Wolf Alice at La Madeleine in Belgium

Words and Images by Sabine van Oppen

Edited by Emma Bowen and Miyuki Wang

Wolf Alice is a band that I discovered quite some time ago, around the time that they released their second album. It felt like I suddenly heard their name pop up everywhere – mainly because they were supporting some really big artists like Liam Gallagher, Queens of the Stone Age, and Foo Fighters at the time. This definitely sparked my interest as well, which is why I was really happy to catch their set at a festival in Hungary around that time. That was my first time seeing them live, and honestly: it was not the best experience – not because of the band, but because the crowd was not too great, and we had been dealing with heat waves and sand storms on the festival site for a week already, which really did not make for the best gig experience. However, this made me even more excited to finally see them at a nice intimate venue in Belgium – and they definitely did not disappoint!

This concert was actually supposed to take place back in February, but it kept getting postponed – for obvious reasons that need not be mentioned again 😉. The original venue was L'Orangerie du Botanique (also located in Brussels), which has a slightly smaller capacity, but they changed the venue to a bigger one (La Madeleine) due to high demand. Although L'Orangerie is very nice because of its intimacy, I did not mind the switch to La Madeleine at all, because this venue has great acoustics and lighting.

The crowd was quite varied. The main part was made up of people in their twenties, but there definitely were some older couples as well – you know them, the unfazed people that you see standing at the back of the venue with a beer, who always happen to have the best gig stories. I also noticed some younger girls, and judging from their phone backgrounds and their wild stories about how hard it was to find tickets for this gig on Ticketswap, their interest for Wolf Alice had been sparked after they supported Harry Styles on his last tour. The front row was filled up by some dedicated fans, who had travelled from different countries just to see Wolf Alice play here.

Doors opened at 7, and the support act started at 7.50pm. Their opening act had not been announced until about a week before the gig, so I did not really have a lot of time to do research on the artist, called Kevin. However, his last name obviously rang a bell: Rowsell, just like our beloved Wolf Alice frontwoman Ellie Rowsell, who we also spotted on the balcony during his set. His music was quite surprising and enigmatic in a way. The crowd remained a bit quiet, but he definitely put a smile on our faces with his bubbly personality and his banter in between songs.

Wolf Alice came on stage at 8.50pm sharp, and they captured the crowd's attention from the first minute on by opening with their hit single 'Smile.' The first song was quickly followed up by 'You're a Germ,' and 'Formidable Cool.' The set was mainly made up of songs from their latest album Blue Weekend, including 'Lipstick on the Glass' and crowd favourite 'How Can I Make It OK?' However, they definitely did not forget about the fans who have been there from the start either with songs like 'Silk,' 'Lisbon' and 'Giant Peach.'

They did not leave a lot of room for interaction with the crowd throughout the gig, but this did not really bother me because it did not feel necessary as their performance as a whole was stellar as is. There is something mesmerizing about Ellie that I can't quite put my finger on - I feel like she could make a room go silent with just one look, and that is exactly what happened that night at La Madeleine. She enchanted the crowd with her magnetic performance and her beautiful voice. At concerts, I'm always one to sing and dance along to the music and put in all the energy, but here, I was just standing there at times, shook to the core by how mesmerizing her voice is! This struck me especially during songs like 'Feeling Myself' and 'No Hard Feelings,' which really showcased her angelic vocals. The other band members seemed to be really enjoying the gig as well. I mainly noticed the bassist, Theo, because he was jumping all over the stage, which really hyped up the crowd!

They left the stage after 'Giant Peach' but it did not take long for them to come back for the encore, which included 'No Hard Feelings' and 'Don't Delete the Kisses.' The last song in particular really made the crowd go wild, which made for a perfect end to the evening.

If you have the chance, I would definitely recommend seeing Wolf Alice live – they are an amazing band, and it feels like they really are at the top of their game at the moment, so they definitely won't leave you feeling disappointed!

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Setlist

Smile

You're a Germ

Formidable Cool

Delicious Things

Lipstick on the Glass

Planet Hunter

Space & Time

Bros

Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)

How Can I Make It Ok?

Play the Greatest Hits

Silk

Feeling Myself

Lisbon

Visions of a Life

The Last Man on Earth

Giant Peach

Encore

No Hard Feelings

Don't Delete the Kisses

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Wolf Alice's latest album 'Blue Weekend' is out now! Stream on Apple Music, Spotify, Youtube, Deezer and Amazon Music

Purchase the album on vinyl, cassette or CD from their website!

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We're thrilled to have Sabine as one of our amazing guest writers on A Lucid Dream. Get in touch with us via Instagram DM, email (notaluciddream@gmail.com) or the contact form on our website to join us in this silly little community by writing a review for gigs you've been to recently, or about an album or a song you like.

Alternatively, you can send us 4 songs that you can't help but repeat these days - and they will be featured on our upcoming weekly playlist. We'd love to have you on board with us!