There’s a moment, half way through Wolf Alice’s homecoming set in Finsbury Park as they play The Sofa, when lead singer Ellie Rowsell sings “Feels a little like I'm stuck in Seven Sisters, North London, oh England” and the crowd surprises her by singing along to every one of those lines. You can hear her surprised laugh before she regains her composure. “And maybe that's OK,” she reflects.
It’s been quite the journey to get here, though the band have not travelled far. From starting out playing basements and sticky floored shows across North London, 15 years on from their debut they’re now here, in front of 45,000 fans as the sun beats down on a barmy Sunday evening, a stone's throw from the Seven Sisters they sing about. It’s a journey that’s taken in a Mercury Prize win and a chart topping album.
You sense they can’t quite believe they’re here. Bassist Theo Ellis looks out across the crowd. “Finsbury Park, you have no idea how much this means to us. I grew up just over there,” he points into the middle distance. “The weekend is still young, they’ve kept the pubs open as late as possible for us,” he jokes.
Though that may be more to do with the upcoming England game, there’s certainly a celebratory feel to the day. Earlier Rachel Chinouriri had put on a bright, jubilant show, Lykke Li had played a set on a stripped-back stage, dressed all in black to a mostly disinterested crowd. “I’ve got to work really hard for guys, huh?” she says but the undeniability of her hits means I Follow Rivers wins them over by the end. The Last Dinner Party follow, a set that finishes with the whole crowd singing Nothing Matters back at them.
But today is about Wolf Alice - the stage adorned in silver tinsel tassels, a large star in the centre of it along with Rowsell dressed all in white. A disco ball even appears at one point - “A guy called Mirrorball Paul actually made this”.
Bloom Baby Bloom begins a set that showcases their genre-jumping skill and the different directions they’ve taken their sound in. The joyous ode to friendship Bros, with its shimmering blast of guitars, is a potent blast, while How Can I Make It OK? shows they can do wistful beauty as well. Rowsell then reappears after a costume change, all in black, megaphone in hand, for the explosive Yuk Foo.
The main set ends with the dizzying Don’t Delete the Kisses as the sun sets - a song that perfectly captures that warm fuzzy rush of falling in love with Rowsell singing “When I see you, the whole world reduces to just that room.” Wolf Alice’s best songs have always captured those feelings: of being here, of home and the life and friendships that happen around these streets. But they’re also about wanting to go further.
The Sofa and its reference to north London may have been about choosing home comforts over ambition but, as they come back out to finish with a surprise cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit and a snarling Giant Peach, today shows they’re ready to take on the world.
