Andrew St. Clair

Last Friday, I got to spend the day with with Tokyo Police Club which is not only one of my favorite live bands, but some of the nicest guys I’ve come across in my music photography adventures. They were in town co-headlining Terminal 5 with Two Door Cinema Club.

I met them bright and early Friday morning at their tour bus (which were parked in the back of T5) where they had just woken up and planning to do a ‘buzzsession’ video shoot with TheWildHoneyPie.com. The plan was to have TPC play out of the back of a box truck in 3 locations around Manhattan. However, the video crew was a little disorganized and needed extra time to set up.

So it was decided to do two songs right there in the street behind T5. Then everyone got in cars and drove down to Washington Square Park where the plan was to play in front of the arch. This didn’t happen and instead the truck was parked  a few blocks away in front of ‘Off The Wagon’ where they played three songs. The waiting and waiting… and waiting for everything to be set up paid off in the end and the band ended up having a fun time. It’s a shame that it wasn’t planned better, as there were only about two dozen people that saw them play. Well, at least it’s captured on video.

Back at Terminal 5, I was given an All-Access Pass (officially a first for me). But while I had free reign to do so, I really didn’t take a lot of pictures backstage. But I did take a few shots during soundcheck then I hung out in the green room and started editing pics right away. Dave chilled out on the bus resting his voice (more on that in a minute).

After running home to drop off my laptop, I got back just in time to check out “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin”. I was kind of surprised to hear members of the audience sing along. A lot of members. I saw them back stage and told them how much I liked them and that I would try and shoot them again the next time they come to town. Speaking of shooting… also to my surprise, the lighting for the opening band was actually pretty good, unlike a lot of opening performances where lighting is usually sparse (not just at T5).

Then TDCC took to the stage. I had missed them at CMJ and was really excited to see them live. They didn’t disappoint. They were also fun to shoot. Good lighting and they opened with “Cigarettes In The Theatre” & “Undercover Martyn” which got the audience going.

As for TPC, For the first 3 songs in the pit, they mostly used backlighting for a moody silhouette type of effect which couldn’t have made the other photos. So I decided to ask for some extra pit time from their manager. Plus, I wanted to make sure I was able to get shots of the band surprising Dave on stage with a big ol’ chocolate cake for his 24th birthday.

All day, Dave Monk’s voice wasn’t 100% and he was resting it. So, I was a little concerned about it affecting the performance. I shouldn’t have worried. Well, for starters, I’m not their manager. But also, they sounded pretty damn good. Thank God for humidifiers. Anyway, they played all the tunes that I wanted to hear including stuff from their EP ‘A Lesson In Crime’ and their first full length ‘Elephant Shell’ and have come to realize that ‘Breakneck Speed’ is probably my favorite song of theirs. Or maybe it’s ‘Bambi’.

Anyway, for the encore, both TPC and TDCC took to the stage to play “Last Nite” by the Strokes, taking everyone back to a simpler time. 2001. Great way to end the night. But, it wasn’t over yet…

Afterwards, I pulled fellow photographer Diana Wong backstage to hang out with the bands, drink champagne and Miller Genuine Draft. After about an hour of partying, The T5 staff kicked us out and everyone proceeded to gather in the tour buses to listen to Ke$ha.

Anyway, I love hanging with these guys and look forward to seeing them again soon. Check out my photo coverage and a review of the show by Dominick Mastrangelo on BrooklynVegan.com. Also check out Diana Wong’s cool pics at BoweryPresents.com and you just might see me in the pit.