Two Door Cinema Club promises to impress at downtown concert
That feeling of plummeting down a roller coaster, of not knowing up from down but not really caring, of adrenaline hitting like a ton of bricks - that is the feeling of experiencing a Two Door Cinema Club show. On Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m., this Northern Irish band will play at the Bayou Music Center in Houston. It is a concert that should not be missed.
Two Door Cinema Club consists of lead vocalist Alex Trimble, lead guitarist Sam Halliday and bassist Kevin Baird. It quickly achieved tremendous success in the United Kingdom with its 2010 debut album Tourist History, which received the Choice Music Prize for the Irish album of the year. Similarly, Two Door Cinema Club's sophomore album Beacon (2012) debuted at No. 1 on the Irish Albums Chart.
Both albums have their share of catchy tracks that showcase the band's young enthusiasm. By no means is Two Door Cinema Club forging a new path for the indie-pop genre, but it is blazing a trail for itself and accumulating quite the following in the U.K. and beyond.
The band's repertoire consists of dance-rock anthems and bouncy guitar lines that have captured the attention of indie-pop aficionados. The band speaks in short, energy-packed punches, with each song lasting between two and four minutes. This musical concision caters to fast-paced, hyperactive audiences.
The temporary rush of blasting Two Door Cinema Club through headphones and dancing around a room alone does not compare to the adrenaline charge of experiencing this band live. Critics rave that the band's live performances put its studio-recorded albums to shame. For many electropop bands, stepping onstage and leaving the careful calculation of studio production behind is a recipe for disaster; however, with Two Door Cinema Club, it is a different story. On stage, the band comes alive in a dizzying surge of power. The songs seem faster, the band plays tighter, Trimble's voice sounds rawer and the energy level is higher.
The Beacon World Tour, ongoing since September of last year, is the band's biggest tour yet. The Houston show is happening toward the end of the band's North American leg of the tour, and if it is anything like the other shows thus far, it should not disappoint.
A Consequence of Sound review of the Oct. 9 show in Chicago stated, "Thou shalt not stand still at a Two Door Cinema Club show."
At its Chicago show, the Irish trio ripped through a 17-song set list, composed of songs from Tourist History and Beacon, in a 70-minute rush of frantic indie-pop.
Based on set lists from previous shows on the tour, concertgoers can expect to hear classics from Tourist History like "Undercover Martyn" and "Something Good Can Work" as well as new hits from Beacon like "Sleep Alone" and "Sun," all of which will get a listener's heart rate and body jumping. Once the familiar guitar line of "What You Know" breaks through the sound of screaming fans, even the too-cool-for-dancing head-bobbers will not be able to help dancing along.
The Bayou Music Center is the stage for many high-profile musical acts that come through Houston, such as Coldplay and The Killers. Located downtown, this venue is a few blocks from the Preston Station stop on the METRORail, but consider driving for an easier approach. It is a mid-sized indoor theater with great sound and light systems that the audience can appreciate from any location in the venue, but the experience is best from up close. Concertgoers who arrive about an hour before doors open are usually able to get standing room close to the stage. This is a fittingly sized and equipped venue for Two Door Cinema Club; expect bright lights, spot-on acoustics and a great experience.
Two Door Cinema Club: because everyone needs a break from being serious, and this concert is that happy-go-lucky, jump-up-and-down, dance-like-no-one's-watching fix.
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