Concert Review: Tokyo Police Club at the Palace Theatre
By Dianne Miranda, September 28 2024—
On Jan. 23, Ontario-based indie rock band Tokyo Police Club (TPC) announced their supposedly last show in Toronto for Nov. 29. This news was met with an overwhelming response and a sold out show in minutes. On March 12, they released their final tour schedule and was again met with the same over pouring support.
In their nearly 20-year career, TPC produced eight full-length albums and a number of EPs, capturing the hearts of listeners with fan favourites, “Your English is Good”, “Bambi” and “Nature of the Experiment” among many others. TPC played their last show in Calgary at the Palace Theatre on a sold out Sept. 17 show.
This is the second time I have seen the band live and although it has been over a week, I am still playing the songs from their setlist all day, riding high and grasping on to the last bit of nostalgia I felt during the show.
That Tuesday was a night filled with many special bittersweet moments. They opened with “Favourite Colour”, a reverb-soaked song full of hanging pauses, accompanied by amazing stage lighting and ended the beginning of the set with a rainbow highlighting that this tour is indeed a celebration. This was then followed by some classics from Champ like the rushing, atmospheric guitar sweep of “Breakneck Speed” and the gripping refrain of “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)”.
There is a certain humility, honesty and bareness to TPC. The four members, dressed like they could be one of their hundreds of fans in the crowd, moved on to “Centennial”, a graceful punch of long-winded lyrics.
We then went down memory lane as the band recollected their first show in Calgary, telling of the story of how they had to evacuate the venue, return to the show and in the process, lost some rented guitar equipment. This reminiscing was partnered with the reverberating guitar and drums, hampered with such a degree of monotony of “New Blues” (which did come with a warning that they were going to play a sad song).
To deter the audience from crying, they shifted the atmosphere and mood through “Simple Dude” and its catchy chorus, “my eyes, your eyes, pulling me in closer”.
The early half of the set was my most memorable moment from the night as they played all of my favourites back to back — from the familiar sounds and perfect combinations of the jangly guitars with the stretched out synths of “Pch”, to the chiming motivations of “I just want to make it through one more night, tonight” of “Tunnel Vision”.
The Palace Theatre echoed with such beautiful melodies from the crowd singing along during the next four songs from Champ. Nostalgia continued to grace and flow from one track to another as they played “Hands Reversed”, “End of a Spark”, “Bambi” and “Frankenstein”.
The next moments that followed were so intimate as keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook and drummer Greg Alsop exited and left vocalist and bassist Dave Monks alone to play an acoustic rendition of “The Harrowing Adventures…”, serenading the audience. “Ready to Win” and Monks’ 26 f-bombs further slowed down the show allowing the crowd to cling to what would be left after the night.
The theme of clusters of songs from the same album continues with those from A Lesson in Crime as the rest of the band joins Monks. Once again, they blitzed the crowd with their iconic and signature indie rock sounds.
The four also have amazing chemistry and memorable stage presence that made the already intimate show much more special as they snuck in a head lay or two on each other during and in between songs.
As the sun set outside of the Palace Theatre, TPC were starting to wrap up their set with their first encore with the eight and a half minute long “Argentina, Pts I, II, III” which made the wishes of some people in the audience come true. Despite hooking the crowd like it was the beginning of the set, “Hot Tonight”, with its straightforward pop rock bewitching hook beat, closes the first encore.
As the band played the closing songs of the second encore and the set — “Cheer It On” and “Your English Is Good” — many in the theatre still did not fully realize that this night would be the last time they would see the band live.
The Final Tour extends until November, but with the last four shows in Toronto already sold out. Writing this article made it real and concrete that I would only be able to enjoy TPC’s music through streaming services from now on. Nevertheless, I was glad to see them again with good company who enjoy their music all the same way.