The Wombats, Bea And Her Business, Ra Ra Viper @ Entertainment Centre Theatre, Adelaide 21/9/2025
The Wombats are regular visitors to Adelaide, never leave us off a tour and guarantee a fun night out. I can’t recall a time where they have ever played an average show here and each top they seem to top what they did last time. This time round they are touring off the back of their sixth album Oh! The Ocean which is loaded with great tunes and a healthy selection off that featured on the set list. The bill was jam packed with artists that will no doubt be part of the next wave with UK’s Bea And Her Business and Fremantle post-surf rockers Ra Ra Viper.
It was a massive opportunity for Ra Ra Viper to be playing a venue of this size and supporting a highly regarded international act. Without question these guys have bucket loads of potential but probably could have done more to nail first impressions. Making it clear they were here “for a good time, not a long time” some of the banter fell a bit flat with the whole self deprecating artist being a little passe. On top of that the sound mix was not great down the front which didn’t help the cause. Nevertheless, they have some big singles in the armoury with the likes of Tora, Sally (She Lies), Paddy and Car Crash showcasing their potential being only a single away from breaking through in a big way.
The real surprise packet was UK’s Bea And Her Business… hot damn! What a voice! It was a lively, feel good set and it was hard not to be won over by her charm and charisma. Real life story telling combined with some clever pop hooks, there is definitely an excitement factor there and one artist we’ll be hearing a lot more from her and band. Opening with one of her popular singles Safety Net the rest of the set was a lens in to the life of Bea Wheeler, aka Bea And Her Business from being a nanna drinking tea on a Friday night instead of going out (Rich), to being terrified about growing up (Sunburnt Shoulders). to body images issues (Me Against My Head). Unreleased single Delicate Star is a winner and the crowd participation in Good Things was splendid finishing on another big single Born To Be Alive. Definitely an artist to keep an eye out on.
The affinity between Australian fans and The Wombats continues to grow and it doesn’t matter where they play they pull a big crowd anywhere. The love for this band is real! With six albums to their credit there is so many possibilities as far as the set list goes and this show was evident of that especially with some songs that have that “star power” quality being overlooked. They could probably play for four hours and still not fit everything in. Turbo charged opener Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come was great followed by fan favourite Moving To New York and Cheetah Tongue. The crowd energy was electric and were full of voice intent on maximum Sunday night vibes. Murph, Tord and Dan might have been suffering jet lag and you’d hardly know it being lifted by this infectious crowd having described their first two days as “fucking brutal”. Techno Fan, Ready For The High and 1996 went down a treat. Can’t Say No stands proudly amongst the set staples we have grown to love.
The first song about lemons featured with Pink Lemonade and the “barber shop” a capella intro to Kill The Director was one of many highlights. The acoustic flavoured Lethal Combination shed a whole new light on this tune and “if toes aren’t for tapping I don’t what is” set the scene for another high energy banger in Blood On The Hospital Floor. Murph describes themselves as “awkward people” but its this uniqueness that draws the fans in. Tord’s infectious smile and the energy he has throwing himself around the stage is a sheer delight to watch.
The rest of the set after Method To The Madness was described as “wham bam, thank you everybody” then asking for some of that “diet jazz” to give a different flavour to start Lemon to a Knife Fight. It was all good humour after a false start taking it from the top to redo this one. Even though they made it clear they didn’t get the encore thing they finished on If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming With You and Turn. Returning for an encore playing two of their biggest hits Greek Tragedy and then sending the crowd in to hyperdrive on Let’s Dance to Joy Division complete with “life like” wombats dancing around on stage. I wish all Sunday night’s were like this! Seriously, don’t miss out seeing The Wombats on this tour.
Live Review By Rob Lyon
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