Glastonbury 2011

Coachella Band Preview: Two Door Cinema Club

Coachella is next weekend. Coachella is next weekend. COACHELLA. IS. NEXT. WEEKEND. Thought I would ingrain it in your mind, but yeah Coachella begins next weekend. That means the band previews for 2017 are almost over. It’s the only bummer of this whole Coachella experience. I have one more preview left before the festival starts, but that’s it. There’s not much time. You might wanna binge listen to this next act.

Two Door Cinema Club was formed in 2007. The group who comes from two small towns in Northern Ireland is comprised of members Alex Trimble (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, vocals), and Kevin Baird (bass, vocals, synth). Trimble and Halliday met while in grammar school and then the duo got to know Baird better when he started hanging out with their mutual friends. The band got their name when Halliday mispronounced the name of the local movie theater, Tudor Cinema.

Two Door Cinema Club’s first EP Four Words to Stand On was released in 2008 which garnered them attention. They released their debut album, Tourist History, 2 years later in February of 2010 (Republic of Ireland release) and toured the UK and Ireland in the spring of 2010 in support of its release. The band also played a bunch of European Festivals in 2010 including Reading and Leeds and opened for Phoenix during their 2010 U.S. Tour. Their debut album earned them two NME Award nominations.

The band continued to tour going into 2011 playing a co-headlining tour of the U.S. and Canada with Tokyo Police Club. 2011 brought stops at Glastonbury, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, as well as another stop at Reading and Leeds. They began work on their second album in 2011 and by the end of August 2012, Beacon was released.

In 2013, Two Door Cinema Club released their second EP Changing of the Seasons. They spent spent 2013 playing shows and festivals throughout Europe and North America. The group finally took a break from a steady 3 years of touring by 2014 and began to work on their third album. They began touring again in 2016 in support of the release of their third studio album, Gameshow, which came out in October. That tour has continued into 2017 and includes the stop in Indio.

Two Door Cinema Club is part of the indie rock genre. Some of their songs verge on indie pop as well. Their new album even has a funky, soulful feel, so you can say the band sort of spans across genres.

I first discovered Two Door Cinema Club in 2011 in the prime of my indie music phase. I bought their debut album that year. It was never a stand out album to me despite my love for their style of music. It was always just a solid indie rock soundtrack to my drives that fall. Since then, I haven’t really followed up much on Two Door Cinema Club. I did hear of them touring and making music though so I knew they were still around. I was just never as into them as I was with other bands.

So why am I previewing them for Coachella and telling you to see them? Because despite not being really, really into them, they’re a good band and festivals are the time to see as much music as possible especially if you’re somewhat familiar with a band. So I guess that’s the only condition. If you’re not into indie rock and you’ve never heard of Two Door Cinema Club, by all means, don’t feel obliged to see them perform. If you do like indie rock or you know a few songs by Two Door Cinema Club, you should check them out, assuming their set doesn’t overlap with another set on your must-see list. If you already love them and plan on seeing them, I have no doubt they’ll play a great set. I know I would probably see them at Coachella because I don’t think I’d actually buy tickets to just see Two Door Cinema Club on tour and that’s okay. That’s what makes festivals great. Maybe you’ll see them and they’ll be unexpectedly amazing causing you to want to see them on tour. It’s their 3rd time at Coachella too so they’re not new to experience. They play Saturday and at this point they’ll probably be on a little later in the day. Here’s what you need to know if you plan on seeing them:

  1. Are We Ready? (Wreck)
  2. Bad Decisions
  3. What You Know
  4. Sleep Alone
  5. Something Good Can Work
  6. I Can Talk
  7. Changing of the Seasons
  8. Next Year
  9. Undercover Martyn
  10. Sun
  11. Gameshow