Who: The Temper Trap with Oberhoffer
When: March 25, 2012
Where: Phoenix Concert Theater/ Toronto, ON
With: just me
Of Note: the most perfect falsetto ever, very convenient parking
I always feel like such a rock star when I find good parking near concert venues. (This is how I know I'm getting old.) I found free, on-street parking a block from the venue. I knew it was going to be a good night. (Despite the fact that I hadn't slept more than 4 hours the night before.) (And had gotten up and wrecked a step class, mostly on adrenaline and bubblegum that morning.) (Because sometimes I like to pretend that I'm still 22 though I'm clearly not.) (I did nap in the afternoon though.)
I got to the Phoenix right around 8:30, just in time for the second opening act, Oberhofer. I really liked that the lead singer beat-boxed through their sound check. He had an incredible white boy 'fro. They had a solid alt rock-ish sound. Two stand out songs were the first one, where the lyrics invoked one of my favorite musical elements, turning a one syllable word into a multi-syllable word, in this case, "go," to "Go-o-o-o-o-o." The second was the song that kept saying, "I want to build you a house so we can be alone." I found that endearing, if just slightly creepy. It fit their vibe well.
When: March 25, 2012
Where: Phoenix Concert Theater/ Toronto, ON
With: just me
Of Note: the most perfect falsetto ever, very convenient parking
I always feel like such a rock star when I find good parking near concert venues. (This is how I know I'm getting old.) I found free, on-street parking a block from the venue. I knew it was going to be a good night. (Despite the fact that I hadn't slept more than 4 hours the night before.) (And had gotten up and wrecked a step class, mostly on adrenaline and bubblegum that morning.) (Because sometimes I like to pretend that I'm still 22 though I'm clearly not.) (I did nap in the afternoon though.)
I got to the Phoenix right around 8:30, just in time for the second opening act, Oberhofer. I really liked that the lead singer beat-boxed through their sound check. He had an incredible white boy 'fro. They had a solid alt rock-ish sound. Two stand out songs were the first one, where the lyrics invoked one of my favorite musical elements, turning a one syllable word into a multi-syllable word, in this case, "go," to "Go-o-o-o-o-o." The second was the song that kept saying, "I want to build you a house so we can be alone." I found that endearing, if just slightly creepy. It fit their vibe well.
Also, one of their guitarists also played xylophone, which was awesome. I was not a fan of their more "progressive" elements - screaming and whatnot, but it was, overall, a very solid 30 minutes.
Then, after a not overwhelming break, came the Temper Trap. I am such a fan of their first album, 'Conditions'. I was thrilled when I found out I could go see them.
One of the things that I love about live music is how the tone or vibe of a song or band can be so different from what you pick up on when you listen to their recordings. In this instance, the Temper Trap live is so much sexier than their recordings. I felt like I was being hit on/serenaded the whole concert and Dougy, the lead singer had such an intense amount of swagger.
Because the band is working on a new album, they played a lot of new songs. I thought it was funny that they kept apologizing for playing so many new songs, and thanking us for "hanging in there". The second song was the recently leaked 'Need Your Love', which I have listened to about 200 times since it was put on SoundCloud. It did not disappoint live. From there, they went to 'Love Lost' which is incredible and perfect in pretty much every way.
It's worth noting that Doug's voice is flawless. Like, his falsetto is pure and clear and absolutely unbelievable. You can tell that they do not do a lot of post-production on his voice, because there is just no need to.
Let me be very clear up front, I do not smoke pot. But, from my jam band days, I'm acutely aware to the smell of pot...and it's a smell I quite like. (I know, it's weird; whatever.) Shortly after the Temper Trap started, I smelled the familiar skunkiness. One of the Canadian boys next to me said to his buddy, "Whoa, is that pot?" I looked at him and nodded. We all laughed.
'Drum Song' was another highlight - with a variety of percussion instruments making an appearance. One of the best parts of it was watching Jonathon, the bass player, absolutely rock out. I love it to see musicians really into it, you know?
The set ended with their most recognizable song, 'Sweet Disposition'. The crowd went nuts. It is such a great song and to be in a room with that many people yelling out the chorus was awesome. It really was "a moment". (Ha.)
The only criticism I have of the show is it would have been nice to have one other familiar song in the encore, instead of two new songs, even if 'Rabbit Hole' was recently leaked and I was familiar with it. Other than that, this was a pretty flawless night of live music and I'm SO excited for their upcoming album.
One of the things that I love about live music is how the tone or vibe of a song or band can be so different from what you pick up on when you listen to their recordings. In this instance, the Temper Trap live is so much sexier than their recordings. I felt like I was being hit on/serenaded the whole concert and Dougy, the lead singer had such an intense amount of swagger.
Because the band is working on a new album, they played a lot of new songs. I thought it was funny that they kept apologizing for playing so many new songs, and thanking us for "hanging in there". The second song was the recently leaked 'Need Your Love', which I have listened to about 200 times since it was put on SoundCloud. It did not disappoint live. From there, they went to 'Love Lost' which is incredible and perfect in pretty much every way.
It's worth noting that Doug's voice is flawless. Like, his falsetto is pure and clear and absolutely unbelievable. You can tell that they do not do a lot of post-production on his voice, because there is just no need to.
Let me be very clear up front, I do not smoke pot. But, from my jam band days, I'm acutely aware to the smell of pot...and it's a smell I quite like. (I know, it's weird; whatever.) Shortly after the Temper Trap started, I smelled the familiar skunkiness. One of the Canadian boys next to me said to his buddy, "Whoa, is that pot?" I looked at him and nodded. We all laughed.
'Drum Song' was another highlight - with a variety of percussion instruments making an appearance. One of the best parts of it was watching Jonathon, the bass player, absolutely rock out. I love it to see musicians really into it, you know?
The set ended with their most recognizable song, 'Sweet Disposition'. The crowd went nuts. It is such a great song and to be in a room with that many people yelling out the chorus was awesome. It really was "a moment". (Ha.)
The only criticism I have of the show is it would have been nice to have one other familiar song in the encore, instead of two new songs, even if 'Rabbit Hole' was recently leaked and I was familiar with it. Other than that, this was a pretty flawless night of live music and I'm SO excited for their upcoming album.
Comments
Post a Comment