Two Door Cinema Club, Cast of Cheers, Not Squares (gig review)

Oops. It seems I've been a tad lax about all this stuff lately. Put it down to the usual pre-Christmas insanity. Well, that and my utter laziness. Here, you will find my review for ATL of Two Door Cinema Club's Christmas homecoming, ably supported by The Cast of Cheers and Not Squares.

This was the first time I had seen Two Door in quite some time, and it was remarkable to note how far they've come. It's fantastic and really quite touching to see a band that you're used to thinking of as just another wee local band (no matter how great you think they are) pack a venue like the Mandela to the rafters, and fill it with so many different types of people. You had your usual scenesters, your indie kids, your older folks who've found something a bit indie/a bit pop that they actually like, and the 'one gig a year' type folks who think that TDCC were discovered by Cool FM, bless 'em.

But every single person was having a ball, singing every word to all their songs - it was a crazy and rather lovely atmosphere, and you couldn't help but feel all proud of and chuffed for the lads who clearly could hardly believe all of this themselves.

They've had one hell of a year, and surely things are set to get even better for them. They were tight as hell, and every single song seemed to be another perfect jangly indie pop hit that puts a smile on your face.

And I have to give a huge shout out to the always ace Not Squares, too. They're just so flipping great, I really have run out of ways to heap praise on them. It was a wee bit too early for them to be on stage, I reckon, since it was still a bit empty at first and people were trying to thaw out from the ridiculous cold and ice outside, but by the end of their set they were just bloody brilliant. Asylum and Release the Bees are absolutely stonkingly massive, huge tunes (and those are some words I never thought I'd see myself write), the type of thing that should make Not Squares absolute superstars the world over. But for right now, it's quite nice to feel like you're part of some select little club that knows of their awesomeness.

Anyway, it was a great wee night altogether, and made one very excited to think of what must be in store for all of the bands on the bill.