Two Door Cinema Club at The Warfield

Last Friday, The Warfield hosted Two Door Cinema Club with two opening acts, The Lonely Forest and Grouplove. All three bands, despite being very different stylistically, complimented each other very well. Beginning at 8 PM, the show was arguably one of the most time efficient I have ever attended. The Lonely Forest began their set promptly at 8 PM, allowing Two Door Cinema Club to finish their encore before 11:30 PM. Even by 8 o’clock, The Warfield was filled with a rather eclectic crowd in age and appearance, probably reflecting Two Door Cinema Club’s recent dabbling with mainstream audiences. Lucky for me, I was standing directly in front of a group of high schoolers who had an inclination for very enthusiastic “Woo-ing” and a man in his mid-twenties with one of the most epic mullets I have ever seen.

The Warfield itself is an amazing venue equipped with two levels, the bottom being general admission and a bar, and the second assigned seating. The first act, The Lonely Forest, hails from Washington and has gained recent popularity from touring with Death Cab for Cutie. The band’s sound seemed to be a fusion of Death Cab and Jimmy Eat World, with a light sprinkling of U2. Carried well by the off-beat charm of lead singer, John Van Deusen, The Lonely Forest played an excellent set, and is sure to meet more success as their touring continues.

A look at the Warfield.

Next up was Grouplove, a modern quintet of hippies- and I say this in the best way possible. The band came onto stage to the opening bars of Kanye West’s “Monster,” testifying to their sense of humor. From the bassist, Sean Gadd, wearing an American flag under his hat, to the drummer wearing merely a tank top and boxers, Grouplove doesn’t just perform- they entertain. Opening with “Tongue Tied,” Grouplove is just as excellent live as they are in recordings. Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper, a San Francisco native, sing most songs together, but the back-up guitarist and bassist also sing, as in “Spun,” led by Andrew Wessen. Though Gruouplove is a relatively new band, just last week the band’s closing number, “Colours” was the iTunes single of the week. Despite Hannah Hooper’s odd donning of a gold mask during different parts of their set, Grouplove was fantastic, and I sincerely hope I’ll get to see them again in the near future.

Grouplove's recently released video for "Colours" from their self-titled album.

At long last, Two Door Cinema Club came on stage to “Sandstorm,” an impressive entrance to say the least. Despite a smattering of technical errors, the hip Irish band managed to put on an excellent performance, complete with an impressive (though at times overwhelming) lights show. Beginning with “Cigarettes in the Theatre,” Two Door Cinema Club is effortlessly talented, aided by their carefree attitudes and lighthearted electronic accompaniment in many songs. The band has really taken off in the past two years, and this was their second time coming to San Francisco in the course of six months. After touring with Phoenix in 2010, they have been doing primarily headlining shows, to which they have met great success, even performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in January of this year. After leaving the stage the first time, they came back on with three more songs, closing with the older, but no less fantastic “I Can Talk.” This was the second time I’ve seen Two Door Cinema Club, and if I’m lucky, it won’t be my last.

Two Door Cinema Club's closing song, "I Can Talk" from their debut album Tourist History.

As the lights came on at the end accompanied by Hall & Oates “You Make My Dreams,” the entire crowd danced out of the theatre- testifying for how fantastic of a show it was. The Lonely Forest, Grouplove, and Two Door Cinema Club- congrats on a job well done!

Kelsey Bucsko 
BARE Reporter