There have been musicians and artists who showcase their talent by surpassing the quality of their album with their live performances, but when a show creates so much excitement you feel like a child again it’s one of the most cherished gifts a musician can give to their audience. Wednesday March 24th at the Metro, Australian band The Temper Trap created such an excitement and giddiness among its audience you would have thought you were at the coolest birthday party of the year.
The Temper Trap’s five-piece Danish openers, The Kissaway Trail, were a great way to start such a first-rate show. The two lead vocalists contribute a lot of the unique sound that the Kissaway Trail has become known for. They are not just another band with a keyboard or drum-kit. To pigeon-hole this band into a specific genre like indie rock would be a travesty because their sound is so out of the box and cannot be categorized as just one sound due to the many eclectic tunes they create. Not being entirely familiar with this band of course Wikipedia and iTunes came in handy when trying to learn more about them, but the more I kept looking the clearer it became that this band is not something you can simply write a wikipage about and be satisfied with what you know, this is a band you want to know more about and want to listen to even more.
In the theme of unique bands that rattle the musical soul, The Temper Trap has an effect on their fans that reminds you of Jimi Hendrix’s effect when a guitar is put in his hands and he begins to play- they all freak out. As the set changed ended, as the lights dimmed and as the band walked on stage the audience was moved beyond coherent words and moved more towards screams and what might be described as interpretive dance, all relating their obvious excitement for what was to come next. As they played all of the songs from their debut album, Conditions, like “Love Lost.” “Sweet Disposition,” “Down River” and all of the rest the audience somehow found a way to be even more enthusiastic about the performance. Lead vocalists Dougie Mandagi’s ability to move and channel a soft hybrid of Elvis and James Brown may have been a contributing factor to the excitement. I have seen a musician actually move on stage with such a quality of rhythm and sense of joy since I watched the Monterey Pop festival in my high school history class.
As the show sadly came to an end the band was not through with the audience quite yet, performing “Science of Fear” all members of the band (Dougie Mandagi, Jonathon Aherne, Lorenzo Sillitto, and Toby Dundas) went wild. With Mandagi on a single drum, in the middle of him performing he suddenly grabbed an open water bottle, poured the water on the drum and went banging away like he was a part of the Blue Man Group, but much cooler, and somehow found away to rouse the audience even more. One might think that they would have ended on such a grand note as that one, but no they had just one more treat before they left everyone with the memories of the show. As a finale the Temper Trap debuted a new song that they have been working on for their next album, “Battle On.” Just as the title is so properly named the song made you feel like you were marching along in a desert not quite sure of the destination, it gave a slight similarity to Kate Bush’s “Army Dreamers” although not as eery.
All in all the show was a bit on the short side, but that was to be expected seeing as the band only has one album out. Either way, the Kissaway Trail and the Temper Trap gave a show that I am more than proud to have attended and next time either band is in town I will be there no matter what.
