Coming back to the UK after a series of extensive tours, Wolfgang presented their poppy electronica at The Joiners, with support coming from Winterhours and Pivotal.
Starting up the evening was the four-piece Winterhours. Their brand of folk infused Americana drew in the initially cautious crowd, and although removed from the hooks and peppy beats of Wolfgang, the pristine, cool voice of the lead singer was extremely well received. With a sound reminiscent of Band of Horses, the group played songs from their upcoming EP, and set the scene for a very atmospheric night. The band return to support To Kill A King on October 28th.
They were followed up by Pivotal, who injected some keyboards into their set. With a more haunting sound, the band tried to create a different aura around the venue while their sound resembled that of Interpol, especially in the vocals. While the lead singer’s voice was a bit wayward at times, the instrumental sections were well executed and the transition to Wolfgang was made well as more poppy sections came to the fore.
Wolfgang then came to the stage after a brief interlude and dived into a new song called ‘Into The Fire’, with the band declaring that this would be the first time their new tracks would be heard in the UK. Although the crowd were at first slightly taken aback by the new music, the traditional pop melodies and soaring voice of Max McElligott were soon enough to get the crowd jumping around. McElligott was playful with the crowd, discussing stories about his guitar tech’s god-daughter and experiences of their recent tour which again added to the dynamism of the whole event. As the band delved into their collection of tracks from their debut Suego Faults, he pranced around the stage like an 80s gameshow host, and he looked like one too. Towards the middle of the set came another new song ‘Horizons’ which seems destined to be a highly successful single. With an energetic chorus and easily quotable lyrics, the band took this into their hearts almost immediately.
Clearly the band have learnt a lot on their recent tour of America with Coldplay and their performances were tight while still being unique enough to more than merit the cost of the ticket. Towards the end of the gig, the band moved into their slower songs which were delicately balanced and linked well with the previous acts of the evening. After this foray, Wolfgang naturally closed off the night with one of their biggest hits, ‘Lions In Cages’. With the distinctive jangly keys prominent, the crowd reaction was immense as hands went straight up to the air and barely came down.
Wolfgang proved to be as dynamic and energetic as their recorded songs would suggest and they were well complimented by the support acts to showcase a great mix of electronic, indie and rock talent.
