The Temper Trap / Sarah Blasko

A wise man once wrote "If music be the food of love, play on"; a sentiment echoed, however ironically, in the 2009 anti-romcom '500 Days of Summer'. Both narratives, despite being written some 408 years apart, centre on their main protagonists quest for a great yet unrealistic love; their efforts marred by mistaken identities and musical mayhem in 'Twelfth Night' and Zooey Deschanel's alluring yet emotionally acidic character in our celluloid comparative. But both bard and blockbuster agree on one thing; music can and should move you, it should make you feel emotions; fall in love, fall apart, then start all over again with the first few bars of each new track. One particular band quite fittingly then, appear on this, to name but one such silver screen soundtrack; The Temper Trap.

Academy 1, Manchester was the sold out venue which housed the triumphant return of the great antipodeans and undeniable success story of 2009. This is my favourite venue in the city for shows of this size; they seem to get everything just right, the atmosphere, the lighting and the two thousand-strong crowd were certainly in agreement as the excitement was palpable.

Support on the night came from a fellow Australian, singer-songwriter Sarah Blasko. After fronting Sydney-based band Acquiesce from the mid '90s, Blasko started her solo career in 2002 and has since become very successful in her native country and beyond, recently being named Best Female Artist at the 2009 ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Awards. Blasko's kooky sound is categorized as indie-pop with jazz-blues influences and with her rigid, stark moves she echoed the style of Alison Goldfrapp, yet possessed all the vocal warmth and intimacy of other female jazz contemporaries. With her stunning vocals and impressive range, Blasko performed tracks from her third solo album 'As Day Follows Night', including 'All I Want' and 'No Turning Back'; both showcasing her skilful songwriting and being warmly received by the crowd.

Excitement continued to build until the house lights went down and another form of electric brilliance was displayed. The alternative rock four-piece, The Temper Trap, emerged to deafening cheers and proceeded to perform an instrumental introduction, building up to a thrilling climax before launching in to 'Rest'. The track features on their platinum selling debut album 'Conditions' which has become a firm fixture in the album charts since its release in the summer of 2009. The track possesses an addictive melody with drums and bass dominating the high-energy sound, it really was impossible to not get swept up with the grandeur of this one. Next up was 'Fader', followed by feel-good favourite 'Fools', as the crowd showed no more sign of resting than did front man Dougie Mandagi. The Indonesian minstrel is captivating on stage; his vocals providing a dazzling shimmer to the atmospheric light spectacular. Indeed, the lighting for this show was nothing short of breathtaking, with each track perfectly synchronized with the lush yellows and luminous greens.

The band has drawn comparisons from critics to fellow rockers U2. There are undeniable similarities in the layering of their songs and the sweeping melodies, complemented by their talent for arena-filling rock guitar hooks. I am a fan of both bands and I am sure that a comparison such as this was nothing short of a blessing. Another similarity between the two would be their appeal to a diverse age range; something I noticed straight away as I entered the venue for this show. I'm sure that the band hopes that this will stand them in good stead for a much deserved illustrious and towering career... I am sure that it will.

'Down River' followed, which is a high octane ride of sublime melodies and heart racing hooks, definitely one of my favourites of the night. 'Love Lost' with its pulsating drum beats and dreamy guitars came next; this is a perfect soundtrack for summer and I think it will go down a treat at upcoming festival performances. A single spotlight fell on Mandagi as he launched in to 'Soldier On', a divine and perfectly pitched track which speaks about "... keep(ing) your heart close to the ground" and the crowd certainly were, as the floor positively throbbed with the sound of song and support.



And on to the 'Romeo and Juliet' in this particular midsummer night's dream; the commercial dynamite track that is 'Sweet Disposition'. This is one of those much sought after tracks that never ages and you never tire of. It reels you in on the first few guitar strings, is instantly recognisable and just makes you feel good. The excitement was evident as the crowd sang along and waited for the chorus to kick in, followed by much jumping around and arms in the air. This is one of my favourite ever tracks and the soundtrack to my summer last year, so it was perhaps inevitable that I would feel my excitement overshadowed that of those around me! I can't wait to be a part of the crowd at V Festival this year when this track kicks in, it is sure to be a memorable moment.

The electronically charged 'Resurrection' followed, then an amazing performance of 'Drum Song', were the band further demonstrated their impressive command of rhythm and musical craftsmanship. A short pause, followed by an encore including new track 'Rabbit Hole' and album track 'Science of Fear'. The front man forgot the lyrics to the new track and had to be reminded by a fellow band mate, claiming "... I have to remember chords, lyrics and entertain you know!" And that he did. I was so excited for this show, hoping that the tracks would sound just as impressive and perfect live as they did on the album and I wasn’t disappointed. The fact that this headline tour sold out in record time is testament to that.

So to echo the musings of the original great wordsmith once more; "If music be the food of love, play on"; well, after this show I am besotted and positively bloated.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.