As I entered the Hordern Pavilion beer garden, I found my ears telling my feet something they didn’t expect: RUN. There was a sound coming from the stage that simply sounded amazing. It wasn’t The Temper Trap, no – it was way too early! It was a band from North Wales (via London) called The Joy Formidable. As much of a cliche as it might be, can I hesitate a guess that this three piece will be the next big thing? I literally had goosebumps from start to finish.
They were pure rock and roll, with just enough of a pop edge to keep the entire crowd (mostly young, but some old too!) hooked. Single “Cradle” was an easy highlight, and they closed out the night with something I wrote in my phone as a “super rad epic jam… wow!”. Clearly, I was too dazzled by the spectacle on stage to write coherently. For me, they were the stars of the night, mesmerising to watch as the bashed away on their instruments, while hauntingly powerful and beautiful to listen to. Don’t pass up your opportunity to see them live – I guarantee you won’t regret it! And the crowd present certainly didn’t – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a massive response for an unknown support band – especially in Sydney!
The Temper Trap might be kicking themselves slightly for bringing the UK three piece on tour, simply because they gave themselves an almost impossible act to follow. Sure, the crowd loves The Temper Trap, and knows their music word for word – but when a band comes on and wins over the crowd like that, it creates an energy that’s quite hard to maintain. And unfortunately it’s not something they were able to.
Their set opened with distortion, which fell into the mostly instrumental “Rest” and eventually “Fader”. A brilliant start! “Fools” was next, and saw the light show emerge – starry background and all. New track “Rabbit Hole” followed, showcasing the band returning slightly to their roots – as a fan of a the band from way back when, it sounds promising! They went on to play more new material in the encore… but more on that later.
“Down River” was the first big hit of the night, complete with Jonathon’s polka dot shirt and acoustic guitars, and was followed with “Love Lost” – another smash! The crowd was now well and truly into it. “Solider On” saw lead singer Dougy Mandagi display his vocal range, and he truly nailed it. Impressive stuff! A virtually impeccable voice.
When “Sweet Disposition” came on, Dougy moved over to join Toby Dundas on the drums – a brilliant start to the crowd favourite – easily the biggest singalong of the night! “Resurrection” followed, and was my personal highlight – showing the band gets better and better with each song they pump out in the live setting. The main set ended with Dougy returning to the drums, for a jam during “Drum Song” – a perfect set closer. He even showed the crowd he’d seen Blue Man Group by pouring water on his drums and bashing away!
It looked great, and considering there were cameras in the room, it will no doubt translate well! They built up huge momentum, with an almost perfectly structured main set. The encore featured two new songs and “Science of Fear”, but definitely felt like a tag on as a result.
The beauty of The Joy Formidable, and the ultimate downfall of The Temper Trap by comparison, is that the latter lacked any wow factor. Sure, we know the songs, and that might give reason for a lack of ‘surprise’, but their well structured and presented set ultimately felt too rehearsed, lacking the sort of energy required to truly grab your attention.
It might seem like I’m being harsh, but I’m not – putting it plain and simply: The Temper Trap put on a great show tonight. They know how to structure a great set, and they performed impeccably. They were simply outshined by their support act! And there ain’t no shame in that. To The Joy Formidable, we ride!
