The Kissaway Trail / The Temper Trap
Cat’s Cradle
Carrboro/Chapel Hill, NC
4/8/10
The Kissaway Trail opened the show on a perfect spring night in North Carolina to a fairly packed Cradle. While it would later become apparent that most of the people got there early to get a good spot for the headliner, this 6 piece band from Denmark won most of the crowd over early with their energetic and infectious brand of indie rock. I knew next to nothing about the band, and visited their myspace just a little earlier in the day once I decided to go to the show. I listened to one song, “SDP”, and thought it was pretty good, but not necessarily anything unique or great. However, even from waiting outside in the cue to get in, I could tell this band had a great live sound.
As is the case with many of my favorite bands, it’s hard to place my finger on what makes them so great. Their songs are fairly straightforward and rockin’. The rhythm section propels in a manner that gives most of their songs an anthemic feel. They throw in splashes of melodic synth to give tunes a danceable quality. You can feel some of the heartbreak in the quaver of the lead vocals which draws in the sympathetic listener (and probably acts to repel some). And while the songs are fairly straightforward and don’t have many changes, they do tend to build up to a climax where frustrations are released and catharsis is reached through the banging away of instruments and soaring vocals.
The energy they put into playing was a reflection of how much these songs meant to them and this outward display won over much of the audience who were probably as uninitiated as I was. While some bands will try to win over a new crowd with banter or overdramatic playing or shoegazing indifference, other bands just have “it”. If you’ve ever seen Hammer No More the Fingers or the Love Language, you’ll know what I mean. You get the sense that these guys would bring the same joyous energy just playing in their living room and that there’s really nothing else that they’d rather be doing.
In the 40+ minute set, they covered a decent range of emotions, tempos, and songs, including a brilliant take on Neil Young’s “Philadelphia” (which can be found on their new full-length album Sleep Mountain). Had they not prefaced that it was a cover song, no one would’ve known because they made it their own in all the right ways. This is saying a lot because the original is one of the most haunting and arresting songs by one of the all-time greats. The Kissaway Trail definitely have their own sound, but it’s a mix of a lot of familiar sounds: some parts 80s, a general Brit-pop vibe, and the sonic depth of your favorite post rock. Needless to say, they left quite an impression on someone who went in with no expectations. I left the show with their new album Sleep Mountain and have given it a few spins. It does a great job of capturing the energy of their live performances and getting the most out of these emotionally-charged anthems. This will definitely make my best of 2010 list.
Setlist:
Friendly Fire
Beat Your Heartbeat
New Lipstick
Philadelphia (Neil Young cover, appeared in the movie Philadelphia)
Smother+Evil=Hurt
61
SDP
The Kissaway Trail – official site
The Temper Trap
Even though The Kissaway Trail won over a lot of fans with their set, it was clear that many were there just to see The Temper Trap. From the second they took the stage, the crowd of 500 or so (very impressive considering it was a Thursday night and their first time in North Carolina) in the palm of their hands. It was pretty clear that they set up the stage to put the focus on frontman Dougy Mandagi. There’s also no questioning his vocal prowess on stage. His songs tend to have memorable hooks and he demonstrates good versatility as a songwriter, although most of his songs are co-written with other band member(s). He certainly puts everything he has into belting out the vocals and the sound is mixed to highlight his powerful voice. It’s a bit unusual for indie rock bands to be so vocal-centric and it’s difficult to pull off, but Dougy seems genuine enough in his delivery and just flat-out gifted that it really works with the audience. Also, it should be mentioned that this crowd was a little more on the mainstream side than the indie side, perhaps due to the band’s single being featured in the movie 500 Days of Summer. (Admittedly, this is how I found out about the band.)
In any case, the band was energetic and powerful, even if they seemed more like a backing band for Dougy. This was all more evident when Dougy was the only one out signing merch after the show. With only one album to play songs from, they tore through most of the songs off the album and had a lot of the crowd mouthing the words to most of them. “Sweet Disposition” got a huge response and rightfully so, but their set had a great flow and there weren’t any lulls in the set. They seemed to stretch most of the songs out a little more and used some really great transitions to keep the audience captivated. At times, they create an almost disorienting wall of sound with their 3 guitars and the rhythm section as in “Resurrection”(link to video) and “Science of Fear”(link to video), but they also produce some beautiful atmospherics with in “Fools”(link to video) and “Soldier On”(link to video). They closed the set with an extended, 9 minute version of “Resurrection” which included Dougy trading his guitar for a drumkit midway through the song and some unexpected pyrotechnics (see the video) that had the crowd going wild until they reappeared for the encore. They opened the encore with a new slower song “Rabbit Hole” which had a very mid-90s Radiohead vibe to it. This song starts with just Dougy on acoustic guitar and vocals, drums come in later, and a jutting guitar line joins to build up to the song’s climax. They closed the show much the same way they opened, with a really loud and rockin “Science of Fear”.
The Temper Trap definitely put on a great show and they have a bright future as they straddle the line between indie and mainstream rock. Unlike The Kissaway Trail who have a common sound in their songs, Temper Trap appear to still be searching for their own sound. At times they sound like Coldplay, Arcade Fire, U2, etc., but the songwriting is strong and they have plenty of time to find their own voice. Fortunately for them, they’ve got a charismatic frontman with a killer voice to help them find it.
Setlist:
Instrumental Intro
Rest
Fader
Fools
Down River
Love Lost
Soldier of Fear
Sweet Disposition
Resurrection
Encore:
Rabbit Hole
Science of Fear
