The line “Feels like I’m stuck in Seven Sisters, North London,” in Sofa was always going to land at Finsbury Park, just one tube stop away, and lead singer Ellie Rowsell bursts into giddy laughter following it’s delivery by 45,000 fans.
There’s no doubt about what this gig means to the band, “I grew up over there and I live over there” says bassist Theo Ellis, gesturing into the distance beyond the stage. They’ve come a long way and sealed their status at the top at Sunday’s show, playing tracks from their four Mercury Prize nominated albums.
They open with an explosion of confetti and Bloom Baby Bloom showing off Rowsell’s vocal range, before drummer Joel Amey takes the lead vocal on punchy White Horses from their latest album The Clearing.
Their own mini-festival sees them headline following an almost entirely female line-up including The Last Dinner Party, festival-favourite Rachel Chinoriri and Lykke Li but there’s also a touch of stadium spectacle.
During White Leather, a b-side from their debut single Fluffy, Roswell sings from a podium framed by a star cut out from their sequined backdrop. While uplifting anthem Bros blasts out, video rolls of the band in their earliest days, downing drinks and playing to crowds of one. Still, Wolf Alice are cool with their position at the edge of something even bigger. The video speaks for itself, and Rowsell quips about the enormous mirrorball that descends onto stage.
To the backing track of sirens Ellis repeatedly calls for the crowd to “Open the pit” before the band descend into their heavier anthems. The explosive Yuk Foo, into Play the Greatest Hits (a rousing scream of “It isn’t loud enough”), into Smile. The energy on stage matches that of the crowd with Oddie launching his guitar into the air and catching it, while Rowsell screams into a megaphone from the floor.
The set showcases their ability to jump-genres without losing momentum, soaring ballad Last Man On Earth before long-time closer Don’t Delete the Kisses she says, “If you have a crush, you should probably tell them” and the crowd roar back “You and me were meant to be in loooove”.
Post-stage return for the encore there’s no sign of winding down. Moaning Lisa Smile into a cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit, which has the crowd pogoing, before closing on Giant Peach – a song that nods again to their London roots and is a fitting note to end on.
Wolf Alice are no one thing, and that’s what makes them one of the best British bands playing now.
Set list:
- Bloom Baby Bloom
- White Horses
- Formidable Cool
- Lisbon
- Just Two Girls
- Leaning Against the Wall
- Bros
- Gospel Oak
- White Leather
- How Can I Make It OK?
- The Sofa
- Bread Butter Tea Sugar
- Yuk Foo
- Play the Greatest Hits
- Smile
- Lipstick on the Glass
- Visions of a Life
- The Last Man on Earth
- Don’t Delete the Kisses
Encore:
- Moaning Lisa Smile
- Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Giant Peach