Live review: Oh the commotion as The Wombats wreak indie havoc

On their first-ever arena tour, you'd have them put down to have played in them all their lives as their lengthy setlist blossomed beamingly with adrenaline rush after adrenaline rush.

Formed more than over 20 years ago, back in the reimagined indie state of 2003, the band’s three and only members consist of the electrically charming frontman Matthew Murphy, the ever-jumping Tord Øverland Knudsen on bass, and the easy-going Dan Haggis on the drums.

As previously mentioned, the lads have just over two decades worth of experience on and around the music scene have always been able to remain mod through numerous reinventions while remaining familiar to their indie-rock roots.

But before the turbulent headliners flipped the Leeds venue on its head, they secured two of indie’s finest festival favourites to warm up each night of their UK tour.

These were the frantically fabulous Red Rum Club and the high-energy Everything Everything, who both ensured the anticipating Leeds crowd was prepped for the main event of the evening, as tracks in particular from Red Rum Club, such as the heavy-hitting bass of Vanilla and Everything Everything’s rushing blaze that was Distant Past, brought the venue to a boiling point of unmatched energy, which The Wombats boisterously took advantage of for their larger-than-life performance.

Launching their Leeds party into action, the engaging trio initiated their spectacular set in classy form with a new track from their latest, as the ironically titled Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come, rang out to a large spirited audience who certainly weren’t late and definitely wanted to come.

Next in line was the fan favourite anthem Moving To New York; the familiar faithful always seems to burn the hectic energy into the start of their performance and embellish themselves onto the crowd as it saw the first of many moshpits to sweep through the arena, creating a riot of atmosphere that would see out the entire evening of blazing guitar anthems prepped for sunnier days ahead.

The crashing sweep that was Cheetah Tongue and the electric Techno Fan carried their fiery take-off to another plane of existence with their energetically elevated festival-ready tracks, as the Scousers fanned the flames of their spiced moshpits to unprecedented levels of rowdiness.

Always sticking close to the fan experience, the Northern threesome allowed fans to vote each night of the tour between three tracks; the one that won its position in the Leeds setlist was the driven 1996.

Fizzy and bright-sounding, Pink Lemonade was an explosion of colour and sound as the hypnotic sunny chorus quenched the desiring thirst for summer weather, which is hopefully ready to treat us on the horizon as we near the beginning of festival season.

Kill The Director was a thrilling rush of adrenaline and high-octane guitar riffs which rocked the Leeds crowd to its core, as everyone within the packed venue could be caught screaming along to the catchy bridge of “This is no Bridget Jones” before the start-up of more chaotic moshpits.

Slowing down the set for the slightest of seconds, frontman Murphy performed a heartwarming solo acoustic of the serene yet emotional ride-along that was Lethal Combination, which saw the arena brightly lit up with flashing stars emitted from the sea of fans waving them to and fro – which contributed to a lovely moment of blissful tranquillity.

Bringing more method to the madness, the band ended on a notable high as they drove their set to a close with three inducing tracks; these were Lemon to a Knife Fight, If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You and the brilliant blaze of climax in the form of Let’s Dance To Joy Division, which saw the bursting of confetti cannons to end their initial set.

Shortly after the band returned for another three of their best, Can’t Say No kicked off the affairs of the encore in smooth Wombats fashion, followed by the moody yet bittersweet Turn.

The electric Liverpudlian trio thanked the Leeds crowd that turned up in their masses and ended on the frantic yet beautiful farewell that was Greek Tragedy, which saw the trickling rainfall of bright-coloured balloons onto the crowd, leading to a surreal, dreamy send-off as the inflatables bounced around the arena.

Playing a set that consisted of twenty-two songs and having been on the music scene for twenty-two years, the ever-adapting trio have certainly earned their spot to play the largest venues the UK has to offer and will certainly cement their stay within these arenas for years to come.