Two Door Cinema Club have somewhat of a cult-following; so it wasn’t a surprise that when I turned up outside the venue in the gale-force winds and heavy rain there was already an impressive queue. Depressingly I couldn’t help but observe that I was probably one of the oldest in the queue again; something that seems to be quite a regular occurrence whenever I’ve gone to see Two Door Cinema Club in the past.
Swim Deep
Confined to half the stage, the first support act for the evening—Swim Deep—played a slightly more reserved set than I had been expecting. Despite their slightly tentative approach, there was no denying that the band have the potential to be huge. Williams’s vocals were powerful enough to stand out from the music whilst retaining their laid-back quality. Their songs oozed summer tropicality, full of tambourine, bongos and laid-back guitars. Upcoming single ‘The Sea’ was hypnotic to listen to and exceedingly easy to get lost in. What they showcased made me very much convinced that their tour in February will be absolute essential viewing.
Bastille
Bastille were given more of a playing field than Swim Deep—which was probably a good thing given lead singer Dan Smith’s perchance for Example-esque bouncing. Their synth-pop was catchy and well-crafted—balancing both people’s need for movement and emotional connection with a relative ease. Where it could easily have turned into a one-man show (which it used to be), the group harmonies and group drumming retained them as a unit, although it is undeniable who had most of the female attention (clue: when Dan climbed onto the speakers in front of me, I almost got crushed by the surge of 16 year olds). But essentially I was pleasantly surprised by the band, both in terms of stage presence and music.
Beacon too much
Beginning with the first single off Beacon ‘Sleep Alone’, Two Door Cinema Club aimed to ramp the already warmed up crowd to the next gear. The crowd immediately responded with enthusiasm, outstretched arms and raised singing voices. TDCC themselves didn’t even seem to notice the crowd response as they barrelled straight in to ‘Undercover Martyn’ which still sounded as fresh and new as it did two and a half years ago.
Back-to-back combination of ‘Do You Want It All?’ and ‘This Is The Life’ ensured that if you hadn’t been dancing until this point, you had no choice but to join in. With their infectious coupling of synths and guitar and choruses that encourage euphoria there was no escaping just going along with it. The band themselves despite being mainly static and spaced apart, still managed to feel like more a unit than I have previously seen them and have managed to refine getting a crowd behind them with minimal effort—which was impressive to watch.
‘Wake Up’ was received perhaps a little more sedately than I had expected. However Sam Halliday’s guitar was particularly an impressive flurry that showed how far they have come in technical ability since they first appeared. My personal favourite from Beacon, ‘Sun’ was as warmly received as it should’ve been with Trimble behind the keys, where he seemed to be as comfortable with as he did fronting the band.
It was a testament to how far they’ve come in such a short period of time that when they dropped giant beachballs into the crowd it didn’t feel unnecessary or gimmicky—it felt surprisingly natural. Considering I’ve never seen something like that in a venue smaller than an arena, it felt as though the band already have those aspirations on their mind.
The low-point in the set came from ‘The World Is Watching’—a slow ballad that just jarred the atmosphere that had been building. Equally the song used a pre-recorded duet with Valentina Pappaladro which just felt too saccharine as well as feeling like a cop-out from singing for 3 minutes. ‘Something Good Can Work’ and ‘Eat That Up, It’s Good For You’ saved the last portion of the gig from falling flat after the prior set lull. The crowd whipped themselves up in to a frenzy during both songs, still throwing the beach balls towards the band, who seemed to find a second wind to move around and kick them back in to the crowd.
Finishing the set with a 3 song encore which culminated with ‘What You Know’ it felt like the band had been building their way to a grand triumphant finish—which was exactly what came in to fruition. The crowd gave it everything they had whilst the band truly let lose, popping balloons and genuinely looking like they were enjoying themselves.
Seeing them live though has really hammered home how lacklustre Beacon is in comparison to Tourist History. Whilst every song from their debut had everyone in the crowd singing and bouncing along, the same cannot be said for the majority of tracks on Beacon. Although they still have a cult following—it felt like the crowd was there for the Two Door Cinema Club of 2011, not 2013… A shame really, because they still sound as good as ever.
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