Coming in hot for their second show of The Clearing tour, Wolf Alice thundered back to Birmingham to blow away the Brummies, who filled out a sold out Utilita Arena last Saturday. Wolf Alice, ever the commanding presence on stage, was an absolute pleasure to behold.

After the band took their places on stage, frontwoman Ellie Rowsell burst from behind a dazzling wall of streamers. Birmingham was treated to a trio of The Clearing with ‘Thorns’ ‘Bloom Baby Bloom’, and ‘White Horses’. Drummer Joel Amey takes lead vocals on ‘White Horses’, and it was a pleasant surprise to see the song so early in the set. 

Most of The Clearing tracks featured in the first half of the set – intermingled between them were staple hits like ‘Formidable Cool’ from Visions Of A Life and ‘How Can I Make It OK?’ from Blue Weekend. A particular stand-out of the first half of the set was ‘Bros’, which in itself is an emotional song about friendship, and a song many of us grew up with. The track ended with a video of the band from when they were first starting out in the early 2010’s, a very poignant reminder of just how far Wolf Alice have come from Islington pubs to selling out stadiums around the globe. 

‘Safe From Heartbreak (If I Never Fall In Love) was a great end to the first half, performed acoustically with the band all coming to centre stage to sing it together. A beautiful song that resonates with Wolf Alice fans, I don’t think I’ll forget a full stadium of people screaming “You f*cked with my feelings”. It might initially seem a bit juvenile, but the solidarity in 10,000+ people screaming those lyrics in unison was a pretty special moment. 

A review of the show would be remiss without praising their theatrics, which are without a doubt some of the best in a live setting I’ve ever seen. The subtle adjustments of the star shaped streamers that back-dropped the stage, the rotating floor Rowsell utilised throughout the night, especially during ‘The Sofa’, their most popular single from The Clearing.

Far and away the most pleasantly raucous moment of the night was the back-to-back breakout thrashy tracks ‘Yuk Foo’ straight into ‘Play The Greatest Hits’. In between, Rowsell went backstage, grabbed a gigantic megaphone, and burst back through the streamers to police lights and sirens; absolutely the highlight of the night.

Wolf Alice grabbed Birmingham by the reins and blew the roof off the Utilita, and it was an absolute pleasure to be there to witness their prestige firsthand. With their impressive accolades and cult following, along with the musical chops to back it up, Wolf Alice have one hell of a reputation that shows no signs of slowing. 

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