The Wombats at the TLA (10/16)

Some boys from Liverpool rocked Philadelphia at the Theatre of Living Arts last Tuesday night, and since I’m not speaking of The Beatles, I must be talking about Liverpudlian marsupials, The Wombats. The Wombats were back in Philly approximately one year after playing a show at Johnny Brenda’s, this time playing for a much bigger crowd. No matter the size of their audience, the Wombats put on a show that’s clearly full of energy, fun, and most respectably, appreciation.

Opening the night was fellow English act Morning Parade, although without a few hints you would have never known they were from Essex until frontman Steve Sparrow opened his mouth to talk after performing their first song. Up until this point, I believed them to be an American band, probably from California, until I recognized that the band’s spoken accent greatly differed from Sparrow’s singing. It seems that they’re just one of those mysterious cases of a band losing all hints of its English/UK/or otherwise European accent while playing music. I’ve yet to understand how this phenomenon works, but the deception is endearing, because c’mon, who doesn’t love a surprise accent?

The other dead giveaway to Morning Parade’s British roots? Their thankfulness. It seems that any band I’ve seen out of the United Kingdom has thanked the crowd they’re playing for more times than any other non-UK bands I’ve ever seen combined. After every song they played, frontman Sparrow thanked the crowd, complemented the audience, or generally showed appreciation and affection for Philadelphia. No matter the cause for such gratefulness, it’s hard to not find love for a band that seems so thankful and happy to be playing a show on stage in front of you. It’s easier still to enjoy a band that plays good music.

Having a sound you would immediately think of in regards to the current British music scene, Morning Parade combines the typical indie/alt genre with a laidback and modern new wave sound, partnering this with an exciting energy and stage presence. Since signing to Parlophone in 2012, the band has been slowly-but-surely gaining popularity and home and here in the States, especially with their single “Headlights,” which climbed to #16 on the U.S. Alternative chart.

After a great performance and many thanks from Morning Parade, the Wombats took the stage and got the crowd moving with their opening song “Our Perfect Disease” and one of their older, more well-known singles “Kill the Director.” They kept the crowd on their toes, dancing, or jumping around most of of the night, playing their popular songs—old and new— and even getting drowned out by the crowd’s singing at times, such as during the performance of their newest single “Jump Into the Fog.”

Like any other UK band I’ve seen as well as Morning Parade, the Wombats were appreciative to be playing Philly once again and frontman Matthew Murphy thanked the audience after every song the band played. The Wombats kept the TLA full of energy and fun from opening song to encore with their dancey indie/modern new wave sound and even a request for the crowd to do a ‘Team America freak out,’ which Murphy then snapped a photo of.

If you weren’t at the TLA on the 16th, you surely missed a lively show with two of the most polite and fun-loving British bands you could’ve experienced on this side of the pond. But who knows, perhaps the Wombats will be back again in another year, with an even more energetic performance and more of tales of boys and girls and marsupials.

- Bridget Stanford