British rockers Wolf Alice took the stage at the sold out Commodore Ballroom, Friday night.
The band came in hot and high flying. That voraciousness stayed for the rest of the night, barely stopping to take a breath. Save for a beer cheers mid song between singer, Ellie Rowsell, and bassist Theo Ellis. The rest of the band kept up with the tempo, with a spotlight on guitarist, Joff Oddie. Oddie played to the crowd the whole night, along with the rest of the band. While there wasn’t a lot of chat between songs, Ellis doing the most of the talking, though Rowsell showed her genuine thanks for having a sold out show. Saying that “it really means a lot, to all of us.” Mostly, though, they showed their appreciation through the energy they brought to the stage. Frequently going to the edge of the stage waving their arms out to the crowd, inviting them along for the ride. The crowd themselves hooked from the very first beat.
After a few songs, the gloves were off, or the blazer, as it were. Ellis was no longer messing around. The blue blazer came off, and he played the rest of the night in a white tank. Oddie at one point didn’t have his guitar on him for whatever reason. While it was getting sorted he he stood at the very edge of the stage hyping the crowd while the rest of his bandmates played on.
The stage itself was bare bones, only the band and their gear on stage. They only thing out of place was at the front of the stage next to Rowsell’s pedalboard. It wasn’t until Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love), that it revealed itself as a spotlight. Rowsell standing in the middle of the stage as her silhouette loomed behind on the back wall. The light show was some of the best I’ve seen, especially in a smaller venue. They really gave thought and time to make sure it fit perfectly with the show, whether it be strobing stage lights, or a basking ripple the enveloped the whole stage. There was nothing standard about it. Again, the energy was brought, and delivered.
How can I make it OK?
While the crowd sang along for most of the night, they really shined singing back up at the behest of Wolf Alice themselves, on How Can I Make It OK? singing that over as Rowsell sang over top. He sweet high vocals floating perfectly above the crowd.
"Lets have some fun!"
"I fucking love Vancouver, It's my favourite."
-Theo Ellis
The show was seemingly over before it started. At one point I looked at my watch, thinking an hour or must’ve gone by, but it had only been 30 minutes. It’s not as if it felt slow, it didn’t. It was just the relenting pace, at which they tore through their songs. I only thought it had been longer because of the amount of songs that had been played already. But the show was far from over.
I’d never seen Wolf Alice before this, but will definitely be there the next time they some through town.
Were you at the show? What did you think?
Edited: 2022/10/15 – 3:19pm