Monday evenings are usually a drag, but the show March 31 at the Meridian from the fast-paced indie-punk dance party machine Tokyo Police Club definitely was not.
Tokyo Police Club is a young group out of Newmarket, Ontario that has created some buzz in the past year or so, having recently signed to Omaha, Nebraska’s Saddle Creek Records. This record label is notoriously known for signing huge indie acts such as Bright Eyes and Rilo Kiley.
The group went on stage at 10 p.m. sharp, which was dead-on with the venue’s schedule, a rarity for many shows. The group blazed through an energetic one-hour set in front of an entrancing LED light setup in what felt like half an hour.
Lead singer Dave Monks kept the between-song-banter to a minimum, as the band soared through crowd favorites such as "Nature of the Experiment" and "Citizens of Tomorrow," the latter of which got about 200 people to clap-along. The group played almost its entire debut EP, A Lesson In Crime, which pleased long-time fans of the band.
The set also featured a majority of the coming LP, Elephant Shell, which is slated to hit stores April 22. The album leaked to the Internet about a month ago, so there are people who were familiar with the newer material. Fans of the group’s debut will not be disappointed – the band hasn’t changed its sound at all.
An odd thing about this tour was that there was only one opening band, Eagle Seagull. Although the crowd was at a standstill, the group managed to get them moving with a set that used everything from tambourines and keyboards to electric violins.
The show lasted a grand total of two hours, which may or may not have left the crowd feeling a little fleeced after a $15 cover. However, judging from the crowd’s response, I would highly doubt anyone was disappointed.
Monks had more than nice words for the Houston crowd.
"Note to self," Monks said. "Come back to Houston soon."
Let’s hope so.
