The fine gents of Two Door Cinema Club may not have hit the California voting polls this past Tuesday, but the Irish electro pop band definitely struck LA with some major musical force at the Music Box instead. For a band that just released their debut album, “Tourist History,” earlier this year on Glassnote Records, they’ve gathered a considerable fan base as evidenced by their sold out show this November 2, 2010.
They warmed up with, “Cigarettes In The Theatre,” and by their second song, “Undercover Martyn,” the crowd released unbridled excitement with a word-for-word sing along. Alex Trimble’s serene voice juxtaposed with the up-tempo urgency of fluctuating guitar riffs created a uniquely irresistible urge to dance. Even bassist, Kevin Baird, swayed from side-to-side with ample head bobs for most of their set. Sam Halliday and Trimble periodically moved towards each other while bent over their guitars.
Sure, you could arguably brush Two Door Cinema Club off as another catchy indie pop band; they built songs on simple lyrics and contagious hooks similar to Bloc Party and Phoenix with a touch of Delphic’s electronic sound. However, Two Door Cinema Club successfully created an exuberant album that practically bursts with hopefulness and youth. To cast this band aside as an imitation would be criminal because their songs genuinely instill a sense of happiness and urge to dance without reserve. For example, the lyrics from “You’re Not Stubborn,” advises the listener to, “Pick your friends, forget the rest/You can’t live life being second best/The critics talk of stubbornness/But you’re just passionate.”
An unreleased new song emerged around the middle of their set and they ended with an encore of “Come Back Home,” and their popular single, “I Can Talk.” The audience immediately recognized the playback of echoing vocals from the beginning of “I Can Talk,” and exploded. I’m not talking about non-committal tapping of feet, but serious jumps up-and-down in unison. Despite their popularity, the band graciously thanked the audience and promised to return to LA soon.
Photos & Word: Wei Shi
Setlist
Cigarettes In The Theatre
Undercover Martyn
Hands Off My Cash, Monty
Do You Want It All?
Something Good Can Work
La Nouvelle Chanson (New song)
This Is The Life
Kids
You’re Not Stubborn
Costume Party
What You Know
Eat That Up, It’s Good For You
Encore
Come Back Home
I Can Talk
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtHDf4S4wWk]
