Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE – LOS ANGELES – With both the stage lights as well as the strategically placed floor light bulbs dimmed to darkness and white noise of outer space filling The Regent Theater, alternative rockers Tokyo Police Club walked onto the stage to the roar of the crowd. It was the first of a two night engagement at the venue to celebrate or just to “feel for a second.”
Why the need to feel? The band announced in January that they were saying farewell. And with that, they also announced a final tour that is taking them across the United States and Canada, ending the tour with a four night November stand in their hometown of Toronto, Canada. The band said their good-byes to Los Angeles with an hour and 40 minute set that had them playing 24 songs and adding on an additional 3-song encore.
Tokyo Police Club came on the music scene in 2006 with their debut EP, A Lesson In Crime. 16 minutes of music that propelled took them to renown.
The Regent set largely focused on their early works from A Lesson in Crime, Elephant Shell, and Champ. In fact, the first 8 songs were grouped in fours with songs first played from Champ and then Elephant Shell. The fans responded strongly to “Breakneck Speed” that had the band starting off with a quiet addictive rhythm that had keyboardist Graham Wright stepping away from the keyboard with tambourine in hand while guitarist Josh Hook and drummer Greg Alsop played off each other. Lead singer Dave Monks joined in with layered vocals just above the sound of the band. The crowd soon joined in with their own vocals.
After playing their earlier songs, the band played three songs from their final record TPC. Monks introduced the three songs by talking with the audience, “We spent a lot of time here . . . we recorded our last record here, TPC. TPC was recorded in Los Angeles. We recorded Champ in this town. We spent $300 on nerf guns at a WalMart in the middle of the night so that we could have massive battles.
“We were living above the Cheesecake Factory at the Americana on Brand,” he said. ” . . . There’s something in the air here. We love it. We’re from Toronto and coming down to Los Angeles feels really cool to us. You guys all know that, I’m sure you’re from somewhere else.” Monks was corrected in his Los Angeles tribute by a band member. Those nerf guns were bought at Toys”R”Us, not WalMart.
With that, the band launched into “New Blues” where Monks’ twangy vocals swept through the venue. “Simply Dude” definitely gave the crowd the indication that the band was breaking up on good terms as Monks could be seen giving Wright a little head rub.
The band returned to their album Champ with “Hands Reversed” dedicated to those who were mourning the end of the band. The opening beats of “End of a Spark” got the crowd clapping in rhythm. And the last song played from that particular album, “Frankenstein,” had Monks picking up one of those floor light bulbs. He did a spotlight on Hook as the guitarist opened up the song. He then grabbed the electrical cord and started swinging the light bulb around the stage. When the light bulb got a little too close to the head of Wright, he pulled the plug on that bit of fun.
The band did a trio of acoustic songs with the winner being “Ready to Win” that Monks wrote as he hit the age of 30. “I f*cked up with money, and man, nothing is free. I f*cked up on Letterman, I f*cked up on stage. I f*cked up on time and I f*cked up too late.”
The jangled “Nature of the Experiment” was a fan favorite with many taking out their phones to record the song.
How did the set end? The band played the final encore, “Your English is Good,” and Wright hit the keys with such strength that the keyboard stand started to break down and he ended up playing the last notes on the floor. The band then took center stage with arms around each other. They gave a wave and walked off the stage to cheers from the crowd. As for the crowd, they hung close to the stage, hoping to grab one of those precious final setlists.
These alternative rockers with their energetic performance of their music catalog that spans nearly two decades as well as their personal reflections will surely delight fans throughout the tour.
Opening up the night were longtime friends Born Ruffians. And to emphasize the length of their friendship, the band started some 20 years ago so a very similar timeline. They told the crowd how the two bands shared demos back and forth. The band is from Canada, as well, but they have that Southern folk rock going for them. The band joked about their two decades of music. For the tenderly harmonized “Little Garçon” they mentioned the “song is old enough to drive.” All the band members lined up in a row at the front of the stage and each had a role in singing. To end the set they got the crowd pumped with “Fade to Black.”
Tokyo Police Club setlist: Favourite Food, Favourite Colour, Breakneck Speed, Wait Up (Boots of Danger), Centennial, In a Cave, Juno, Graves, New Blues, Simple Dude, DLTFWYH, PCH, Hands Reversed, End of a Spark, Bambi, Frankenstein, Under Control (The Strokes cover), The Harrowing Adventures Of . . . , Ready to Win, Nature of the Experiment, Citizens of Tomorrow, If It Works, Be Good, Tessellate. Encores: Argentina (Parts I, II, III), Cheer It On, Your English Is Good.
Born Ruffians setlist: Foxes Mate For Life, Breathe, Dedication, What A Ride, Little Garçon, Hummingbird, Needle, Forget Me, Miss You, We Made It, Fade to Black.
