Two door Cinema Club @ The Fimore

Two Door Cinema Club came to Philadelphia to celebrate 15 years of their most defining album.

15 years ago, the group released their album “Tourist history” to an amount of success they had never expected. It was the album that helped built their reputation as one of the more prominent voices in the indie scene at the time. That time specifically being 2010, where the album was actually released a month early in Japan before getting a full release in March of that year. The band had worked on music before and released an EP titled “Four Words to Stand on” in 2008 with another limited release at first, but “Tourist History” was the work that threw them straight into the spotlight.

This performance was early one in their celebratory tour, their 3rd show specifically. You’d think it’d be the first or the last however, since the floor of the Fillmore was packed edge to edge with fans. Entirely covered from one sidebar to the next were fans eagerly awaiting to hear the album that entered their lives so many years ago. Opening for the group was STRFKR, a group from Oregon with a similar, hopeful sound to TDCC. Once the opening set was completed the first song off the albumn, “Cigarettes in the Theatre”, got the crowd back and active after their short intermission. Since this was an Albumn celebration, it was thought that the whole set would the albumn played in order, front to back, with extra time given to more of the band’s greatest hits. However, that theory was put to rest when the second track played was an extended version of the 7th track on the albumn “I Can Talk”. The choice to switch tracks kept the audience on their toes since they knew they would get the whole albumn, but it kept the mystery of what song would be next alive.

All of the songs live sound just like they do on the album with the only noticeable difference being the maturity heard in the voice of the lead singer, Alex Trimble. Alex being the most recognizable member of the band doesn’t mean he completely steals the show. The two other core members “Kevin Baird” and “Sam Halliday” have an infectious presence on stage and keep the high energy tracks even higher throughout. That paired with their backing visuals the represent and actual older theatre design help make their shows feel uniquely their own and capture the vibe of their work from 15 years ago perfectly.

The rest of their celebratory tour highlight massive venues such as Madison Square Garden, but what stadium tours don’t provide is that close feeling between your community and the artist you are all there to enjoy. The show in Philadelphia showcased so much love and appreciation from the crowd, intros getting a reaction out of everyone present in the building. For an albumn released so long ago it’s amazing to see both younger and older fans present at a clebration of this caliber. The rest of the tour is set to have many more packed performances and for a band not initially formed in the U.S. this is a one of a kind milestone to see.

Photos by Tristan Reiser