Above any other show I’ve reviewed, Wolf Alice’s trip up to Manchester is the one that has provoked the most reaction.
News that I’d bagged the job for one of two sold out nights at the O2 Apollo was met with lip-curling chagrin from multiple continents - the kind of impact the London foursome now has is evident.
It's a smaller venue for the size of the response, but that made what would be a magical wander through Wolf Alice wonderland all the more enchanting and intimate.
READ MORE: Review: The Book of Mormon at the Palace Theatre
Their Blue Weekend tour comes in the wake of their critically acclaimed album. A swirling trip through saccharine Hollywood parties and bittersweet breakups alike, it’s a cinematic journey which firmly cemented itself as one of the finest albums of the last year.
And after an Omicron-postponed set of January dates, festival staples - and Mercury Prize-winners - Wolf Alice are back out on the road, coming to Manchester for March 3 and 4.
Kicking off with the explosive ‘Smile’, Wolf Alice smacked the crowd with the star-powered confidence of a band which has remained rooted in its own style - not least with the snarling the fan-favourite line, ‘if you don’t like me, well, that isn’t f***ing relevant’.
Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell’s raucous laughter on stage through ‘You’re A Germ’ was yet another manifestation of Wolf Alice’s brazen, yet deeply personal approach to the world’s all-too repetitive ‘guitar music’ scene
Like a general marshalling an army into battle, Ellie is in charge of this show and we’re doing it her way, with the rendition of ‘Formidable Cool’ coming complete with a ‘dare you’ attitude spilling over with every lyric.
Through the shoegaze-ier tracks from their latest album - ‘Delicious Things’, ‘Lipstick on the Glass’, ‘How Can I Make It OK?’ - the vocalist’s low, whispered rasps, followed by soaring, Kate Bush-esque high notes were made all the more enthralling by being drenched in lights.
Dreamy pinks, acid greens, dusty greys, cool mints were perfectly laced with touring musician Ryan Malcom's keyboards managing to capture a moonlit walk through a quiet street, or a deep chat under the fluorescent bulb of a bus shelter.
The crescendo of this sequence undoubtedly came with the final instrumental of ‘Feeling Myself’, as Ellie strolled to the back of the stage to conducted heady synths with her unabashed grooving, silhouetted by ultraviolet blues.
The contrast of a band strutting around to punk-y head-banger ‘Play the Greatest Hits’ was made all the more impressive by the sensitivity of a group who only need a spotlight to soothe in the next breath, with the lullaby-like ‘Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)’ and ‘No Hard Feelings’.
But Wolf Alice’s ability to mood-shift just as seamlessly during a live performance was perhaps no clearer than during their rendition of the eight-minute, three-act ‘Visions of a Life’, driven by Joel Amey's drums.
For the encore, we sang together for the spellbinding ‘Last Man On The Earth’, as the band transformed a lunar-like tale of isolation into a kind of group confessional, before filling the historic Apollo with friends chanting the heart-bursting lyrics ‘me and you were meant to be in love’ through the anthemic ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’.
The band departed with a sweet thank you as Ellie returns the bunch of flowers to the crowd that had been thrown on stage.
An electrifying night by now-fully-fledged rockstars, leading their own intoxicating charge. In Wolf Alice's own words, 'the vibes are kinda strong here.'
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