16/04/2016 | Wolfmother – O2 Academy, Birmingham

Wolfmother’s self titled debut release is ten years old and despite a somewhat tempestuous band history with a revolving door of lineups, there somehow seems to be one thing that they keep constant; and that is creating addictive anthems for a rock ‘n’ roll crowd.

The already excited audience in the O2 Academy seemed thrilled as the Aussie three-piece took to the stage, and the band didn’t hesitate in dropping hit after hit from the start; from new track Victorious, to 2009’s New Moon Rising. By the time they played their third song of the night, Woman, everyone was already in full on rock-out mode; which left me curious as to what else Wolfmother had stashed away in their bag of tricks if they were willing to play one of their most famous songs so early on.

Luckily, despite the fear that the band may have peaked too early in the set with Woman, I was proved wrong as I was treated to a energetic and powerful set from the lads. Throughout, they just kept the mammoth songs coming, with some of my favourite performances from the night including the psychedelic White Unicorn, the Led Zeppelin flavoured Gypsy Caravan and the encore performance of Joker And The Thief.

Singer and guitarist Andrew Stockdale is able to deliver riffs and solos all over the place and has vocals to rival those of Robert Plant, but perhaps one of the most entertaining things about watching Wolfmother live is actually the cracking rhythm section of Ian Peres on bass and keys and Alex Carapetis on drums; they were flamboyant and fabulous. As Ian jumped around the stage continuously switching between bass and keyboard like a child that had eaten too many sweets, Alex exchanged cheeky glances with his rhythm counterpart and smacked hell into the drum kit like it had done something wrong. The whole band were full of enthusiasm and didn’t seem to miss a beat.

If there is one thing that is clear from the concert tonight it is that Wolfmother may have had their problems in the past, but their front man Andrew has somehow succeeded in steering the band back in the right direction and as a result have made a triumphant return to form with their latest aptly named album, Victorious.