Two Door Cinema Club / Metronomy / Tribes / Azealia Banks

The NME Awards Tour has traditionally highlighted the up-and-coming stars of the year to come, and 2012 proves no different. The tour kicks off this year in Glasgow's O2 Academy, showcasing Azealia Banks, Tribes, Metronomy then closing with Two Door Cinema Club headlining the gig.

The milling crowd are treated to Harlem rapper Azealia Banks, donned in pink faux fur as she displays impressive vocal flair and lyrical style – flanked by a DJ as he mixes in Prodigy's 'Firestarter' with energetic hip-hop. A new face on the UK scene, her best known track is undoubtedly '212' which features Lazy Jay – at the sound of a familiar tune the crowd give her plenty of enthusiasm back and Banks does a good job of easing us into the evening to come.

The previously half-full venue starts to get packed as London based Tribes enter the stage. The four-piece comprising of Johnny Lloyd, Jim Cratchley, Dan White and Miguel Demelo give an impressive entrance – looking like veterans despite only being formed since 2010 but the performance doesn't live up to expectations. The indie-rock genre should do so well, but seeing a girl whisper to her boyfriend in front of me that she was bored sealed the deal. The energy was lacking, with no recognisable songs for the audience to latch onto and there's a disappointing sense of style over substance from this four.

However, one band who have style and the stuff to back it up are next in the line-up, Metronomy. Led by front-man Joseph Mount (all round composer and singer whilst playing guitar and keyboard) Metronomy consists of Anna Prior on drums, Oscar Cash on saxophone, guitars and keyboards, and Gbenga Adelekan on bass – all carrying the now notorious novelty push light badge, timed to flash along with their catchy electro-pop beats. Although Mount uses the Metronomy moniker to remix popular classics, this evening it's original fare the excited audience are treated to – 'Some Written' full of catchy keyboard melodies and a beat you can't help but dance to. Of all the support bands of the evening, this foursome are the closest in genre to Two Door Cinema Club – and the enthusiastic support they receive proves where the listeners' hearts lie. The experimental indie-pop group could easily have been the headline act, their energy building up to the climax of the night.

There's what feels like a longing gap between the end of their set and the start of Two Door Cinema Club – filled by the O2 Academy's waiting music proving a resurgence of dance classics such as Darude's 'Sandstorm' and Sash's 'Encore Une Fois' – tapping into the collective age group like none other. And as the lights finally dim for the main show, it's clear to see that although relative newcomers to the music scene, this band have a great future ahead of them.

Front man Alex Trimble declares this is the first time the band have performed in 3 months – and they all look as excited to be there as the crowd are to see them. Even Kevin Baird on bass – stuck on a chair after an unfortunate fall downstairs – has made the effort to do this show, albeit with restricted mobility. Sam Halliday makes up the Bangor/Donagadee trio on lead guitar. 'Something Good Can Work' seems to stun Trimble into awe as the crowd bellow the opening lines back at him, before proving to be one of the most popular tracks of the night. While arguably their best-known tune 'This Is The Life' unsurprisingly is a big hit. Two Door Cinema Club sound rockier live – the energy of the performance carries their music excellently into a live venue. Playing songs from upcoming album such as 'Handshake' and 'Sleep Alone' (apparently written while they were in Glasgow last year) it looks like the follow up album is set to be a great continuation from 'Tourist History'.

FUTURE GIGS

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