Temper Trap rocks the Nokia

One of my favorite things about downtown Los Angeles is that it feels like an actual city. Though there are only a handful of skyscrapers, I can't help but think I'm walking through Manhattan, where everyone wears fedoras instead of parkas. On October 23, I found myself in downtown LA for The Temper Trap concert at Club Nokia. Hipsters and rockers alike were gathered to celebrate one of the most celebrated new bands out of Australia. The Temper Trap, who had been touring for three months, had their final stop in the heart of LA.

The first band that opened up the show was The Hundred In The Hands, which sadly only disappointed most of the crowd. Guitar player Jason Friedman gave a good show, but his partner on keyboard and vocals, Eleanore Everdell, was mostly just yelling epileptic-like sounds into the overly used auto-tune. While this band definitely has a lot of potential, the lack of stage presence from Everdell, mixed with no interaction with her partner nor the crowd, ended up in the most lackluster performance of the night.

Delphic, which was the second band to play did exactly what their job was: to pump everyone up for the headlining band. Already considerably better than the first band within the first five minutes, their psychedelic graphics mixed with the sound of their mellow English electro-pop made for a great performance.

By the time Temper Trap came on, the crowd was filled with excitement and anticipation was in the air. With every song they sang, the crowd sang along with them. By the time they reached the middle of their set and began playing their biggest hit yet, "Sweet Disposition," not a person was standing still in the house. Continuously throughout their set, lead singer Dougy Mandagi wowed the crowd with his amazing vocals and incredible ability to truly put on a show.

I consider myself a live band connoisseur and never in my life have I ever seen a show that sounded so exactly like the album. With Mandagi hitting the highest notes for the longest periods of time as well as lead bass player, Lorenzo Sillitto hardcore rocking out, it was the show of a lifetime. By the time the show was over, the crowd was satisfied as well as appreciative of the evening spent with one of the best up and coming bands of the year.