(The Verge) – Two Door Cinema Club rocked out at Sayreville’s Starland Ballroom on Wednesday, October 9. The indie-rock band is on tour with two other up and coming bands, St. Lucia and Smallpools.
The doors for the show opened at 7 p.m., but the line to get into the venue was still wrapped around the building at 7:30.
Smallpools kicked off the night with some feel-good jams, warming up the crowd. Their music is best-described as indie-pop and is easy to dance along to. The band formed earlier this year and released their four-song self-titled EP this past July. Although the band is fairly new and not so well known, the crowd was singing along to the chorus of their debut single, “Dreaming” which has been featured on the FIFA 14 soundtrack. During their set, Smallpools also performed their own rendition of the 90’s New Radicals hit “You Get What You Give,” which brought a lot more energy into the crowd.
After a short break and set change, St. Lucia took the stage. Formed by front-man and lead singer Jean-Philip Grobler in 2012, St. Lucia has previously toured with Ellie Goulding and performed at well known music festivals like Lollapalooza and Firefly. The band’s groovy electro-pop tunes are 80’s inspired, with a heavy utilization of synthesizers and wood blocks. During their set, St. Lucia played a lot of music from their new album, “When the Night,” which dropped October 8, the day before the show. Audience members danced along to songs like “All Eyes on You” and their single, “Elevate.” The band then asked for audience participation during “We Got It Wrong,” and had the crowd chant lyrics throughout the song. Just from their live performance, the audience could tell how passionate all five of the band members were about their music.
After another set change, the stage was finally ready for the headliner, Two Door Cinema Club. From the moment the lights went down, the screams of excitement began. Accompanied by white beams of back lighting, the band walked onto the stage and opened their set with “Sleep Alone” off of their 2012 album, “Beacon.”” They followed up with popular hits from their 2010 album, “Tourist History.” The crowd really came alive during “Do You Want It All?” and “Undercover Martyn,” two of their more popular songs.
Two Door Cinema Club played a variety of songs, such as upbeat hits like “I Can Talk” and some low-key songs like “Changing of the Seasons.” There may have been some help from the near-blinding strobe lights that accompanied the band during the show, but Two Door Cinema Club easily turned Starland Ballroom into a indie-rock dance party.
The band thanked the audience for their energy and left the stage after an hour long performance. Within seconds, the crowd was egging them on for an encore, cheering, “One more song!” Without much delay, the band once again took the stage and graced the audience with three more songs. The night ended with their hit “What You Know,” which had people dancing and crowd surfing their way to the front of the venue. As the band left the stage for the final time, the audience gradually filtered out, already raving about the performances they had just been a part of.
