Tokyo Police Club, Geographer, and Said the Whale @ Black Cat

Tokyo Police Club at Black Cat
Photo Credit: Brightest Young Things

Black Cat was graced with a potentially killer lineup last Tuesday when Said the Whale and Geographer opened for indie powerhouse Tokyo Police Club at a show that could’ve been labeled “Bring Your Canadian Friend to this Concert.” Did the big names live up to the hype of this sold out show? Well, for the most part, yes.

Vancouver natives Said the Whale dove right into their set (despite a hesitant audience) and should be commended for their energy. The set was mainly focused on their recent releases, but the band did find time to perform their well-known anthem “The Light is You.” Overall a pretty great performance in itself and a great opener for the evening.

The same comments could be made for Geographer, but frontman Michael Deni’s energy and interaction with the audience raised the stakes for the night while getting the crowd’s blood pumping. Geographer’s broad synth sweeps tied with their indie rock fusion came off as a “sophisticated Chvrches,” as quoted by one concertgoer, despite being the Scottish group’s senior by four years. Regardless, their electronic indie rock in addition to a very carefully executed performance tech-wise (Deni must’ve used at least 10 individual synths) won over the crowd.

Tokyo Police Club, what else is there really to say? A really incredible and energizing set, with selections from their recent March release Forcefield, despite the fact that their songs from Elephant Shell and Champ got the crowd going more easily. The only criticisms one can give to the set are a) at times it seemed that the crowd drove the energy of the performance rather than the band, and b) TPC just didn’t look like they were into their performance/having a good time. Obviously their set was not reflective of this perceived mentality, but it did make things seem a little off in what was very nearly an impeccable evening.

Regardless of this last fact, the show delivered as promised; it was a solid weeknight of indie rock with a very young and energetic crowd. The only collective regret of the audience probably was the fact that everyone had to get up for work in the morning despite partying so hard the night before. Hats off to the Black Cat for the show and thanks to the management at Tokyo Police Club for giving WRGW the opportunity to attend.

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