Two Door Cinema Club - The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY (9.14.11)
Posted by Matt Arena on 09.17.2011
Hailing from Ireland, Two Door Cinema Club has enjoyed success and popularity with the release of their first album. In the first night of two shows in NY, they electrified the audience in one of New York City’s most intimate clubs.
Having just visited the US last winter co-headlining with Tokyo Police Club, Two Door Cinema Club are back in the US for a string of shows in support of their debut album, Tourist History. Having grown considerably since that last tour, they returned big enough to shed the co-headlining duties. For a band that was able to double the size of the venues they’re playing in under a year, it’s safe to say Two Door Cinema Club are growing in popularity. Being able to somewhat hear their set at Lollapalooza last month (I was across the field at the main stage waiting for Muse) I can tell that this band not only had a big following, but sounded great. Their electronic/guitar fused tunes carried pretty well across the big field at Grant Park, only giving me a taste of what this band can do live. The night before their show at Terminal 5, they decided to announce a last minute show in one of NYC’s smaller venues, The Studio at Webster Hall. Not only was the show in a club 1/6th the size of the show the following night, it was also just a third of the price. I love when bands do this. So naturally I leapt at the chance to go see this fast growing band in a venue they had already outgrown.
Right after doors opened, fans streamed into the basement-like venue, filling it up well over an hour before the band was scheduled to hit the stage. As the band’s gear was being sound-checked cameras were set up around the venue, as this entire show was to be a webcast for all the fans to see. I was able to spot front man Alex Trimble right near the stage door, stopping for a quick chat and picture with fans before the show started. Soon enough the house lights dimmed and Two Door Cinema Club took the stage. From the moment they came out, the crowd was into it. Starting off with the first song off their debut album, Cigarettes In The Theater had the crowd singing the words to the fast-paced chorus. With mutli-colored flashing strobe lights and a heavy synth sound, they turned the floor into one massive dance party. The multi-talented Alex Trimble manned the lead vocal duties in addition to backing guitar and keyboard, proving to be a great front man. Nearly every track was met with cheers as they played the entirety of Tourist History throughout the course of the night. Obvious standouts were singles Something Good Can Work, I Can Talk, and What You Know. They also played a handful of bonus tracks off the album (Kids, Costume Party) and new song Sleep Alone, which easily received the loudest cheers of the night. It was clear a majority of the crowd were hardcore fans. Remarking before playing “old one” Costume Party, the band seemed as into the show as the crowd was. Bassist Kevin Baird engaged the crowd in between and during songs, providing even more energy for the audience to feed off. Kevin even acknowledged the “hopefully millions” of people watching on the webcast, it’s obvious this band has a big following across the globe.
The band was able to get the crowd moving just by the start of nearly every song, as the audience would explode into a giant dance party during short breakdowns leading into blaring outros on tracks Do You Want It All and Something Good Can Work. Since Two Door Cinema Club has only three members and used a drum machine for the beats on the album, they added touring drummer Benjamin Thompson who proved to be a more than capable drummer. Ending the main set with smash hit What You Know, the band left the stage for a short encore break and came back to play a couple more. Come Back Home and I Can Talk populated the encore set, as the latter had nearly every person in the crowd bouncing along to the spiraling guitar riffs and shrill synth beats. Even the intermittent “hey, hey!” of the backing track was shouted by the crowd as it was obvious Two Door Cinema Club saved the best for last. They exited the stage to blaring cheers and applauding from an audience that obviously had a great time. The self-described “electro pop band” was able to get a small crowd of 250 people dancing to a degree I didn’t think possible. There wasn’t anything remotely resembling a low point in the set as the band blew through 13 songs in a little less than an hour. While keeping a consistent sound throughout helped the crowd get so into it, they were also able to keep the songs from sounding the same as each track had it’s own feel to it. Coming from someone who was merely a casual fan before this show, I was really impressed with Two Door Cinema Club. They made me feel foolish for missing their set at Lollapalooza, with a sound that is perfect for the wide-open feel of a festival. At first glance some have dismissed them as just another indie pop band, but there is so much more to them. If I didn’t have another show already planned for the next night, I would have gone to see them again at Terminal 5 in a heartbeat.
Setlist:
1. Cigarettes In The Theater
2. Undercover Martyn
3. Do You Want It All
4. This Is The Life
5. Kids
6. Something Good Can Work
7. Sleep Alone
8. Costume Party
9. You’re Not Stubborn
10. Eat That Up, It’s Good For You
11. What You Know
12. Come Back Home
13. I Can Talk
Below images courtesy of Ken Grand-Pierre, check out more of his work here
The 411: With a visually and audibly captivating live show, Two Door Cinema Club dazzled a small crowd the night before their big show in New York City. They play to their strengths with an electric/dance vibe not only to their songs, but to the performance in general. They turned the basement of Webster Hall into a massive dance floor, translating tracks off their debut album into an extremely fun live experience. If you like to dance your ass off, you should see Two Door Cinema Club as they tour the US the next few weeks.
