REVIEW: TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB + METRONOMY + TRIBES AT CARDIFF UNIVERSITY (19/02/12)
Tribes are hyped for success this year. The lead singer of the Camden based band Johnny Lloyd looks every bit the lovechild of Pete Doherty and Razorlight’s Johnny Borrell. Luckily, his impressive live vocal talents are more comparable to the latter and with anthem styled sing-alongs such as Sappho and We Were Children in their armoury, Tribes seem to prove that they are tailor-made for bigger venues than Cardiff’s great hall and kicked the show off on a high.
Metronomy immediately have the great hall crowd in their hands from their overly cool bass blinding intro. Metronomy are at their best when delivering the killer choruses of tracks like Heartbreaker and A Thing For The band added a measure of dance floor punch however, despite this something about their performance still fell short. Mount might be a gifted writer, but his diffident delivery did the songs no favours, and the chance to make a direct connection with his audience was lost.
Blinding bursts of strobe lighting and deafening screams from the crowd, Two Door Cinema Club’s indie pop madness gave one of the strongest stage presences that I have seen in a band for a long time. Last time the band performed in Cardiff was over three years ago in Cardiff’s Barfly to only a handful of people, this time around the band are headlining one of the most popular tours in the country.
Kicking off their set with the adrenaline-fuelled opening double salvo of Cigarettes in the Theatre and Undercover Martyn the sold out audience in attendance were in a frenzy. Since the release of their debut album, the band have consistently toured and worked the festival scene building their following the old fashioned way.
The band worked through their debut album and also performed new material from their forthcoming album due for release later this year. Ending the night on a high, the Irish rockers performed crowd favourite ‘what you know’ causing the loudest sing-along of the night.
Words and photos: Mike Lewis
