The Temper Trap, Live at Tripod

Another weekend, another sell-out show from the latest group of young contenders. As it’s Halloween, there is another additional level of colour courtesy of the masks, painted faces and costumes in the crowd. Headlining tonight are four-piece Aussie rockers The Temper Trap, whose guitarist is sporting a tuxedo, which may or may not be a seasonal gesture.
Not that the crowd need any excuse to party. The Temper Trap are touring the debut album, Conditions, which has been a considerable international hit, reaching the top 30 in both Ireland and the UK, where it has been certified gold. Clearly, this is a partisan crowd, and all of the songs are enthusiastically received, with several prompting singalongs – none more so than the international smash ‘Sweet Disposition’, so familiar from its use in a mobile phone advert.
Well, I hate to be a killjoy, but I have to say I found the group a little dull. Undoubtedly, The Temper Trap perform with spirit and passion, and singer Dougy Mandagi has a powerful voice, but the band unashamedly borrow from the most boring aspects of U2, Kings Of Leon and Coldplay. Their stadium rock riffs feel clichéd and overblown, and I’m more than a little tired of guitarists playing anthemic, echoing guitar notes in a desperate bid to prove that their festival headlining material.
Having said, all that, I again have to reiterate that I’m very much in the minority – the audience are clearly having a ball. Still, it’s fair to say that the much-anticipated LCD Soundsystem headliner here later this month will be more to my tastes.