On a dark, wet night in September, there’s nothing like the warm harmonies of Northern Irish rockers Two Door Cinema Club. The band, who have been touring since time immemorial, are currently halfway through the biggest sell out tour of their careers and had been reluctant to play such a large and prestigious venue as the Shepherds Bush Empire. Apparently they had not thought they could sell tickets for the show; in fact, tickets for the original night and an additional date have been gold dust since mid-may.
Being signed to French electro label Kitsuné, support came from label-mate Florrie, whose quirky, fresh performance helped warm the crowd up. It is well worth a visit to her myspace page. Still, there was only one thing on everyone’s mind; the main attraction, Two Door Cinema Club. The band strode on to rapturous applause and cracked straight into ‘Cigarettes In The Theatre’ before following with ‘Undercover Martyn’ at which point the entire crowd was jumping and dancing, with a small mosh pit forming at the front. Following several other tracks, the band asked the crowd, “Do you want to hear something new?” What followed was, ‘La Nouvelle Chanson’ a witty French nod to their label, translating as “The new song”.
As the night progressed the crowd overwhelmed the band, “it has taken so long to get here, a year and a half ago we were on the bill with four bands and we were first on”. ‘Eat That Up, It’s Good For You’ followed, before the proud headliners were cheered back on for a two song encore, culminating in ‘I Can Talk’ where the crowd was covered in tickertape. Lead singer Alex Trimble signed off by saying “This is one of the best gigs ever for me, personally, and to see you dancing like this is amazing. Thank you so much.” All in all the atmosphere was electric, the band played well and included the audience. They have one date next march at the London Roundhouse, grab them before they go.
by Tom McKenna
