Last night was my second night in a row seeing Two Door Cinema play live in the city. I had a great time at the first show, but their performance at Bowery Ballroom blew it out of the water.
Florida native MillionYoung opened again, and they managed to sound even greater than they did at The Bell House as well. Their set was a perfect place setter for the night, with delightful dreamy electronic songs that I couldn’t stop moving along to. I spotted Ryan Schreiber, the founder of Pitchfork, watching his set, so I can only expect mucho lovin’ from them in the future. Apparently he came for his set only too.
Bad Veins were up next, and boy did they play a great set. The songs were mainly off of their debut album which came out last year. Their sound is a rush of rousing rock and roll that reminded me of The Walkmen. They are composed of just two guys, but boy, do they flesh things out live. An interesting aspect of their live show was when Benjamin Davis, the bands guitarist, sang into a phone that gave his vocals a distant effect. Totally rad. I’m about to check out their album, you should do the same.
Two Door came out at about 10:15, and I could immediately sense an incredible atmosphere that made The Bell House show pale in great comparison. The boys opened with a riveting performance of “Cigarettes In The Theatre” that had everyone on the floor shouting the lyrics back as they sloppily found ways to move to the sexy grooves that the band laid down. The set was the same as the previous night before, but I still noticed an incredible difference. The sound was better, the band looked more into it, and the atmosphere was incredible.
Interestingly enough, there were older fans in the crowd for this show, ranging from the high 30’s to even 50’s. All of the older fans were clearly Irish, showing how incredible pride in one’s country can be. B-sides like “Costume Party” & “Kids” were well known by the crowd, and it made all the difference.When songs like “I Can Talk”, “Come Back Home”, and “What You Know” came on…well, lets just say you had to be there.
Bowery didn’t sound big enough for Two Door Cinema Club last night. They have the talent and stage presence to own stadium stages and festivals, and it will only be a matter of time until we see them there.
I met the band at the after party after the show, and I can say that they were all incredibly nice guys, especially their touring drummer Ben Thompson, who notified me of the party when I met him after the Bell House show. I learned from bassist Kevin Baird that when the band first started he was originally thought to be the singer. As you know, those duties ended up going to Alex. All in all they were all amazing guys who I can only wish tremendous success.
P.S., the band gave us a heads up that they will be returning to NYC in the fall to play Webster Hall. You heard it here first :-p !
Photos after the jump:
Two Door Cinema Club:
Bad Veins:
MillionYoung:
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