Tokyo Police Club - Bowery Ballroom 04.20.08

I'm really getting sick of my broken LCD screen.

I have to admit, I may be a biased when it comes to Tokyo Police Club. TPC has been one of my favorite bands for the past couple years. Sometimes, I would go days/weeks only listening to A Lesson in Crime, TPC's debut EP, and some live recordings. Basically, at last year's Mercury Lounge show, I was the the girl in the front who knew the words to all the songs, even the ones that hadn't been released.

So, unsurprisingly, I had a great time at the Bowery Ballroom show last night. I do have to be honest and say that I'm not in love with Elephant Shell, but I am in love with TPC's live shows. It's really hard to resist playing along with this band. They must have had the audience in mind when they wrote these songs; so many of them involve yelling out "HEY!" and clapping until your arms feel like they're going to fall off ("Be Good" is a perfect example of this).

Compared to last year's performance at ML, this Bowery Ballroom show was definitely more polished and professional. It is pretty obvious that Tokyo Police Club is growing up, and we should expect them to do so. TPC has gone through a lot of changes in the last year, including a label change and an increasing fanbase (that includes Agyness Deyn! Met her after the show. Check out my friend E's music blog for the details). Like I said before, Elephant Shell is not one of my favorite albums. But, there are moments in the album when I am glad that TPC traded in some of their playfulness for more meaning in their lyrics. "Graves" is my favorite song off the LP, and I've enjoyed it since it was just a minimalist live recording. When Dave Monks sings, "You're trading me for the lump sum, you try but you only ever treat the symptoms," I actually feel something (and that's a rare, good thing). What can I say, I am an emo kid at heart.

Although I prefer the intimacy of Mercury Lounge, it was exciting to see TPC pack a venue like Bowery Ballroom and get people into the music. There was a guy in the front who knew all the appropriate times to clap/yell for ALL the songs. I was impressed.

Did anyone buy any of the specialized merchandise? TPC's merch didn't arrive in New York, so they made some customized socks and such.

Elephant Shell hits stores tomorrow, April 22nd. If you missed them last night, you have four more chances (2 are free!) to catch them in New York.

Tonight (April 21) - Music Hall of Williamsburg (Sold Out)
Tomorrow (April 22) - Bowery Ballroom (Sold Out)
Tomorrow (April 22) - Virgin Megastore, Union Square (7pm, free)
Wednesday, April 23 - Sound Fix of Williamsburg(8pm, free)



Setlist
La Ferrassie
In a Cave
Box
Sixties Remake
If It Works
Graves
Juno
Your English is Good
Cut Cut Paste
Nursery Academy
Citizens of Tomorrow
New New Song
Tessellate
Shoulders & Arms
The Baskervilles
Nature of the Experiment
Listen to the Math
Be Good


See this post for more songs.

Graves - Tokyo Police Club


Tessellate - Tokyo Police Club


Be Good - Tokyo Police Club