The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Don’t Stop Till It’s Over, The Temper Trap play at Somerset House

Don’t Stop Till It’s Over, The Temper Trap play at Somerset House | Live review
12 July 2012
Marion Rankine
Avatar
Marion Rankine
12 July 2012

In 2009 Melbourne-based band The Temper Trap relocated to London to, in the words of lead guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto, “give it a good crack” at establishing themselves in Europe. They have just released their eponymous second album, and if last night’s sold-out gig at Somerset House is anything to go by, they’ve given it a most excellent crack indeed.

A day of grey and rain miraculously cleared to gild the cupolas of Somerset House with sunset light, and the Fountain Court quickly filled while first supporting act and Australian compatriot Chet Faker warmed up the crowd. By the time British quartet Alt-J took to the stage the venue was full to capacity. Seagull polyphony and the white noise of London mingled with Alt-J’s clean, defined soundscapes, swinging from folksong-esque, lilting simplicity to driving, thrumming percussion accompaniments and controlled chaotic interweaving vocal lines. With the final refrain “I love you so/I love you so” from Breezeblocks, Alt-J exited to full and well-deserved applause.

As The Temper Trap put the final touches on their preparations, so too did the lowering rainclouds. The courtyard mushroomed with umbrellas and any hopes of a view disappeared for all but the very first row. “I can see a nice collection of umbrellas and a few lights”, someone muttered behind me. 

But all was forgiven when the courtyard erupted in pulsing red light and The Temper Trap finally appeared on stage to open with London’s Burning. The clouds lifted, the umbrellas vanished, and the Fountain Court became a seething mass of bopping bodies. This was followed up by Need Your Love, bursts of white light perfectly timed with the staccato drumbeats, the sound swollen by audience members joining in for the infectious refrain. Dreamy ballads alternated with upbeat, crowd-clapping numbers as The Temper Trap traversed the best parts of two albums: Love Lost, The Sea Is Calling, Rabbit Hole, Fader (to a forest of raised arms and a thousand-strong chorus of “oo oo oooos”), This Isn’t Happiness, and the warm fat vocal harmonies of new single Trembling Hands. The second album is noticeably more restrained than Conditions, but what anchors them all is front man Dougy Mandagi’s distinctive voice, slipping effortlessly from pop to faux-opera, strident to intimately husky, soaring, incandescent head voice to something nasally reminiscent of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons.

The weather, however, remained inclement. “You’re a resilient crowd”, Mandagi observed, as the rain beat down and the umbrellas went back up. The compliments flowed all night as the front man thanked long-time fans and Aussie expats for their support since moving to London. “Thanks for sticking with us” he said, before unleashing a supercharged rendition of fan favourite Science of Fear, joining drummer Toby Dundas on cymbals for extra percussive punch. An epic guitar solo accelerated through driving percussion to erupt into an almost tribal fusion of drumming and clapping, while Mandagi elicited a wild spray of glitter ­– or was it rain? – from the skin of his drum. It felt like a finale, but the crowd coaxed them back for two last songs: the dreamy synthscapes of Soldier On followed by the perennially popular Sweet Disposition, while audience members balanced on shoulders, clapped, swayed, danced, and shouted along to the chorus of “Don’t stop till it’s over!”

And on that note – sadly – it really was over.

Marion Rankine
Photos: Helen Parish

For further information and future gigs visit The Temper Trap’s website here.

Watch the video for Trembling Hands here:

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo

★★★★★
Diletta Lobuono
Read More

The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Elton John sparkles on his Farewell tour at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Twenty One Pilots at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Imagine Dragons at MK Stadium

★★★★★
Katherine Parry
Read More

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Kenwood House

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

Nile Rodgers at Kenwood House Heritage Festival

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Terminal List
    ★★★★★
    amazon
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

The Lorax | Movie review
Proud to be British at Imitate Modern | Exhibition review