Ethereal concert gives Australian act time to shine

After starting its journey a few years ago as an indie band from Australia, The Temper Trap has been winning over fans from around the world with catchy hooks and exquisite live shows.

Saturday’s show brought the group to Los Angeles and marked the final night of its North American tour.  The intimate size and indoor setting of Club Nokia was perfect for the show because, according to the band’s guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto, it is “harder to rock out in broad daylight,”

The opening acts, The Hundred in the Hands, from New York, and Delphic, from the United Kingdom, were great at setting an overall tone, that lasted through the night. With a mix of techno and indie music, Delphic woke up the audience and soon had it dancing to the band’s unique sound.

There was a constant flow of unique song endings  throughout its set Delphic’s concentration on layering an assortment of sounds and playing around with several time meters made the band’s performance interesting to watch and listen to.

When it was finally The Temper Trap’s turn to perform, it seemed like everyone’s wish came true. As it started off with an intense instrumental, camera phones shot up into the air, lighting up the general admission floor. Watching bassist Jonathon Aherne’s syncopated movements, the audience instantly swayed to the musician’s deep notes.

There was no doubt that lead singer Dougy Mandagi has a captivating voice. It filled the room and floated delicately above the infectious sounds of the guitars, keyboards and the driving quality of the drums. There was an ethereal quality to everything that made listening to each song an escape from reality.

The band members are very innovative and sincere musicians and performers, and their uniqueness has resulted in a significant influx of fans. With its music appearing in multiple television commercials and popular TV shows such as The Hard Times of RJ Berger and One Tree Hill, The Temper Trap are no longer up-and-comers.

Sillitto told the audience that he has gotten in the habit of changing the channel when one of the band’s songs is playing on TV, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate the band’s increase in popularity.

“I would have to say that it is very pleasing when you talk to people after the show or you see their comments on our website about how they found out about the band through the different sync avenues and its justification that you have made the right decision,” he said.

Although (500) Days of Summer provided the band members with a huge amount of exposure, they have worked extremely hard to reach their current status in the music industry. Before moving to the United Kingdom, each band member managed to hold down a regular job in addition to touring in Australia.

The band’s exposure from television and film proved to guide them into a positive direction.

“I think that the move has made us a better band and a closer unit because we have spent too much time together and have triple the amount of shows,” Sillitto said.

After being nominated for several awards in Australia, winning APRA’s Song of the Year award for “Sweet Disposition,” and an unexpected turnout for their 2010 Coachella set, the band members began to feel like their goals were progressing.

The band’s debut album, Conditions, was created during a period when the band members were still evolving and discovering who they were as a band. They played around with a variety of instruments and were influenced by layered and textured music.”

“Lush was the word that we tended to use a lot when we would describe the sound we were trying to get to,” Sillitto said. “We always hoped that our music, even though it can be dark in some spots, has an underlining feeling of hope about it.”

Because Conditions was such a success, the band came up with Conditions Remixed, set to be released on Nov. 1. The album will be comprised of remixed tracks, including “Science of Fear,” “Love Lost” and “Down River.”

“Most of them have never been released or played in public, so it is pretty exciting for us,” Sillitto said. The band plans on continuing with a tour in Indonesia and the United Kingdom and have been working on its next album. Although the group does not plan on venturing too far from its authentic sound, it is continuing to experiment with different textures to make sure it doesn’t produce a record that sounds exactly like the first.

“We have always wanted to push ourselves and try new approaches,” Sillitto said.