Friendship at The Dome

Friendship

Garden Centre

The Dome, 11 May 2026

What a thrill to see Friendship play their biggest ever show (aside from festivals, so they said), at the Dome last night, where they played lots from their excellent recent album, Caveman Wakes Up, some older tunes and a brand new one and even a cover of the Tom Waits classic Ol' 55. This was my first time seeing them but what a fantastic show it was!

This was the first time I've ever been to the Dome, which is situated just opposite Tufnell Park tube station, and is connected to a proper old man's pub the Boston Arms. It's probably a little bigger than The Garage, although the stage is higher, but I liked it a lot.

I think there was an early curfew in place here too but things started promptly with the support act, Garden Centre, who, although I had never heard of them, spied there was a member of Welsh band The Tubs, Owen Williams, setting up his guitar. I once saw Williams play in the now defunct Joanna Gruesome but I've never seen The Tubs, who apparently are part of a loose collection of groups called Gob Nation, in which the various members play in different bands including the aforementioned Garden Centre from Brighton. Williams though was very much in the background here though, although he seemed very entertained by quirky singer Max Levy, only really piping up to mention the tiny setlist that Levy had written. "I like to write setlists in really small handwriting," Levy told the crowd, "as I like to challenge my band."

Levy himself has curly brown hair and glasses and looked like a chubbier version of Daniel Radcliffe. With his quirky, high pitched vocals and short, lo-fi songs, this felt a bit like a novelty band to me but what do I know. At the end, when setting up his equipment I heard Friendship's frontman, Dan Wriggins, tell the bassist from Garden Centre that they may have upstaged them, but that certainly didn't happen, I'm happy to say.

The band, which along with Levy and Williams, featured a drummer, a young Mark Arm-lookalike bassist and a keyboardist who reminded me of Honey G, played songs from their album A Moon For Digging but also a bunch of new tunes which they said was from a forthcoming record. Levy did say the title but I've already forgotten.

The songs had a childishness to them and sounded a bit made-up on the spot. It wasn't for me but many seemed entertained by their crazy energy so what do I know. It was amusing but I was glad when their set ended.

Thankfully though Friendship saved the day. We had already seen frontman Wriggins manning the merch desk, and the whole band set up their own equipment but they still made an entrance, with the smoke machine working it's misty magic. 

I, of course, was particularly excited to see bassist Jon Samuels, who also plays guitar in MJ Lenderman's band The Wind. It was cool to see him looking as wild-haired as ever, throwing his black mane of hair around and making those funny faces.

The band launched into the atmospheric, slow-burning Salvage Title, easily one of the best tracks from last year's Caveman Wakes Up, with strong Jason Molina vibes, that seamlessly morphed into the beautifully building Tree Of Heaven, with Wriggins emotionally crying out "you know you changed me, babe," in the most affecting way. It's a fantastic way to start the show. 

It makes sense to start the show with the opening tracks from the new album as tonight is pretty much a showcase for it, with the band playing nine out of its 12 tracks, which is more than fine with me as I only really discovered them through this record and its the album I'm most familiar with and like the most.

There was the laid-back shuffle of the introspective sounding Artex, the more groove driven Love Vape (which really allows Samuels to let loose), the more gentle country lament Hollow Skulls and the rhythmic yet lonesome sounding Free Association, all of which feature Wriggins effective slightly monotone, sob-in-the-throat, baritone vocals that perfectly fit the lyrical themes of depression and the mundane natural of ordinary working class life, which reminds me so much of the genius Willy Vlautin's work.

Despite the sad nature of so many of the songs, the band all seem very happy and Wriggins cheerfully chats between songs, talking about the fact that its been three years since they played in London, last time at the tiny Servant Jazz Quarters in August 2023, and this show at the Dome (which was actually upgraded from The Moth Club after it sold out) is actually the biggest show they've ever played. No wonder they all seem to be in great moods but they really deserve it.

There were a few older tunes too, the gentle yet sorrowful St. Bonaventure from the previous record Love The Stranger and a few I wasn't as familiar with such as the pensive, melancholic Dusky and the more hopeful, upbeat, Skip To The Good Part, with Wriggins at the end singing the reassuring words "everything is gonna be fine."

They also tried out a new song, which according to the setlist, was called Field but I can't remember too much about unfortunately! But I do remember they did a rather bluesy and effective version of the Tom Waits' classic Ol' 55 which was rather lovely.

They truly saved the best for last though with an absolutely storming Resident Evil, with both Wriggins and guitarist Peter Gill getting to really let loose on their guitars and Samuels throwing his hair around as he played bass, with Wriggins finally screaming into the microphone, "Who’s that shithead in my living room, playing Resident Evil?". 

In contrast they brought out the harmonies for the sweet sounding All Over The World, with its lovely strumming and warm feel, it was such a nice way to end things. Or so we thought.

I think the encore was a genuine one as the audience seemed to really have enjoyed the show, roaring their approval,  and the band quickly returned to the stage to play two more songs. I absolutely cannot remember what these two tunes were but I think they were probably songs that I didn't know. They weren't on the setlist anyway, which shows they were probably chosen on the spot. The first, from what I recall was a slower number and the second one ended with the band really going for it, with Gill soloing away and Wriggins thrashing away on his guitar for a beautifully distorted, feedback-fueled end to the show.

Even though Friendship's music is often full of melancholy and sometimes even a little ominous in its sound, and Wriggins' distinctive vocals are definitely mournful, there was something joyful about this show, a feeling of a band coming into their own. Obviously they've been around for a while and their latest album is actually their fifth, but this is only their second time touring the UK and to come back to London and play their biggest headline show must have felt fulfilling for them as a group and it was certainly wonderful to see as a fan. This really was a special show, that's for sure, and I'm glad I caught it.