Operator, get me the president of the world

CONCERT REVIEW: Tokyo Police Club
April 10, 2008
Mr. Small's Theatre, Pittsburgh

Those peppy Canadian kids, Tokyo Police Club, were in town last night to promote their upcoming Saddle Creek release Elephant Shell, and it was obvious they've grown as a band since I saw them last year at Lollapalooza. The songs sounded much truer to the studio versions, the vocal chants were spot-on, the inexperience didn't show as much.

The band started off with mostly new material, and while the new tracks don't bombard the listener with the same intensity as older favorites like "Cut Cut Paste" and "Nature of the Experiment," they were still fairly well-received.

Midway through the show, singer/bassist Dave Monks announced, "The next song is a cover. It's the only cover we know." I knew what was coming - the Rentals' "Friends of P." The idea of covering that track is brilliant, but I've heard the mp3 that's been floating around of TPC's version, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed. Last night, though, they nailed it. Matt Sharp would've been proud.

This was destined to be a short show, given that Tokyo Police Club's songs rarely exceed 3 minutes. TPC walked offstage following the shortest encore in history (just 2 minutes, a spirited version of "Cheer it On"), bringing its total length of performance to only 58 minutes. That's all they needed to win over the crowd on this night.