Live
Wolf Alice
Brighton Dome, Brighton
November 20 2017
Words/Pictures: Steve Willcox
As might be expected with a band the calibre of Wolf Alice, Brighton's Dome is heaving with 1300 fans all in a state of heightened expectation for the night ahead.
After worthy opening sets from Superfood and Sunflower Bean, the lights go down and as Wolf Alice take to the stage, a single spotlight beams onto frontwoman Ellie Rowsell as they start the show with ‘Heavenward’, the lead track of their new and well-received second album ‘Visions of a Life’. A haunting synth intro and then Joff Oddie’s rhythm guitar blends in a heavy riff , that then introduces the drumming of Joel Amey and the bass of Theo Ellis. The spotlight is still focused on Ellie and she produces some powerfully moving vocals which then sends the crowd to putting their collective hands up skywards.
‘Yuk Foo’ changes the whole focus and mood of the set, igniting the fires of an audience’s belly, who obviously ‘don’t give a shit’ just like the lyrics of the song, by doing some serious moshing, which is moving all the way to the back of the hall. Luckily it gets organised somehow and a circle has appeared where they can merrily jump into each other in peace. The next two set numbers, ‘You're A Germ’ and ‘Your Loves Whore’, both produce some more hard hitting songs for the crowd to jump up and down to.
I didn’t expect the crowd to know and love these tunes as much as they did, which proves just how strong and loyal a fan base this band has. Both Ellie and Theo tell the crowd of their love for Brighton and its people and their memories of gigging there. The set then slows down a bit now with ‘St. Purple & Green’ and shows some delicate guitar touches from Joff and soft haunting lyrics by Ellie, but with the drums and bass at a different pace making it quite something to be witnessed.
‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ - my favourite track from the album - is all about accepting the past and never forgetting as it what defines you, seeing it live just makes me love it even more. ‘Bros', 'Silk' and 'Lisbon’ which follow, bring the previous album firmly into the set like a homage to the fans. ‘Formidable Cool’ with spoken word lyrics from Ellie and some great bass licks from Theo, is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrants Song’ but making it current and sounding their own.
The floor is jumping about and everyone is loving this gig and it looks like the band are too, which persuades Ellie to jump off stage and throw herself into the standing crowd thronged at the front of the stage, still managing to maintain her vocal during this bodysurfing interlude before being delivered back onto the stage.
Current single ‘Beautifully Unconventional’ is well received but it didn’t quite have the impact for me as I thought it would compared to the previous songs played. Breakthrough track ‘Fluffy’ closed the set before the encores and it brought some more moshing from exuberant fans to a crescendo of exhaustion.
The band thanks the crowd for their love and then depart to the green room for a brief rest. After five minutes they return to the stage and with a happy Theo, who was skipping up to his microphone, where they then launch into ‘Blush’ from their 2013 EP and for the final song, a firm favourite of the crowd ‘Giant Peach’ which brings the whole set to a new high and makes the crowd have one final hurrah into the mosh ring and the applause rings out around this 200-year-old building as the gig finishes, which from the outside is unconventionally beautiful indeed.
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