NME/Radio 1 Stage
Few bands can actually get a crowd going before arriving onstage but these are exciting times for Two Door Cinema Club as they performed their late afternoon set on the NME/Radio 1 Stage. The enthusiasm offstage was matched by their effervescent sound of jumpy basslines, shrieking guitar and measured vocals for opener 'Cigarettes In The Theatre'. They even saw fit to drop 'Undercover Martyn' next which saw lead singer Alex Trimble visibly humbled by the reaction from a crowd he thought to be "hungover or still drunk".
The set excelled by applying simplicity, from the heavily repeated refrains during 'Do You Want It All?' to the irresistible, preening rhythms of 'Something Good Can Work'. Perhaps the size of the crowd affected Trimble as he began to display an endearing anxiety unlike the confident, sweeping sounds of 'This Is The Life' and the urgency of 'Costume Party'.
Dressed as public schoolboys, the flowing 'You're Not Stubborn' displayed a welcome adroitness befitting their polite appearance. 'What You Know' was far more insistent, at times beguilingly macho which left the church organ intro of 'Eat That Up, It's Good For You' to stand out even more. Trimble need not have invited the crowd to help during new single 'Come Back Home' with many already enthusiastically clapping along before his intervention. Final track 'I Can Talk' finally saw understated hero of the set, guitarist Sam Halliday grab his deserved share of the limelight as he casually climbed atop a monitor. Understated but no less impressive.