courtship and Nation of Language at Brooklyn Steel 1.10.18
The Wombats stopped at Brooklyn Steel during their highly anticipated return to the U.S, in celebration of their upcoming album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life. Nation of Language and Courtship got the crowd warmed up.
At 8PM sharp, the lights in Brooklyn Steel dimmed, and the Brooklyn-based trio Nation of Language hit the stage with a burst of energy. As their synth-driven mix of post punk and new wave filled the venue, it felt like we had all been transported into a John Hughes film. The three piece had actually been added to the tour last minute, to fill in for UK band Blaenavon, who had unfortunately had to cancel their U.S tour due to medical reasons. However, the crowd instantly warmed to Nation of Language’s refreshingly nostalgic vibes and lead singer Ian Devaney’s vocals that pull elements from the likes of Talking Heads’ David Byrne and The Cure’s Robert Smith. Their 30 minute set included their tracks “I’ve Thought About Chicago” and “On Division St,” which the band mentioned had just premiered that day via Stereogum.
Courtship (stylized “courtship.”) took the stage next, donning matching yellow jumpsuits and immediately displaying their excitement and gratitude to be at the New York venue. As the LA based duo of Eli Hirsch and Micah Gordon and their band enthusiastically played their infectious indie pop tunes like “Sail Away,” “Perfect People,” and the unreleased “Bad Fun,” their happiness and energy filled their entire venue. During their short but sweet set, they never stopped showing their appreciation to be on the stage and on tour with The Wombats; at one point Hirsch addressed the crowd saying, “Literally in eighth grade my number one band on earth was The Wombats,” adding that he once hid in the basement of one of their 21+ shows just to hear them perform. Hirsch also mentioned that he and Gordon had only written their first song together just about a year ago in their bedrooms, making the opportunity to play at a packed venue in NYC that much more special to them. Seeing a performer that happy and excited to be where they are makes the performance that much more special to watch, and the crowd was extremely responsive to courtship.’s energy.
The Wombats burst onto the stage following a 30 minute changeover, kicking it all off with new song “Cheetah Tongue,” from their upcoming album. The three piece consisting of Matthew Murphy, Dan Haggis, and Tord Øverland Knudsen have been making music together since 2003, and their album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life will be their fourth studio album, following up 2015’s Glitterbug. With about 15 years of playing music together under their belt, the trio exuded an incredible chemistry on stage last Wednesday night; whether they were playing one of their oldies or another new song, they were perfectly in sync with one another. The band also crafted a diverse and dynamic setlist that pulled songs from all parts of their discography, like “1996” and “Jump Into The Fog” from This Modern Glitch, “Kill The Director” and “Moving to New York” from A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, “Give Me a Try” and “Greek Tragedy” from Glitterbug and last but not least, new singles like “Turn” and “Lemon to a Knife Fight.” Every song by The Wombat’s features clever and thoughtful songwriting, full of lead singer Matthew Murphy’s impeccably descriptive and witty writing, but they’re also known for their upbeat and catchy melodies. At their Brooklyn Steel show, they maintained an incredible level of energy, with Murphy working the entire stage, often wandering out onto the speakers at the front of the stage while he played guitar, and bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen thrashing around the stage and jumping along to the beat. The audience did a great job of keeping up the pace, but as the set wound down, Murphy encouraged them to get even rowdier, saying, “The paramedics are outside for a reason, so please go as wild as you can possibly can for this next one,” before the band launched into “Techno Fan.” Their classic and crowd-favorite songs in their live set often featured fleshed out introductions and arrangements; for example, the aforementioned “Moving To New York” (which Murphy said has and always will be dedicated to NYC) contained a built up and suspenseful introduction that led up to its recognizable guitar riff that kicks off the studio version. The night closed out with “Greek Tragedy,” which was the band’s lead single from Glitterbug, and everyone filed out of the venue with a grin on their face.
Check out photos from the high energy evening, and see the rest of The Wombats’ tour dates here.