It’s hard to believe that there were only three Wombats band members on The Anthem’s stage Tuesday, November 11th, when their sound was so full and alive. Hailing from Liverpool, England, The Wombats are currently touring the world for their newest album Oh! The Ocean (link to full album below).

It’s also hard to believe that The Wombats sound exactly the same live as they do on record, but it’s absolutely true. Known for their alternative pop and techno-inspired jams, the British band played a collection of their classics from previous albums as well as new hits from their sixth album that came out in February of this year. Even when they sang their songs from their early 2010s albums, they still sound exactly the same.

Lead singer Matthew Murphy, drummer Dan Haggis, and bassist Tord Øverland Knudsen feel like your cool uncles. Armed with jokes and deadpan British humor, they made the crowd laugh in between songs. Even things that weren’t meant to be funny were amusing, like when they said, “This next song is our new song, ‘Kate Moss.’ Wait, is it? Yeah…”

Two bands opened for The Wombats: Red Rum Club and Only The Poets. Red Rum Club, from Bootle, England, did a great job of warming up the crowd, playing some of their own original songs and some crowd-pleasers.  Only The Poets, from Reading, England,  incorporated fun grooves and keyboards that sounded like something straight out of the ‘80s.

Only The Poets said they were so grateful to be playing on this stage, and they announced that they will be back in the U.S. next year for their own tour.   We, for one, really loved their music and stage presence and hope that they return to the DMV next year.

The crowd was pretty hefty for a cold Tuesday night – the worst night of the week, as The Wombats said. Haggis commented on the large carpet that was hanging behind them, joking that it can get “pretty chilly traveling around on tour on a flying carpet,” so he very much appreciated the fans who came out to see them.

Everyone in the crowd danced and swayed their arms in the air throughout the night. But if there was one person that seemed to be having more fun than anyone, it would probably be Knudsen. He was skipping and jumping all over the stage, energizing the audience right from the start. The band was so in sync, though – at the end of “Lemon to a Knife Fight,” Knudsen and Murphy ended in the same pose, facing each other, but it didn’t even seem to be on purpose. When a band is so in sync, the energy is palpable.

Speaking of lemons, Murphy explained to people who haven’t seen one of their shows that they sing about lemons "roughly 48 times” between their songs “Pink Lemonade” and “Lemon to a Knife Fight.”

There was one creature who may have been having as much fun as Knudsen, and that was the Wombat himself. For one song, the band brought out a person in a wombat costume to play trombone. It was a treat for the audience and for the band, too. 

Over the past two years, the band has released music videos to go along with some of the singles and other tracks from Oh! The Ocean. The music videos are eclectic and fun, but they also show the deeper meanings in their lyricism. As the years go by, The Wombats’ lyrics have become more direct and poignant.

However, they never forget their roots. They sang the first song off of their 2007 debut album A Guide to Love, Loss, & Separation, “Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials” and acknowledged its silliness. 

Since 2007, The Wombats have struck a balance between that silliness and the deeper, sometimes darker parts of life to create music that makes you feel great even when you’re not doing so great. That’s what I love most about this band. They’re not afraid to tackle tough topics in their lyrics, and they acknowledge that those issues are not the end of the world.

 There is still so much beauty and joy in the world. That’s what Oh! The Ocean is all about, and that’s what The Wombats were in D.C. to show.