The fourth show on a 16-date, early autumn trek across North America – including six stops between Canada and Mexico – Two Door Cinema Club (TDCC) celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut album, Tourist History, with an epic show at Madison Square Garden this past Sunday evening, September 27.

Taking place on the third day of a State of Emergency issued by New York’s Governor in response to a nor’easter that pounded the eastern seaboard with heavy rainfall and wind gusts reaching 60 mph, the show went on as planned. Unfortunately, that cannot be said for several other major, outdoor music events that had been scheduled to take place over the weekend, including AC/DC at nearby MetLife Stadium, the 15th edition of the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, the CBGB Festival in Brooklyn, and All Things Go at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.

Photo Credit: Michael Dinger Photography | Pit Perspectives

Performing Tourist History (Kitsuné Musique, 2010) in full, along with a slew of their career-spanning greatest hits (more on that later), were members Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Kevin Baird (bass, synths, backing vocals). In case you are wondering how the trio from Northern Ireland got their name, the origin story goes that during their early years, the band lived near a movie theater in Bangor called the Tudor Cinema, which served as inspiration. However, while discussing potential band names, Halliday mistakenly referred to the venue as the “Two Door” cinema. Rather than correcting the slip-up, the band embraced it, adopting the moniker permanently.

Taking the stage at 7:00 pm, The World’s Most Famous Arena welcomed Friendly Fires, the first of three opening acts supporting Two Door Cinema Club on the bill. Formed in England in 2006, the indie rockers were followed by STRFKR at 7:35 pm, an indie pop band hailing from Portland, Oregon.

Originally a solo project of frontman Joshua Hodges, who once described STRFKR as “dance music that you can actually to,” my earliest experience with the band was more than a decade ago when I first listened to their glorious cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” The quartet, rounded out by Shawn Glassford (bass, keyboards, drums), Keil Corcoran (drums, keyboards, vocals), and Arian Jalali (guitar, keyboards), shined during a 25-minute set that featured six tracks across their 18-year studio history.

Formed in 2007, the triphop electro-rock duo known as Phantogram was up next. Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter, the tandem from Saratoga Springs felt right at home on the big stage. Friends from their preschool days, Barthel and Carter mesmerized the rapidly growing audience filling up The Garden with ethereal synthesizers, hip-hop inspired beats, and airy vocals set to a backdrop of vintage electronic sampling. Aside from technical difficulties at the outset of “Fall in Love,” the eight song set featured a cover of Cold War Kids’ “Hang Me Up to Dry.”

Joined by touring musicians Benjamin Thompson (drums) and Andrew Lindsay (keyboards, rhythm guitar, saxophone), Two Door Cinema Club’s 20-song, 80-minute set kicked off shortly before 9:30 pm. An elaborate stage production that featured mind-blowing visuals and lighting, TDCC’s live program reads like a great novel.

Chronologically mapping out the evolution of their storied career, ‘Chapter 1’ grabbed the audience immediately with high-energy performances of Tourist History’s “Cigarettes in the Theatre,” “I Can Talk,” and “Something Good Can Work,” the band’s first single that they ever released. Before launching into the latter, frontman Trimble took a moment to address the 22,000-capacity crowd:

Thank you very much! How are you feelin’ Madison Square Garden? We put our first record out in 2010. A couple of months later, we played Webster Hall. And then someone from our management said, ‘next time you play New York, maybe play MSG?’ We took a couple of detours along the way, maybe ten years or so, but here we are! It feels good to be here.

The ‘Epilogue’ served as the show’s second thematic chapter, bridging their early material into the later phases of their career while showcasing hits from their sophomore album Beacon (“Handshake” and “Sleep Alone”). Songs from subsequent work included the title track from their 2013 EP “Changing of the Seasons,” “Lavender” from 2016’s Gameshow, and “Wonderful Life” from their fifth and most recent studio offering, Keep on Smiling (2022). The only album in TDCC’s discography that was not represented at MSG Sunday night was 2019’s False Alarm.

In the concert’s denouement, TDCC’s setlist transitioned into ‘Chapter 2,’ concluding the night with a trio of signature hits from Tourist History, including “You’re Not Stubborn,” “Eat That Up, It’s Good for You,” and the massive fan favorite, “What You Know.”

Watch the Irish indie rockers perform “Do You Want It All?” from Tourist History in its entirety, complete with its catchy vocal hooks and upbeat, melodic guitar riffs:

Following the current run of tour dates which culminates in Mexico City in mid-October, TDCC will take a short break before resuming their tour in Australia on November 15. Following six dates in the Land Down Under, Trimble, Halliday, and Baird will play to audiences in New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Ireland (a homecoming gig in Dublin on January 23), the UK, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and finally Germany, for two shows on February 7 and 8.

Setlist: Cigarettes in the Theatre > I Can Talk > Come Back Home > This Is the Life > Costume Party > Do You Want It All? > Something Good Can Work > Sleep Alone > Next Year > Changing of the Seasons > Lavender > Handshake> Wonderful Life > Kids > Are We Ready? (Wreck) > Sun > Undercover Martyn > You’re Not Stubborn > Eat That Up, It’s Good for You > What You Know

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

September 29 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
October 1 – Montréal, Canada @ MTELUS
October 2 – Ottawa, Canada @ HISTORY Ottawa
October 3 – Toronto, Canada @ HISTORY
October 4 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
October 6 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Citizens Live at The Wylie
October 9 – Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
October 10 – Charlotte, NC @ Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 11 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
October 13 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Escenario GNP Seguros
October 15 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Pepsi Center WTC
October 16 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Pepsi Center WTC

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB