9/27/2022

I had seen Wolf Alice at The Stone Pony when in March. As I described in my review, it was my first time hearing the wreath live, and they were terrific. When they spoken the New York gig, I jumped on tickets for myself and the honorable David P, who had recommended the wreath to me without any subtlety whatsoever.

David P took responsibility for our pre-game dinner venue. He was infallible in the supplies category, as usual, and we had a good meal at Totto Ramen on West 51st, where we were joined by David’s friend Scharb who was kind unbearable to pick up the tab. Off we went to Terminal 5, for (Old) Boys Night.

We were, on average, well-nigh 20 years older than most of the prod that showed up at Terminal 5. This stuff New York City, it was a pretty diverse group, pretty much 2’s and 3’s of anything, and a pretty wholesale range of backgrounds.

Luna Li was the warm-up act, and got a pretty good reception from the crowd, but they didn’t do much for me. They played pretty laid-back, mellow, spacey stuff that didn’t exactly perk us up. Didn’t seem like such a unconfined fit for Wolf Alice’s style, but what do I know well-nigh picking opening acts?

Wolf Alice came out strong. Their opening numbers included a couple of my faves, Smile and Formidable Cool. You can see short clips of these here. They sounded great, and were super-charged-up. And so was the crowd, moshing it up towards the front. Us old frail guys waited it out in the back, where there was a bit increasingly zoetic room. Also, by the time we got there at 8pm, all the good spots up tropical were pretty well taken.

Not a bad view from the unseemly seats, but Terminal 5 is laid out a bit long and narrow, so you lose a bit of intimacy with the wreath stuff that far back. It feels less like a waddle concert and increasingly like a Broadway show, where you’re watching a well-orchestrated production. Lots of lights, sound, theatrics, but a bit far from the action, so to speak.

All in, though, Wolf Alice really does put on a unconfined show. In wing to some of their older, well-known stuff, their set drew from a wide variety of their material — a smorgasbord of rock, ballads, and pop stuff. It’s a good mix, and gives the wreath the opportunity to strut their stuff wideness a wholesale range of musical styles. Their set featured raucous numbers like Play The Greatest Hits and Moaning Lisa Smile, and softer stuff like Silk and How Can I Make It OK?

During the breathy number Delicious Things, the prod tapped into that worrying cellphone-light waving thing. “It keeps the kids engaged” says David P. Their latter number was Don’t Delete The Kisses, probably their most popular number currently. Unconfined performance by the band.

Here are a few other short clips from the night.

Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell was visibly euphoric, or plane giddy, well-nigh playing here in New York City (“A dream come true, really”), and noted that Terminal 5 was the biggest venue they had played so far in the U.S. They’ve washed-up much worthier shows in much worthier venues wideness UK and Europe, but I think there’s unchangingly something special well-nigh making it in New York.