Concert Review: The Wombats at The Buckhead Theatre

The trio of Brits first banded together in 2003, since then they've seen quite a bit of success. The band consists of Matthew Murphy (lead vocals, guitar,  keys), Tord Øverland Knudsen (bass, keys, vocals), and Dan Haggis (drums, vocals) and just released their latest album, Fix Yourself, Not the World.

This was the band's first show in Atlanta in over four years. Last night's show came just shy of selling out the 1,800 capacity Buckhead. Up and comers Clubhouse tagged along to open the show. 

The band sounded amazing, almost spot on to their recordings but with an added flair. With just three members in the band, it is an impressive feat to sound so good. The trio's ability to be so multi-instrumental was astounding. I'm certain tracks had to be used to fill in the gaps, but they blended in so well with the live instrumentation. Major props go out to the band's audio engineer.

The Wombats certainly know how to make a crowd dance. Their slick and poppy rock sound brings the energy to another level. Leg kicks, jumps, and spins across the stage helped lead by example.

In all my experience going to, photographing, and reviewing concerts, this was a first: a man-sized wombat playing trumpet on a road case. A staple of the band's live shows and honorary fourth member, this giant anthropomorphic wombat knows when to get the crowd wild and makes a splash whenever it joins the stage.

Overall there was very little if anything to complain about with The Wombats. Exciting, fun, and musically gifted, this is a band to see live.

Five albums and a handful of EPs deep, The Wombats had plenty of bops, bangers, and ballads to perform. Hits "Greek Tragedy," "Let's Dance to Joy Division," and "Kill the Director" all made the cut. One notable missing song was "Give Me a Try," a big single off of their third album.

           1. Flip Me Upside Down

           2. This Car Drives All by Itself

           3. Moving to New York

           4. Cheetah Tongue

           5. Techno Fan

           6. Ready for the High

           7. Pink Lemonade

           8. Everything I Love Is Going to Die

           9. Kill the Director

           10. People Don't Change People, Time Does

           11. Lemon to a Knife Fight

           12. Worry

           13. Jump Into the Fog

           14. Don't Poke the Bear

           15. Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)

           16. If You Ever Leave, I'm Coming with You

           17 Greek Tragedy

           -

           18. Method to the Madness

           19. Let's Dance to Joy Division

           20. Turn

The band still has plenty fo dates left on their world tour, including the US, South America, UK, Europe, and Australia. Their full list of dates are below;

           2/10 Houston, TX House of Blues^

           2/11 Austin, TX Emo's^

           2/12 Dallas, TX House of Blues^

           2/14 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre^

           2/15 Salt Lake City, UT The Union^

           2/17 Seattle, WA The Showbox^

           2/19 Portland, OR Revolution Hall^

           2/21 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom^

           2/22 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory^

           2/25 Los Angelos, CA The Wiltern^

           3/18-20 San Isidro, Argentina Lollapalooza Argentina

           3/18-20 Santiago, Chile Lollapalooza Chile

           3/25-27 São Paulo, Brazil Lollapalooza Brazil 

           4/12 Kingston Upon Thames, UK Pryzm

           4/14 Leeds, UK First Direct Arena*~

           4/15 London, UK The O2*~

           4/16 Cardiff, UK Motorpoint Arena*~

           4/18 Glasgow, UK Barrowland* (SOLD OUT)

           4/19 Glasgow, UK Barrowland*

           4/21 Liverpool, UK Mountford Hall~

           4/22 Liverpool, UK Mountford Hall~ (SOLD OUT)

           4/23 Liverpool, UK Mountford Hall~ (SOLD OUT)

           4/29 Paris, France La Machine Du Moulin Rouge

           5/01 Cologne, Germany Carlswerk Victoria

           5/02 Hamburg, Germany Uebel & Gefährlich

           5/04 Johanneshov, Sweden Slaktkyrkan 

           5/05 Oslo, Norway Rockefeller

           5/06 Copenhagen, Denmark Dr Koncerthuset

           5/07 Berlin, Germany Huxley's Neue Welt

           5/09 Vienna, Austria Planet.tt Bank Austria Halle Gasometer

           5/10 Munich, Germany Backstage, Werk

           5/12 Bologna, Italy Estragon

           5/13 Milan, Italy Fabrique

           5/14 Zürich, Switzerland Komplex 457

           5/16 Borgerhout, Belgium De Roma

           5/17 Amsterdam, Netherlands Paradiso

           5/18 Groningen, Netherlands De Oosterpoort

           5/19 Utrecht, Netherlands Tivolivredenburg Ronda

           5/26 Scarbourough, UK Scarbourough Open Air Theatre

           6/05 Mt. Claremont, WA, Australia HBF Stadium&

           6/07 Hobart, TAS, Australia Good's Shed

           6/09 Adelaide, SA, Australia Adelaide Entertainment Centre

           6/10 Melbourne, VIC, Australia John Cain Arena&

           6/11 Sydney, NSW, Australia Hordern Pavilion& (SOLD OUT)

           6/12 Sydney, NSW, Australia Horden Pavillion&%

           6/15 Canberra, ACT, Australia UC Refectory (SOLD OUT)

           6/17 Brisbane, QLD, Australia Riverstage&%

           7/22-24 Sheffield, UK Tramlines Festivall

           7/28-31 Penrith, UK Kendal Calling Festival

           ^ with Clubhouse

           * with Sports Team

           ~ with The Night Café

           & with Jaguar Jonze

           % with The Vanns

To say The Wombats are wild would be an understatement. Nearly 20 years these guys have still got a ton of gas in the tank and continue to win over fans with their rowdy and energetic performances. Go catch this trio before you miss your chance.