Oscar and the Wolf @ Rock Werchter 2023: Dream Rock

Oscar and the Wolf has been an established value in our country for a while. Max Colombie’s musical project has been regularly delivering new hits over the past 10 years, although that must be said flash After thinking twilight In the past two years she has not been able to match the success of her first tall players. However, Oscar and the Wolf still has a stellar live reputation, in part because the singer can undo many of the hits from his first two records. The “Belgium Superstar” has managed to conquer many hearts over the past 10 years with his soulful, danceable and dreamy music, but unfortunately he has sometimes struggled with his mental health. Fortunately for Rock Werchter, Colombian is a “warrior” and yesterday he made another bid to say “you.”

The opening happened immediately with “Warrior” as a masked singer fights against the last drops of rain. The “wolf in the mask” immediately threw himself down and was dancing in his cool rain boots, shiny shirt, and crystal mask. Then “The Game” began and a very special start could count on positive feedback, so that the performance quickly developed into a party. The strong live reputation was raised almost immediately, but it was not an entirely flawless cycle as “Donnie’s Dream” was not received very warmly. The song (now without a mask) was performed in a bland manner, with a huge guitar solo at the end. Almost all of the songs were performed in a (slightly) different way than we were used to, which kept the tension in them and caused almost constant surprises.

© CPU – Nathan Dopilary

“James” was performed in an exciting manner with a strong beat. As a result, sensuality went hand in hand with dancing, especially after the singer searched for the higher notes for his vocal range. It was not yet dark enough to do full justice to the light show. If this concert had been held indoors, the song would have hit even more, with more sexual tension in the air. Even for a “fever dream” that “Undressing” still is, it might not have been dark enough, but the song still tasted like more. The very dreamy voice with which we were introduced to Oscar and the Wolf years ago, was less present during this show in Rock Werchter and so “Joaquim” was made tougher by the raspier vocals and rock influences. It felt like you were racing on a roller coaster going faster and faster, while Max Columbe let loose and danced like he had no name. Anyway, we never looked as cool as we were rocking our now useless raincoats.

“Strange Entity,” another song from the first album, was played faster with more prominent beats, so it was a bit lower dream level and we were back in the club. It’s nice to dance, but the typical magic has disappeared from music in this way. “You’re Mine” sounded very different at first because the collaboration with Raving George (currently Charlotte de Witte) started out as a piano song, which added extra emotion. The song became more danceable due to the added beat and this was just one of the songs that showed why Oscar and the Wolf’s wide live band was such a great added value.

© CPU – Nathan Dopilary

Less added value was the closing track on “Princess” which was done in a manner reminiscent of how Troy Bolton performed it in High School Musical His anger tried to sing. Eventually some parts of The Weeknd’s “Starboy” lyrics were added, but the song couldn’t match the “Fever” that came right before it. We were told to dance and jump around as if no one was watching, which made the loose atmosphere all the more cheerful, especially when the confetti was launched into the air again.

Werchter’s lesser moments still trumped some mediocre performances, but when we saw how much fun Oscar and the Wolf was on stage and how much the audience enjoyed it, we could almost overlook those annoyances. Colombe’s music is no longer the “fever dream” it was in the beginning, because (thankfully) his voice has evolved a bit and a lot of live guitars and percussion have been added. Dreamy pop had to give way to dream rock, which was largely well received. In short, Oscar and the Wolf gave another strong performance and showed why it’s one of the best live shows Belgium has to offer at the moment.

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You can read all of our 2023 Rock Werchter reviews here.

Make the list:

warrior
the game
Donnie’s dream
mosques
breathing
on fire
undress
Joachim
Nostalgic bitch
strange entity
you are mine
strange
Fever
princess