Review: Two Door Cinema Club
Photo and Review by McLane Brown
April 14, 2017
Singer-songwriter Jack Garratt kicked the evening off as a one-man-band and opener for Grouplove and Two Door Cinema Club at their second stop on tour in Santa Barbara on Friday, April 14. His unique use of instrumentation and sound fit the night as Hannah Hooper from Grouplove later encouraged the audience to make art whenever they could and even when they didn’t feel like it, as that’s how good things happen such as their band finding each other.
“The sun is down, and the people are out,” observed Hooper right after the sun set over the hill behind the Santa Barbara Bowl. Her blue trenchcoat over a leopard print bodysuit somehow fit the scene of jumping and bouncing from Christian Zucconi, Sean Gadd, and Andrew Wessen as everyone found their music to be perfect for dancing. Their high energy continued through the night as they played a surprising cover of “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys midway through. Andrew Wessen nailed the vocals of the original recording and the crowd went right along with it. They continued through the set with their classics “Good Morning,” “Tongue Tied,” and “Welcome to Your Life” to finish their night out and pump everyone up for Two Door Cinema Club.
“It’s a real honor to play a venue like this, we definitely don’t have places like this back home,” said bassist Kevin Baird of Two Door Cinema Club. The smoke machines were working overtime with the gusts of wind that would come through, often obscuring the band only to have them remerge as they went through the set. You could see the whole floor section clapping along when they’d be prompted to, a good indication that everyone was enjoying the night. The audience spent most of the set on their feet, and especially for the encore of “What You Know.” As the sound of the night faded, frontman Alex Trimble exclaimed, “Santa Barbara, we love you!” The visuals behind the members were on big LED panels programmed along with the music to help take the audience on a journey through the desert, or show a view of the Earth helping to overall bring the experience closer to an adventure rather than just something to watch.
Singer-songwriter Jack Garratt kicked the evening off as a one-man-band and opener for Grouplove and Two Door Cinema Club at their second stop on tour in Santa Barbara on Friday, April 14. His unique use of instrumentation and sound fit the night as Hannah Hooper from Grouplove later encouraged the audience to make art whenever they could and even when they didn’t feel like it, as that’s how good things happen such as their band finding each other.
“The sun is down, and the people are out,” observed Hooper right after the sun set over the hill behind the Santa Barbara Bowl. Her blue trenchcoat over a leopard print bodysuit somehow fit the scene of jumping and bouncing from Christian Zucconi, Sean Gadd, and Andrew Wessen as everyone found their music to be perfect for dancing. Their high energy continued through the night as they played a surprising cover of “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys midway through. Andrew Wessen nailed the vocals of the original recording and the crowd went right along with it. They continued through the set with their classics “Good Morning,” “Tongue Tied,” and “Welcome to Your Life” to finish their night out and pump everyone up for Two Door Cinema Club.
“It’s a real honor to play a venue like this, we definitely don’t have places like this back home,” said bassist Kevin Baird of Two Door Cinema Club. The smoke machines were working overtime with the gusts of wind that would come through, often obscuring the band only to have them remerge as they went through the set. You could see the whole floor section clapping along when they’d be prompted to, a good indication that everyone was enjoying the night. The audience spent most of the set on their feet, and especially for the encore of “What You Know.” As the sound of the night faded, frontman Alex Trimble exclaimed, “Santa Barbara, we love you!” The visuals behind the members were on big LED panels programmed along with the music to help take the audience on a journey through the desert, or show a view of the Earth helping to overall bring the experience closer to an adventure rather than just something to watch.
