By Mick Côté, Staff Contributor
On the sidewalk outside of the Paragon Theatre, the continuous thumping of a kick drum and a slight buzzing guitar noise have passers-by talking. “Tokyo Police Club is playing here tonight,” says a lanky guy. “It already sounds great,” replies his friend.
The band didn’t fall short of expectations on Oct. 24. The group from Newmarket, ON, who are slowly carving their names into the hearts of indie rock lovers worldwide, played a sold-out show sponsored and broadcasted by CBC Radio 3.
In a line-up that included Dilly Dally, Ghostkeeper, Cuff the Duke and Young Rivals, Tokyo Police Club, though not headlining, seemed to be the unanimous crowd favourite, offering songs from their new album Champ, along with the anthems that propelled them to the top of Canadian rock- stardom.
Graham Wright, keyboardist, guitar player and backup vocalist, admits that the four guys never expected to hit number one on campus charts or score a three-and-a-half stars from Rolling Stone for their latest album.
In fact, they never even expected to play on stage again, until they received an invite to attend Pop Montreal, a music festival parallel to its Halifax look- a-like.
“It’s not like Pop Montreal blew us up as a band,” says Wright in the Paragon’s basement. “It was just the catalyst for us to even be a band. We thought we’d give it a shot and turns out it was worth it.”
Sure, it isn’t all rockstar treatment. Tokyo Police Club’s Paragon “lounge,” if you wish, was located in a small room, tucked deeply within the basement. The ceiling was inked with band members’ names, words of wisdom and cartoon penises. Dave Monks, Josh Hook and Greg Alsop, Wright’s band members, casually stroll in and nibble from the tray of jerkies and cheese, hidden behind two quarts of Jaegermeister.
“I never know if people know about us here in Halifax,” says Wright. “I mean, we’re gone for so long, I feel like people just say ‘those assholes, not even worth it’.”
The Paragon was reportedly at maximum capacity by ten o’clock, two hours before the band’s first Halifax appearance since Summersonic in 2008.
Craig Norris, the concert’s animator and host for CBC Radio 3, introduced the band to the stage while a few hundred people roared with applause.
Within minutes, Hook’s rapid guitar riffs had the crowd dancing; feeling the rhythm of Alsop’s drums in the hard floor.
Monk’s delivery was spot on. It must be a Canadian thing; to make it here, you have to sound just like the recorded tracks. With zeal and eagerness, Monk interacted with the crowd, confidently singing songs from Champ, and popular tracks like “Tessellate” and “Nature of Experiment.”
It was clear that Tokyo Police Club mastered the art of making noise as musically as possible, often relying on feedback and electronic sounds to add to their originality.
Music-making seems natural, even innate. Wright explains that writing their last album was something that came very naturally, while taking a complete hiatus from touring in order to regain composure.
“People say that it was a quick turnaround. It’s gratifying,” says Wright, while picking out a piece of beef jerky. “We really thought that we were being slow and taking our time with it,” he adds.
While their EP, Lesson in Crime, had no necessary time-requirement, their first full-length album, Elephant Shell, was written in the midst of their 2007 tour and accomplished under pressure from the “big guys” of the music industry.
“It all happened in this crazy whirlwind of insanity,” says Wright. “In Champ, we said ‘let’s not do that again, let’s stop touring and not schedule anything,'” he adds. “I think the original plan was for it to be even longer. We were going to take some time and have our own space for some time. Sure enough, instead of two months later, a week-and-a-half later, we would call each other to jam and it all flew down naturally,” he says.
Their live performance was a perfect representation of the album; natural, seamless and pigmented with what they’re known for: exhilarating melodies wrapped in a turbulent amount of wit- twisting lyrics.
“The East Coast is a little bit off the beaten path and obviously not on every band’s itinerary,” says Wright. “Halifax is such a rich scene and has so much to offer and I feel it gets a little overlooked sometimes, because it’s tucked away on the coast. We get all these awesome bands that come here and showcase the awesomeness of Halifax,” he adds.
The awesomeness was palpable at the Paragon. Closing with their hit song “Your English is Good”, Tokyo Police Club unleashed a mosh-pit-creating energy within the crowd. Once finished with the set, more than half of the crowd left the Paragon, satisfied with what they had seen.
The final band, Young Rivals, may have been overlooked by a few, but no one should anticipate a crowd to stick around after their favoured headliners have left the building.
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