The Cooper Temple Clause: Shepherds Bush Empire, London - 5th April 2007

On Thursday, Snoo and I went to see The Cooper Temple Clause play at Shepherds Bush Empire. I'm a real fan of SBE, and it always (touch wood) seems to be a lovely mild evening everytime I go there. Thursday night was no different, and I soaked up the atmosphere as I wandered across the green towards the venue, stopping intimidantly to take photos. I arrived outside, and gave Snoo a call - she was nearly there which was good. We met, and headed inside. When we got into the venue, it was pretty empty. We grabbed a beer and headed down onto the floor to watch Kubichek, the support band from Newcastle. They weren't bad, but they did get a little repetative after a while. I never think it's fair to judge bands by support slots, as I don't think it gives an accurate impression. After they finished, we moved forward towards the barrier. Snoo went off into the first or second row, while I hung a little further backfor taping purposes. I was a little bit concerned that our position would mean that the recording wouldn't come out too well, but Snoo had a really good view, so we decided to stay put. (In the end the recording came out ok - plus I got to get some decent photos!) TCTC hit the stage at 9:15 and opened the set with 'Head' from the new album. This is the first time I've seen them since the third album was released (my fifth time in total). In the last two shows prior to this I remember thinking how good the new songs sounded live, and I was looking forward to hearing the likes of 'Connect', 'Damage' and 'Homo Sapiens' now that I actually had an idea of what the album versions were like. I didn't have to wait too long to find out! 'Head' was followed by 'Been Training Dogs' (which seems to occupy the second song slot regularly now). This really got the crowd going before they launched into 'Waiting Game' followed by 'Damage'. 'Waiting Game' sounded great, and has a real anthemic, sing-a-long-ability to it. 'Damage' again got the crowd jumping. Another couple of oldies in the forms of 'Film Maker' and 'AIM' came next, before another bought of new material - 'Connect' and 'Once More With Feeling'. 'Once More...' has real live presence, and finished with a huge crescendo which almost lifted off my feet! We weren't subject to quite as much bass as we were during the Concorde 2 show last year, but it wasn't far off! 'Music Box' came next - I wasn't fond of this song when I first heard it on the 'Kick Up The Fire...' album, but the live renditions really add something too it which has really increased my appriciation for it. 'Homo Sapiens' and 'Promises Promises' were then played back to back, to which the crowd responded with an enormous mosh pit! I've kinda grown out of that stage of my gig going life now, but it's still exciting to see others crashing into each other. 'All I See Is You' came as a welcome respite from the chaos, before it all kicked off again as the classic 'Who Needs Enemies?' was rolled out. This is the song that first attracted me to the band, back while I was still in secondary school (it feels like a lifetime ago now!) but it still sounds fresh. 'Blind Pilots' took the main body of the show to a close as the band slipped off stage.

It wasn't long before the "COOO-PERSSSS..." chants started up, and the band returned. Ben, Tom and Dan truned into face each other as they slowly began the into to 'Written Apology'. It was a shortened version from the 10 minute epic that graces the album, and they merged it seamlessly in 'Let's Kill Music'! It's been ages since I've heard this live, and it was a very welcome return! Finally, they closed the performance with the alternate, live version of 'Panzer Attack' which ended in a cacophenous finale as the members of Kubicheki (who had clearly been drinking since their set finished) flooded back on stage to take up backing vocal duties. There was a real positive vide of 'a job well done' as the drum kit and other stage furniture got systematically dismantelled, and both bands left the stage.

It was another great performance from a band who really thrive from the live setting. We've already booked up our tickets for their gig at the Koko at the end of the Month, and I'm already excited!

More photos can been seen here.