Under the watchful gaze of a President Barack Obama cardboard cut-out that presided over the 9:30 club’s stage, Springfield, Mo.-outfit Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin took the stage under considerable pressure.
Although arguably the most seasoned of the bands that rocked D.C.’s most prestigious venue Thursday night (their first album “Broom” came out in 2004), they were opening for Two Door Cinema Club, one of the biggest bands to come out of 2010, as well as Tokyo Police Club, whose sophomore album “Champ” was a success.
And with front man Philip Dickey’s subdued onstage demeanor, at times seeming downright bashful talking to the crowd, it seemed like SSLYBY was simply going to help pass the time before the real party began.
However, on the second song, “Sink/Let It Sway”, the band’s age and experience really began to shine through. Hitting highlights from sophomore album “Pershing” with standouts like “Think I Wanna Die”, and even dedicating “Modern Mysteries” to President Abraham Lincoln, and even revisiting songs from their debut alum Broom like the excellent “House Fire”, SSLYBY undeniably rocked.
It didn’t matter that a lot of the crowd didn’t know the words to the songs, when Dickey switched instruments with drummer Jonathan James, and shortly thereafter broke his drumsticks, you could see this was a band just hitting its stride and having fun while doing it.?
Most of the audience was there to see Two Door Cinema Club. Even before they began one group of people were leading others in “Uh-oh-uh-uh-oh”, the chanting found at the beginning of one of their most popular songs, “I Can Talk.” And when they came on, the party really began.
Starting with album opener “Cigarettes in the Theatre,” the whole room sang along as frontman Alex Tremble began, “It starts in the theatre/It starts in the theatre/A night of encounters/If I hadn’t been there/If not for a cigarette.” Indeed, the crowd knew the words to every song.
On stand out “What You Know,” Tremble began with a slowed-down version of the chorus, crooning, “I can’t tell just what you want,” before waiting for the audience to sing back, “You don’t want to be alone/you don’t want to be alone.” Two Door managed to make their way through the whole of their debut album, “Tourist History,” while still managing to pepper the set list with old songs like “Kids” and “Costume Party,” and even a fantastic new song, “Handshakes.”
And the whole time the audience ate it up, responding to calls from the band to dance harder to songs like “Undercover Martyn” and “You’re Not Stubborn.” As for the band, they seemed like a totally new group compared to their show at the Black Cat a couple of months ago. On 9:30’s stage, with a whole light show, they seemed to have made the full transition from a small Irish indie band to something more. Silhouetted against deep blue lighting, fog and bright white backing lights, they looked like true rock stars.
With the crowd thinning as the Two Door Cinema Club fan base left, one’s expectations for Canada’s Tokyo Police Club were mixed. It seemed as though Two Door had stolen the show and Tokyo Police Club was left to mop up the remains. However those of us who stayed were treated to one of the best live shows seen in some time. Tokyo Police Club really showed what experience could do, putting on a what was essentially a best hits collection.
With old favorites like “Nature of the Experiment” and “Citizens of Tomorrow” from their debut EP, “Lessons In Crime,” singles from “Elephant Shell” like “Tessellate” and “Graves,” there was not a single lull in the set. Opener “Favourite Colour,” off their most recent album, “Champ,” had everybody singing along to the chorus, “Tell me what’s/What’s your favorite color/and tell me how/How’s your younger brother.”
Whereas SSLYBY seemed nervous and Two Door Cinema Club put on a good show but lacked any strong crowd interaction, Tokyo Police Club seemed at ease on the stage, bantering with the audience, cracking jokes and leading everybody in an all around excellent set before coming back on stage for an encore with Two Door in tow and asking the audience to go back in time to 2001 “when 3-D glasses were still red and blue,” before both bands launched into a cover of the Strokes’ “Last Night” that had the whole club dancing.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
