This event is 21 and over.
$25.00 – General Admission
*plus applicable service fees
Tickets are also available service charge free at The Fox Theater’s Box Office (located on the 19th street side of the theater) on show dates and on Fridays from noon – 7:00pm, and at The Independent box office (628 Divisadero, SF) Monday through Friday 11am-6pm with a $2 service fee.
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The Temper Trap
Whichever angle it’s viewed from, whether a 20,000-strong sing-along throng in Melbourne, through the smoggy haze of West Hollywood or from the window of Dougy Mandagi’s flat overlooking the riot zone in Hackney, The Temper Trap’s 2009 debut ‘Conditions’ was a roar away success. Propelled by the omniscience of a song called ‘Sweet Disposition’, the album sold nearly a million copies worldwide. The Melbourne four-piece made a breakthrough at odds with the flash-in-the-pan nature of rock’s revolving door, resulting in a Brit nomination for International Breakthrough Artist and two sell-out UK tours including a trio of shows at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. ‘Sweet Disposition’ may have been their not-so-secret weapon, but they backed it up with an album of nuanced epic-pop perfection and a work ethic that would mean they wouldn’t see their own beds for the best part of three years.
And so, it was in these triumphant circumstances that The Temper Trap, now bolstered to a five-piece with the permanent addition of Joseph Greer on keyboards, reconvened after a shorter-than-expected holiday (“I thought to myself, ‘I’m gonna disappear for a year’, but after a week and a half, I was so bored,” laughs Mandagi) to begin work on their second album. With minimal writing having taken place amidst the whirlwind of the Conditions’ touring cycle, the band entered sessions for album two with a clean slate and little idea of what would surface. Mandagi, though, was aware he had little control over what the main lyrical themes would entail. “I was in a relationship whilst touring the last album and it went bad. I guess I opened the floodgates – I thought I was over it but I had a lot of things to get off my chest so I started writing all these mopey heartbreak songs.”
What emerges is their self-titled second album, a record of two distinct personalities, one of melancholic, mesmeric balladry and one of synth-led, anthemic powerhouse pop. “Each time I play my friends these songs they all have a different favorite,” says Aherne. “This really feels like a record that could have something for everyone.”
Whilst the majority of these songs ingrain themselves upon you with repeated listens, there is one that will stand out from the off. ‘London’s Burning’ was written in the aftermath of last summer’s riots as Mandagi struggled to deal with what he’d watched unfold outside his flat on Mare Street. “It was bizarre,” he says, “but it was such a significant moment than I just had to write about it.” Again, their playful contrariness comes into focus – its subject matter might be dark and devious, but London’s Burning’s sounds like The Clash soundtracking a glam rock musical.
At the center of everything is the charismatic, enigmatic Mandagi and that voice, a swooping croon that could lift a 747. The Indonesian-born, Melbourne-raised, London-living frontman is the driving force behind ‘The Temper Trap’s recurring theme of displacement. “I definitely went through phases where the only place I felt like I belonged was on the road, on the stage, in a bus,” he says. “Being on the road gave me a sense of purpose. I love it and there’s no place I’d rather be, but at the same time it can be lonely. That’s all ammo for me as a lyricist.”
It’s exactly the sort of juxtaposition that makes ‘The Temper Trap’ such an intriguing listen. It’s a snapshot of a band blossoming, their songs matching their own skyscraping expectations. “I’m an ambitious person,” says Dougy. “I want this album to be bigger, and I want the record to do well, I don’t want just one or two songs to do well, I want people to realise we’re capable of making records.” Rest assured, the penny is about to drop.