Wolf Alice
Support: Willy Mason
The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
Monday, October 13th, 2025
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
Back in August this year, Wolf Alice released The Clearing their fourth LP and one of the best albums of 2025 released to the date. Interestingly enough this is the first album that the British band have recorded in Los Angeles, and in a full circle sort of spirit, they chose to end the North American leg of their tour at The Wiltern, in Los Angeles. The marquee indicated this was a sold-out show and the line outside the venue formed by fans anxious to get in, wrapping around the block, confirmed it.
Willy Mason Live
Willy Mason was in charge of warming up the crowd and although I had never heard of him before, I have to say I really enjoyed his performance. I was maybe a bit confused for a second as it seemed like the music was going in all directions, mostly folk-rock, but with disco drum beats, suddenly turning into rock. But as the songs went by and Willy got to unveil more of his catalog, it seems that his compositions borrow from a variety of styles and in the end, it all felt tied up.
Charlotte Anne Dole was impressive behind drum kit and she was perfectly locked in with her brother on the bass. Some of the tracks ended in explosive crescendos of pure rock energy, which got a great reaction from the crowd. They were briefly joined on stage by a violin player which added yet another layer into this multifaceted sound. I can only recommend catching Willy Mason live if you get a chance.
Shortly after 9 pm, the lights turned off again and the venue started buzzing out of excitement. I was too. Even more, after seeing Mikey Shoes (Queens Of The Stone Age) in the crowd, easily recognizable with his cool blond hair.
Wolf Alice Dazzles The Wiltern
I had never seen Wolf Alice live until tonight and for some reason I had always associated them with LA. Probably because I discovered them on KROQ with their breakthrough single “Moaning Lisa Smile” during my first visit to California back in 2014.
Well, a decade later and four records later, here I was. The band’s silhouettes appeared in the darkness, while Ellie Roswell took center stage, in her gold sequin bodysuit, bathed in light and smoke. They opened with “Thorns” from their new record. Right from the start Ellie’s vocals were absolutely incredible and the energy was high.
The Clearing Comes To Life
The lighting, colors and a big disco ball hanging over the stage echoed the art cover’s aesthetics of The Clearing and added a great visual. Something remarkable with Wolf Alice is their ability to explore various sonic universes from album to album, while always keeping their unique identity.
The setlist encompassed all of it, as they followed up with “Formidable Cool” from their noise rock phase album Visions Of A Life. Bassist Theo Ellis’ energy was off the charts from the start and couldn’t stay still for a second. Joel Amey (drums) took charge of the lead vocals for “White Horses”, probably my favorite song from the new record which is more influenced by 70’s rock. Fan favorite “Bros” had the whole venue jumping up and down.
Joel and keyboardist Ryan Malcolm joined Ellie at the front of the stage for a mellow acoustic moment. They provided back-up vocals on “Safe From Heartbreak (If You Never Fall in Love)”. Moments later, after everyone was back in their regular positions, the band played another great track out of The Clearing, “Bread Butter Tea Sugar” on which guitarist and co-founder Joff Oddie delivered an electrifying guitar solo that got close to blowing the roof off. And with close to no transition, Ellie traded her mic for a megaphone as the band started playing “Yuk Foo”. The live rendition was awesome.
The band ended on a high note with “Bloom Baby Bloom”, leaving the crowd howling for more. And more we received, as the British folks came back for a short two-songs encore ending with the festive “Don’t Delete The Kisses”.
The band said goodbye to their fans on this final show, but they’re in reality only taking a short break. Indeed, Wolf Alice will be cruising through Europe on the next leg of the tour for most of November and December. If you’ve missed them this time around, make sure to listen to The Clearing, until they come back on stage on this side of the pond.
Related Links:
Recent Reviews from Manuel:
Supergrass – Hollywood Palladium – 9/5/25
Everclear – The Regent – 9/4/25
Spoon – The Observatory 8/26/25
