The Wombats gave fans a nostalgic feeling at House of Blues in Boston Nov. 14, sharing their most beloved songs and recent releases as the last stop in North America for their “Oh! The Ocean Tour.”
The English indie rock band was originally formed in Liverpool, but they have been in the music scene for over two decades. Many may recognize them through their most popular songs: “Greek Tragedy” and “Let’s Dance to Joy Division.”
For being a somewhat older band, their fan base showed up for their tour stop in Boston. Throughout the entire night, fans were seen screaming along, dancing with their loved ones and nodding their heads along to the music.
The Wombats, led by lead vocalist Matthew Murphy, came on 10 minutes earlier than their original start time. Many fans seemed to appreciate the punctuality of the band, especially since it is so common for artists to arrive late to their performances.
As the crowd cheered on members Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen and Dan Haggis, they kicked the night off with “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come” from their new album, “Oh! The Ocean.” Across the venue, fans made it clear they were here for a fun night. Accompanying Murphy’s vocals, Knudsen’s powerful guitar riffs and Haggis’ loud drumming was the electrifying sound of fans.
Knudsen quickly became the star of the night. His effortless guitar runs drew in large crowd reactions. There was barely a moment when Knudsen was not seen bouncing around the stage, fully transforming into the stereotypical rock guitarist.
While Knudsen dominated the stage, Murphy’s stage presence was fairly lackluster. He wasn’t seen doing much on stage, other than strumming along and singing. Boston, being the last stop on the North America leg of the tour, may be the reason for the low energy, but it was noticeable.
The setlist also did not make the most sense, at least not in the typical way concerts are performed. The Wombats performed over 20 songs; however, the switch from upbeat, energetic songs to slow, emotionally driven tracks was not seamless. It felt awkward switching between the two, with an almost instant switch back and forth between energetic and slow. They gave the audience no time to mentally switch between the wide array of emotions The Wombats touch upon.
Even though the song transitions were choppy, the audience was still heard singing along, loud enough that at points, it was hard to pick out what Murphy was actually singing.
As for the song choices in the setlist, The Wombats did a good job of mixing classic nostalgic tracks with their newly released work. Some classics they performed were “Moving to New York,” “Kill the Director” and of course, “Greek Tragedy” and “Let’s Dance to Joy Division.”
Before “Kill the Director,” Murphy orchestrated a group a capella session to the intro of “Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials.” This was a unique experience, but it shows The Wombats’ dedication to connecting with their fans.
Even if Murphy was not doing much on stage, the entire band made it a point to keep the crowd included in the concert. With inviting a special guest on stage dressed in a wombat costume playing the trombone, to throwing beach balls around the pit, The Wombats successfully kept the audience engaged the entire night.
The Wombats lacked in certain areas of their concert, but at the end of the night, fans were ecstatic to see their favorite band; they definitely ended it on a high note.
The Wombats are now off to Europe to complete their 2025 tour. However, they recently announced they are coming back early 2026 to the United States for some added performances.
