Live Review: The Wombats, DJ Maccy

Everyone loves being in on a good secret, and heading along to The Wombats’ ‘hidden’ gig at Shebeen Bandroom tonight feels very exciting indeed. DJ Maccy spins some fun party tunes such as Cut Copy’s Saturdays and Sia’s You’ve Changed, fueling the animated buzz as we await the indie-pop stalwarts.

This is, for sure, one of the smallest, most intimate gigs that The Wombats have played in a while; it feels more like we’re getting riotous at a house party rather than being at an exclusive preview event. Opening with Your Body Is A Weapon, the audience’s pent-up energy is released and the sound is awesome, reaching every corner of the small bandroom space. The crowd doesn’t hold back when it comes to singing along with Jump Into The Fog, and, for Moving To New York that follows, even more so. We have to admit we’re more than a little relieved the show isn’t overcrowded and we’re not trapped like a pack of sardines, but, make no mistake, the temperature certainly rises as the set rolls on.

Tea towels are passed around onstage between sweaty band members and a bit of humorous, Liverpudlian-accented banter preludes the first song from their new record. Their third album Glitterbug won’t be released until April and their song Give Me A Try is an exciting insight into what fans can look forward to. Their new material sounds fresh and more intricate than earlier songs while still maintaining their infectious, hook-ridden and immediately recognisable sound. When the band perform Emoticons they inform us that it’s the first time they’ve played this song live, making the intimate gig feel even more special. The Wombats perform their latest work with great care and focus. For us, these are the best tunes of the night.

The set is briefly interrupted to sing Happy Birthday to their techy Jamie, who apparently spent the day running around Melbourne acquiring gear for tonight’s show. Onya, Jamie! Diving straight back in, frontman Matthew Murphy happily allows the punters to sing the opening lines of Kill The Director and we embrace the twee, indie-pop that lead many in the crowd to fall in love with The Wombats in the first place. Their latest single Greek Tragedy kicks like a mule. Even as Murph rubs the sweat from his eyes, his voice remains powerful and distinctive. In fact, rather than being hindered by the heat, it appears the band are enjoying the grungier elements of tonight’s set-up as they embrace self-indulgent, guitar-fuelled intros and outros to songs. Tord Øverland Knudsen goes for a bout of stage diving before The Wombats round out their set with the unashamedly fun Let’s Dance To Joy Division. Rock on, dudes.