Imagine the chaotic energy of a main stage crowd at Leeds Festival. Now condense that energy into a room of 2000 people and you have a pretty good idea of the atmosphere Two Door Cinema Club were welcomed to when they stormed the O2 Academy stage.

Before TDCC had even taken a step on stage the audience were wild. During support act Sundara Karma’s slot, the crowds were moshing and shouting the lyrics to tracks from debut album Youth is Only Ever Fun in Retrospect, an impressive feat given that it’s release date was a mere month ago. They seemed completely at ease and demonstrated a strong stage presence for a group at such an early stage of their careers.

Ultimately, the audience were there to see the hit tracks of TDCC’s earlier albums Beacon and Tourist History. ‘Something Good Can Work’, ‘Next Year’, and ‘Undercover Martyn’ were all met with as much enthusiasm from the crowd as their chants of “You what? You what? Leeds” during the interlude. However, tracks from new album Gameshow such as ‘Bad Decisions’ helped to balance out the set list. The addition of 80s style synths and a shift away from earworm melodies and lyrics made the overall show feel far more fresh and slick. This juxtaposition between the guitar melodies of their older music and the groove-based rhythms of newer material not only added variation, but also showed how the band have matured in the four years leading up to 2016’s Gameshow.

What hasn’t changed over the years is the drive the band put into their shows. Both new and old songs were played with an infectious energy that reverberated between artist and audience.

Large, punchy graphics, combined with TDCC’s now extensive experience with festivals and arena stages helped to add to the overall feeling of a global band coming home.

Clare Redman

(Image: Ytimg)