The only time I saw Tokyo Police Club was a long six years ago, when they played an instore at the Virgin MegaStore in Union Square, back when that was actually a thing (and back when I was into recording songs at shows). So it was a cool moment to see them play again all these years later all grown up, playing a sold out Webster Hall.
The show featured opening sets from Said The Whale and Geographer. Said The Whale come from Vancouver and are probably best known for “I Love You” which has recently been used in a Samsung commercial. Their set was a very enjoyable one that got the crowd warmed up, and then some. They even offered up their new album Hawaiii at the merch table for a donation price of whatever you wanted to give. Pretty damn cool.
Georgrapher followed them up with a high energy set lead by lead-singer Mike Den. He started their set off by charging the front of the stage, bringing the action as close to the fans as possible. That is, until later in the set when he eventually did jump into the photo pit to sing directly to the fans. Geographer’s set of textured electronic music is pushed further by Nathan Blaz’s work on the electronic cello, something that gives the band a very organic sound to go with some of their dance territories.
Finally the time came for Tokyo Police Club to take over, and they did so in grand fashion. Starting of with Argentina (Parts I, II, III), which was just as epic as it is on record. It set the table for the youthful exuberance that Tokyo Police Club would deliver with the same relative ease as they did six years ago. They’re currently on tour for their recently released new album Forcefield. The album succeeds in its ability to deliver songs like “Hot Tonight” that feature big Weezer-esque pop hooks that are as feel good and care free as can be. These songs fit well alongside their older cuts, “Breakneck Speed”, “Nature Of The Experiment” “Bambi”, “Juno”, and Cheer It On.”
For the encore frontman/bassist David Monks came out by himself to play an acoustic version of “Tessellate.” He did something different, asking the crowd to become completely silent as he wanted to play the song acoustic style – literally unplugging from the stage, and coming to the front to play it with no microphone or plugs. It was a well appreciated tender moment from the band, not something that you normally see from them. The followed that up with wild versions of “Favourite Food” and “Your English Is Good”, which sent the youthful crowd into a craze, singing every word back gleefully.
After all these years it was good to see that Tokyo Police Club have still got it.
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