Live Recap: Wolf Alice Returns to The Vic Theatre
On Friday, September 26, British rock band Wolf Alice returned to perform at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, in honor of their fourth album The Clearing. The show fell just shy of four years since they last played the same venue in 2021, when they had toured for their previous record, Blue Weekend.
After a support set from Willy Mason, more and more fans filed into the venue, eagerly awaiting the main event. The stage was decked out with a silver tinsel backdrop, reminiscent of a high school prom—but the show we got was way better than any school dance. Cheers greeted the band members as they made their way to the stage, kicking off the setlist with the first song off The Clearing’s tracklist, entitled “Thorns.” Donning a shimmering bodysuit, belt, and knee-high boots, lead vocalist Ellie Rowsell’s stage outfit matched the one that she wore on the new album’s cover, which helped immerse the audience into the world of this new music.
The introductory track conjures up vibes of a 70’s ballad, with its sweeping strings and steady piano melody, but the lyrics perfectly tee up a live performance as the song ends with Rowsell singing the lines “The sun goes down, the curtain lifts, and I sing a song.” Next up, Rowsell grabbed her guitar to play “How Can I Make It Ok?'“ with the band, a track off their aforementioned third album that starts off slow and gradually builds up.
As the show carried on, Wolf Alice intricately sprinkled in more familiar favorites from earlier on in their discography with their newest material. The band also did a great job of juxtaposing delicate moments with gritty crescendos; for example, they followed up the bouncy piano-driven new tracks of “The Sofa” and “Bread Butter Tea Sugar” with the raucous “Yuk Foo” and “Play the Greatest Hits.” The former started off with a siren blaring through a megaphone, followed by squealing guitar riffs and Rowsell’s Riot Grrrl-esque vocals filtering through the megaphone—and the energy only amplified for the latter.
As an avid Wolf Alice listener, I’ve always admired Ellie Rowsell’s dynamic vocal range that can flawlessly transition from gracefully gentle to powerful intensity, and that ability was on full display throughout their live show. Another aspect of their show that I really admired was the just-enough stage production that enhanced the music without overpowering it—during parts of the show, the tinsel backdrop was lit up with projections of hearts or stars, and bubbles were pumped into the venue during the final song of the night, but these subtly flashy elements never took away from the band’s musicality and raw talent.
The main portion of the show wrapped up with the lead single from the new record, “Bloom Baby Bloom,” which kicks off with a whimsical piano melody. From unwavering falsettos to wailing growls, the track is a perfect showcase of Rowsell’s vocal talents wrapped up in 3 minutes and 47 seconds. In the song’s chorus, she sings “But I’ll bloom, baby, bloom” and those lyrics perfectly summarize how Wolf Alice has expanded their sound throughout their discography and continued to strengthen their stage presence. The night concluded with the beloved “Don’t Delete The Kisses" in a perfect send off into the weekend.
Check out photos of the show below, and see where you can catch the dazzling spectacle for yourself here.
