REVIEW: Cut Copy at Tripod

Review by: Kev Meagher
Photos by: Alessio Michelini
Cut Copy Wednesday July 21st 2010 Tripod

Every so often a gig pops up that seems a little bit out of place. Cut Copy are in the middle of a tour that has seen the Aussie trio play a couple of festivals and small club dates testing out material for their yet-untitled third album, obviously wanting feedback before heading back to the studio to mix the album this August. They are a band that could have easily gotten a slot at one of the Irish summer festivals, but decided to go with a smaller club date instead. Too small in fact, with the gig having to be moved from The Button Factory to Tripod to meet demand. So as I entered the Harcourt St. venue I wondered what type of gig I should expect, a set full of unfamiliar new material? or would I finally get to see the best of ‘In Ghost Colours’ live?

Luckily it proved to be a bit of both. With no support band, Cut Copy took the stage in a packed Tripod just after nine and immediately settled any nerves I had with ‘Lights and Music’, followed by ‘Far Away’. I was always worried about seeing Cut Copy live. Getting the same sound as their albums live requires getting the mix just right, and unfortunately for the first two songs it was a bit off. With the vocals too loud and the synths not prominent enough, both tracks didn’t have the same balance as the album, but the crowd didn’t seem to care and had probably been looking forward to this gig as much as I had so were just delighted to finally hear the songs that had been playing on their stereos for the last two years live at last.

Next they played a new track called ‘Where I’m Going’, the sound issues seemed to be sorted by this stage and we were treated to a Stone Roses meets Beach Boys style song that is definitely a bit different than the material from their last album, but retains the same 80’s electro style. It reminded my a little bit of the stuff the The Drums have been doing. They followed this up with ‘That was Just a Dream’ from their first album ‘Bright like Neon Love’ and another early track I didn’t recognise before playing ‘So Haunted’ and ‘Nobody Lost, Nobody Found’. The crowd, who had been unusually subdued until that point, really started to come to life, and that was reflected by the band on stage who finally looked like they were enjoying themselves, with frontman Dan Whitford impressively strutting his stuff from behind a synth.

This proved infectious with even the new song that followed being greeted with enthusiasm before the band really brought it up a notch with ‘Hearts on Fire’. This time around there was no problem with the sound as crowd went crazy for what I think is their best song, and definitely best song on the night. With the lights and back screens perfectly synced to the track it was the perfect example of how dance music and indie rock can be fused together to produce something really special. The band left the stage to rapturous applause and then return to play what I think was ‘Time Stands Still’ followed by the cracking ‘Out There On The Ice’ which once again had the crowd in full voice, capping off a great set and really enjoyable night.

It was strange for a crowd on a night like this being so subdued at the start, I think the choice to go without a support band may have hindered Cut Copy a little, and the band themselves looked a bit tight at the start. Thankfully though once everyone was warmed up it was a cracking set, and predictably it was the tracks from ‘In Ghost Colours’ that stood out. While stuff from their first album and the newer songs still have the 80’s synth vibe, they seem to lack the same vibrant feel and sophistication of tracks like Hearts on Fire, and unfortunately that showed in the set when the tracks were compared. While my fear heading in tonight was not getting to hear tracks from ‘In Ghost Colours’ that I so desperately wanted to, my fear heading home is that Cut Copy have set themselves one hell of a bar to match with their next album.