It’s not often that Finsbury Park’s summer gig series comes freighted with so much emotional weight. Tonight (July 5), though, Wolf Alice’s moment under the north London sun has plenty of special sentiment behind it. Not only is this their biggest headline gig to date – the culmination so far of years of hard touring – it’s also closely tied to the band’s history. Frontwoman Ellie Rowsell and bassist Theo Ellis both grew up not far from here, while the first gigs Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie played as they formed the band are a stone’s throw away.
READ MORE: Wolf Alice are a band in constant evolution: “Not resting on your laurels is really exciting”
It would be easy for Wolf Alice to play it cool, but you can tell how much that connection means to them as soon as they step on stage. After a vibrant ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, punctuated with early bursts of white confetti, Rowsell looks out at the crowd as if she’s surveying something magical. “I hope you have the best day ever!” she says, face lit up with joy.
It’s impossible not to, with the setlist that the band have put together tonight – a fine balance between latest album ‘The Clearing’ and their back catalogue. There are some surprises: ‘My Love Is Cool’’s sweet, springy ‘Lisbon’ arrives early on, while Rowsell performs the gorgeously stripped-back 2013 B-side ‘White Leather’ sitting on top of a column that’s positioned in the star-shaped hole at the back of the stage. A cover of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ in the encore helps bring things to a riotous close.
Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell credit: Matthew Baker/Getty Images
The songs we knew were coming are just as glorious. ‘White Horses’, led by drummer Joel Amey, really comes into its own live, turning the park into a sea of bouncing, waving bodies. Friendship anthem ‘Bros’ pays emotional tribute to the band’s own bond and early days, with the big screens superimposing old tour diary videos on images of them playing today. A roaring run of ‘Yuk Foo’, ‘Play The Greatest Hits’ and ‘Smile’ shows off the punkier side of their sound, and the sludgy, metamorphosing ‘Visions Of A Life’ is reflective of the many ideas that bubble within Wolf Alice.
Before traditional set-closer ‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’ – which inspires fans to climb onto their friends’ shoulders and scream back every word – a gigantic disco ball descends from the rafters, and Rowsell shares some words of encouragement with the crowd: “If you’ve got a crush, you should probably tell them. If you want to start a band, you should probably start one.”
As they properly finish things off with the blistering ‘Giant Peach’, it’s hard not to feel thankful that Wolf Alice followed their own advice. They’ve been brilliant since the beginning, but over the years, have developed into one of the very best around. In ‘Leaning Against The Wall’, Rowsell nods to a romantic gesture by a partner as she sings, “You put my name up in lights”. In these final minutes, Wolf Alice’s own name is spelt out in bulbs that shine through the silver fringe that frames the Finsbury Park stage, and it feels like a testament to the years of hard work that have led them to this moment. Long may they continue.
Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell credit: Matthew Baker/Getty Images
Wolf Alice played:
‘Bloom Baby Bloom’
‘White Horses’
‘Formidable Cool’
‘Lisbon’
‘Just Two Girls’
‘Leaning Against The Wall’
‘Bros’
‘Gospel Oak’
‘White Leather’
‘How Can I Make It OK?’
‘The Sofa’
‘Bread Butter Tea Sugar’
‘Yuk Foo’
‘Play The Greatest Hits’
‘Smile’
‘Lipstick On The Glass’
‘Visions Of A Life’
‘The Last Man On Earth’
‘Don’t Delete The Kisses’
‘Moaning Lisa Smile’
‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’
‘Giant Peach’
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