Wolf Alice Play Their Greatest Hits

Another day, another gig with two Felix music editors in attendance. This time it’s an easier decision for who got to write about the experience though because only one of us can actually remember enough about the night to put any words on the page. If you want to check out Rosie’s thoughts on Wolf Alice, you can find them in ‘A Love Letter To Wolf Alice’ on Felix Online. Now for my thoughts.

I’ll summarise already. This gig had everything; it was amazing. Support was provided by Matt Maltese, who I didn’t realise was the singer of "As The World Caves In" – a song I’ve heard so many times on TikTok. This was a surprisingly calm start to the night with Maltese himself sitting behind a keyboard, and the rest of the band standing around in a circle making for a very intimate set. 

In a completely opposing set, Wolf Alice themselves came on stage and immediately embarked on a venue-filling rendition of "Smile". The whole band exudes confidence, they’re seasoned performers who are absolutely in love with what they are doing. From the beginning of the set and throughout I was entranced by guitarist Joff Oddie’s playing. Looking suave in a suit, Oddie exhibited sounds that he'd perfected for each song. 

A special mention has to go out to the lighting. Usually at a gig the lighting is nice and makes the songs slightly more interesting with the odd strobe effect but today it was noticeable, elegant, a thing of beauty. I wish I could put in a photo during every song of the set but I’ll have to pick my top 3: green spotlights scanned through the crowd as an alarm went off all before the band erupted into the manic "Play The Greatest Hits"; a white spotlight shining from the front of the stage silhouetted the band as they played a breakdown; a similar spotlight shone on lead singer Ellie Rowsell as she sang "Safe From Heartbreak", creating a regal shadow on the back curtain as if she were a Disney princess. 

In their encore, the band had a staggered entry back onto the stage as Rowsell gave an ethereal performance of "The Last Man On Earth". This is my favourite Wolf Alice song and reminds me of my first summer living in London last year. After this emotional track, the band were all back to play fan-favourite and their biggest song, "Don’t Delete The Kisses" to the delight of the crowd. Off the back of winning the Best Group award at the BRITs this year, Wolf Alice continue to prove they are worthy of the accolade.