The Temper Trap - Monday 21st December 2009 - Koko Camden

Having supported Florence And The Machine recently at Brixton Academy and a followup gig for XFM's Winter Wonderland also at Brixton Academy, The Temper Trap have certainly been busy boys. They close off the year with this sold out gig at Koko Camden, and as headliners no less.

Opening for The Temper Trap were fellow Australians Snowman, from Perth. I didn't quite know what to make of their set. The frontman was certainly an energetic figure and the band's sound is atmospheric and composing of some rather tribal like drumming (probably a reason why they were chosen to open) . The set seemed to meander a bit and lose direction with some parts of the crowd getting into this and others looking rather confused. Perhaps a more conventional set would have helped them win a few more fans over.

With some slight delays, The Temper Trap came on to a raucous welcome from the crowd around 9.30pm with their own tribal song in Intro. With the crowd suitably warmed up, Dougy Mandagi let loose his famous falsetto for the moody Rest with its echoey keyboards and driving drum beat and the band had the crowd in the palm of their hands. New single Fader got a huge reception from the crowd and is one of the catchier tunes, reminiscent of INXS with the band's soaring harmonies. The song's groovy undertones had the crowd dancing along and Jonathon Aherne's hair was again flying and flailing around as he pounded his high strapped bass.

Slow burner Fools had Mandagi hitting his falsetto again and he even made a joke of this by addressing the crowd with a Mickey Mouse impersonation after the song finished drawing howls of laughter in contrast to the moody vibe of the song. Ahearne then strapped on the acoustic for Down River as the band shifted gears again to a more upbeat feel.

The set was pretty much stock standard for them with the yearning Love Lost following and also drawing a great reception from the crowd but so too did Soldier On which is steadily becoming a live favourite for me. The most Coldplay sounding of their songs with its Chris Martin like vocals from Mandagi, it's a real joy to hear him cut loose on the latter half of the song and the crowd are suitably buoyed by this.

Sweet Disposition then reared its head and the whole crowd reacted to this accordingly. I still have my reservations on this being played in the middle of their set when it should close their set. Arms were raised and people danced as the staccato rhythm of the song's opening riff echoed around Koko.

Resurrection kept the momentum going into the set closer Drum Song with its tribal beats and Mandagi flailing away on a floor tom before they disappeared and sidled back on for the encore.

A cover of Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark kicked it off and it was different let's just say. Devoid of the keyboard riff and its grandoise sound, it was played largely acoustic giving it a very folksey feel.

Mandagi had explained that the band had been touring for eight months and were tired of playing the same old songs and debuted a new song, Rabbit Hole which seemed a bit unpolished, and nowhere near as catchy as the earlier material. The band then closed with Science Of Fear, their stock standard closer to a stream of confetti. Mandagi tried to crowd surf and was thwarted midway before he somehow managed to climb back and bid the crowd farewell.

Overall it was a good if rather samey set from the band, much similar to their MTV Presents gig. With only one album under their belt, they didn't have enough material to mix things up. Having said that, their cover of Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark was definitely a good high point.  The debut of one new song was also a nice bonus but didn't really leave the crowd wanting more but hopefully the band will return next year with new material for their three night residence at Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Setlist

1. Intro
2. Rest
3. Fader
4. Fools
5. Down River
6. Love Lost
7. Soldier On
8. Sweet Disposition
9. Resurrection
10. Drum Song

Encore
11. Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
12. Rabbit Hole
13. Science Of Fear