Wolf Alice: thank you, I love you, please come back to Chicago ASAP
It had been a while since I had been to The Vic, which is such an underrated venue in my opinion. Being nestled inside that old theatre, I think it is the perfect size for a concert. I was lucky enough to catch Wolf Alice’s latest show in Chicago there, and it truly exceeded all expectations (and let’s be clear...I was VERY excited for this show and definitely fist-pumped in public when I got word that I was able to go for Juniper).
Wolf Alice is a UK-based rock/alternative/shoegaze-y band, and I had actually seen them once before when they opened up for The 1975 back in 2016. They are on the same music label as The 1975, which is how I originally found them - everyone signed to Dirty Hit feels like they are all a part of one large-darkly-clad family from the United Kingdom. All of their styles are super complimentary, so if you like one band from the label, you’re likely to enjoy most, if not all of them (think OG Fueled By Ramen).
I hadn’t listened to the opener Bria beforehand, but I was impressed by her set! She did a cover of “Green, Green Rocky Road” which I was very surprised by - I know this classic folk song from the amazing Coen Brothers film, Inside Llewyn Davis. I’ve only listened to Oscar Issac’s cover of this song, oh maybe a thousand times? She took it in a drowsy rock direction, which I loved! She has a voice that happily sings about all of the ways anyone has ever wronged her.
It brought a smile to my face to see that a few fans brought posters that asked Wolf Alice to play specific songs. I have long felt that this band is greatly under-appreciated, so seeing that they did, indeed, have some die-hard fans made me feel warm and fuzzy. As I scanned the crowd, it was also fascinating to see that apparently every single tall person from the Chicagoland area decided to come to this show! At 5 foot 7 I felt tiny among the audience. I also thought it was awesome to see a large age-gap among their fans. There were some rock-dads and some high schoolers whom I knew must have felt mega-cool for going to a show on a school night.
Wolf Alice is the kind of band that could completely disrupt a person’s life in the best way possible if their songs were heard at just the right exact time. If a newly teenaged kid that was trying to get into music were to hear “The Last Man on Earth”, their life would truly never be the same. So, I guess what I’m saying is...if you have some highly impressionable teens in your life...make them listen to Wolf Alice, and they’ll turn out alright.
As they took the stage, I was amazed with how the band members interacted with the crowd. They all came out with gigantic smiles and glowing teeth. The guitarist Joff Oddie and bassist Theo Ellis were such hype men - they were laughing and jumping on stage and egging on the crowd to cheer and make more noise. It was such a wonderful surprise because from their promo photos the band looks quite intimidating and unapproachable, but on stage they were all performing like their lives depended on it. So many rock bands are sullen and “too cool” to emote, so it was nice to see people just genuinely having a great time - it made the concert that much more enjoyable as an audience member.
The lead singer Ellie Rowsell has such an interesting voice that can shape shift to fit many genres - her range is truly mystifying. If she was born in the 1800s, I bet she would have become a famous opera singer because she geniunely has that level of control. The set consisted of gentle lullabies like “Safe From Heartbreak (if you never fall in love)” where she honed the gentle tinkling of a Blue-era Joni Mitchell as well as songs where Rowsell sounded like Joan Jett spitting fire (see “Play the Greatest Hits”). They truly had a little bit for everyone, and I loved that they mixed up their styles. There is even a guitar part in “How Can I Make It Ok?” that makes me think of The Beatles.
There was little to no banter in between songs which I thought was odd, but not a bad thing; Wolf Alice were just incredibly dialed into playing. They were tight and had little break in between songs even with the switching of guitars and a variety of effects put on Rowsell’s voice; Wolf Alice is a well-oiled machine.
I’m a sucker for harmonies and this band just hits them so perfectly. There’s specifically one part in “How Can I Make it Ok?” that I went back and relistened over and over again after I heard it for the first time (the timestamp is 2:15, if you were curious.)
The crowd was full of fans who knew the words! Unfortunately, Wolf Alice is a band that can be difficult to sing along to because it’s hard to measure up voices to Ellie’s incredible and delicate one. But Wolf Alice has those cathartic anthems that you just want to scream! I imagine it is a similar feeling had at Adele’s concerts: there’s no way we’re going to collectively hit that high note, who are we fooling?
Their closing song wasn’t surprising - it was the song that I, and I bet many others in that room, discovered them through: “Don’t Delete The Kisses” is a perfect song in my book (especially the Recorded at Spotify Studios London version). The fact that it hasn’t become a staple for young-adult romantic comedies or movies in general à la Sharon Van Etten’s “Seventeen” truly baffles me.
If you couldn’t tell, I had a blast and have cemented myself as a fan of this band forever. Check out their most recent album, Blue Weekend, which is truly a masterpiece and a no-skip album. If you’re looking for a new obsession, here you go - you’re welcome! And, Wolf Alice thank you, I love you, please come back to Chicago ASAP.
Thumbnail photo taken by Jordan Curtis Hughes.