As the sun set over Brisbane’s iconic The Riverstage last Friday (30 November), pop queen Eves Karydas welcomed crowds with her bubbly and upbeat tracks.
The Brisbane local has quickly made a name for herself with the recent release of her debut album ‘summerskin’. Eves was the perfect choice to open The Wombats show, with her energetic performances of songs ‘Couch’, ‘Damn Loyal’ and ‘Further Than The Planes Fly’.
It was then time for Cloud Control to take the stage. Over the past ten years, since the release of their debut EP in 2008, Cloud Control have made it clear that they are incapable of putting on a bad show.
The stunning vocals and entrancing instrumentals that feature in the band’s music, are only enhanced by their flawless live abilities. The band kept the audience engaged for the entirety of their set, alternating between tracks from ‘Bliss Release’, ‘Dream Cave’, and 2017’s ‘Zone’.
The past two years have truly seen The Wombats make Australia their second home, with appearances at Groovin The Moo, Falls and Splendour. Last year also saw The Wombats return to The Riverstage for the first time in six years, for their ten-year anniversary of ‘A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation’.
The Wombats - image © Bec Reid
The band didn’t stray away from their debut album at this year’s show either, performing classics like ‘Moving To New York’ and ‘Let’s Dance To Joy Division’. Friday’s show also saw The Wombats revisiting their 2011 album ‘This Modern Glitch’, giving fans a chance to listen and sing along to ‘Jump Into The Fog’, ‘Techno Fan’ and ‘Tokyo - Vampires And Wolves’.
Click here for more photos from the show.
These songs were intertwined with tracks from the band’s latest album ‘Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life’, the night kicking off with ‘Cheetah Tongue’. ‘Glitterbug’’s ‘Your Body Is A Weapon’ and ‘Pink Lemonade’ also made appearances, with ‘Greek Tragedy’ closing the night off.
In addition to their diverse line-up of sing-along tunes, The Wombats also managed to put on a visually pleasing show; each song uniquely accompanied by colourful, wombat-themed graphics. During ‘Ice Cream’ a screen presented wombat shaped ice-cream cones slowly melting away, while ‘Emoticons’ had hundreds of bright yellow emojis popping up all over the screen.
The Wombats - image © Bec Reid
Towards the end of the set, colourful blow-up balls were released into the huge ampitheatre, lifting the spirits and sense of community among the crowd even higher.
With such an impressive live presence, I think we can all agree that these Liverpool boys can visit Australia whenever they want.
