With exams pretty much done now, it is time to return to rocking out, and what better way to do that than with a Tokyo Police Club show, eh? Saw these guys at Schuba’s last year and was really impressed. Since then they have finally released their debut album and are touring in bigger venues to bigger crowds.

There were two openers for the show last night, Smoosh and Maps & Atlases. Maps & Atlases were completely lights out awesome. They were really high energy, with some great songs. Their sound is kind of in the new-prog-rock vein of which a lot of bands are getting lumped into, but that doesn’t really matter when they are melting your face with rock and roll. Their drummer brought his A-game also, he was really good. I recommend checking these guys out if you get a chance. Their EP which I picked up is very technical, but their sound is very full live and is great.

After them was Smoosh. Smoosh is a group of sisters, the oldest of which is 16. Despite being in a definite no-win situation sandwiched between two great bands playing to a jaded indie rock crowd and being so young, they did really well. The keyboardist Asya (age 16) was pretty impressive, handling both lead and rhythm and bass duties on the keyboards all by herself on some songs. They also dropped a “This Modern Love” cover on us, which is a good way to win over any jaded indie rock crowd. The drummer Chloe (age 14) was really good as well, and while they may not be as seasoned as the other bands there, they certainly show a whole lot of talent and potential.

Tokyo Police Club came out to thunderous applause, and this crowd was much larger and more vocal than the Schuba’s crowd from last year. They immediately dove into it and started melting faces. They seemed even tighter and more on their game than last time, maybe that had something to do with the crowd. I seem to remember the crowd last time not really being very into it, but then again, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a Schuba’s crowd go crazy. They hit pretty much all of the songs from their new album “Elephant Shell” and their prior EP “A Lesson in Crime” as well. They were really in top form, and their short blitzkrieg pop goodness kind of songs were just firing off one after another. They really are a top notch live band, and I really can’t recommend enough checking them out. There are not really any songs that miss, and all just have a great rhythm and melody to them, and with their high energy on stage just really work well.

Tokyo Police Club - Listen to the Math - From Elephant Shell
Maps and Atlases - Songs For Ghosts To Haunt To - From Tree, Swallows, Houses

And because it is one of the greatest songs ever:

Bloc Party - This Modern Love (live) - Original version from Silent Alarm