Wolfmother really should get better about releasing records on a more frequent basis. They’ve been around for 16 years and have only delivered four full-length records. The only band on the planet that has been successful with that formula is Tool, and that’s because their records are insanely complex.
Wolfmother should take a page from their ’70s inspired peers’ playbook and release an album every year. I know what you’re thinking, less and less people are buying albums in this broken business model, but even before the entire record biz fell off the digital cliff, Wolfmother took extended breaks between releases and in my opinion lost a ton of momentum.
I remember when the debut record came out it was a HUGE fucking deal. I was a field marketing rep for Sony Music at the time and I was in Waterloo records when someone played it over the speakers in the store. They were one of the biggest buzz bands on the planet at the time, and rightfully so. Here’s a band that takes the best attributes of the greatest bands of the early ’70s, turned everything up to eleven and wrote some fucking incredible songs. Then they went on tour and proved to the world that this was no major label manufactured flash in the pan—it was the real deal.
I don’t remember if I ever saw them live during that first US tour as it was impossible to get tickets then. After that I sort of lost track of the band, but that’s what happens when you wait three years to release a new record. Their label rep gave me a copy of Cosmic Egg back in 2009, but I don’t think I ever had a reason to listen to it. I’m the sort of fan that needs to stay engaged with the band even when they are in between records, something I think a shit ton of bands still haven’t figured out yet.
Fast forward to 2016 and Wolfmother is pretty much a one-man show. I had no idea they had a new record coming out until their publicist sent me an advance of the new record. The publicist is a pretty cool guy who only works with top-notch artists so I knew their had to be something special about this project and I was right. Holy hell these guys are back with a vengeance. I’m just going to come right out and say it—this is an early contender for album of the year and by leaps and bounds.
The Fillmore was packed to the gills and Wolfmother were absolutely on fire that night. As a photographer, I’ve been getting bored with shooting lately but I quickly discovered why I love photographing bands the second these guys hit the stage. Raw rock ‘n’ roll power delivered by three incredibly capable musicians. It was a Phil Spector-esque, wall of sound, much more noise than any other three-piece I’ve seen before. Highlights of course were the “hits” if you will including “Mother,” “Joker and the Theif,” etc, but the best part of the night was the new material and the crown jewel was the monumental title track “Victorious.”
There are a ton of bands who get to this point in their careers when they can’t really win over new fans and instead just try to awaken the previous fans (don’t get me started on that list). Wolfmother is a different story with this record. I played it in my office for a few millennials who had never heard of the band just to get their reaction, and they didn’t hate it. That means there may be hope for rock ‘n’ roll after all, and it also means that Wolfmother have a hell of a lot of life left in them sixteen years later.
Do yourself a favor and get this record on vinyl and turn it up as loud as possible—then go see it live and have your face melted off.
Bottom line: Amazing show supported by an incredible new album. Only downside of the night is that the band’s management had me sign a pretty strict contract stating that the photos could only be used one time and only for the next 12 months (I know, WTF?) on top of that the lighting was a photog’s worst nightmare with the reds and blues washing over the band, but I think I got some gems here. That’s too bad though as I was really hoping to use a photo or two in my new book coming out next month…hint hint management—can I get approval to use one?
In the meantime, check out hi res photos while you can in the gallery here.
