Two Door Cinema Club make it to the big leagues at Ally Pally

‘Member those cries about there being no guitar bands? Ya dad might still be talking about the good old days of Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi and Oasis but the idea of the 'big guitar band' is alive and well in 2017. For most bands opening an ordinary night, the idea of a euphoric reaction and bellowing crowds may seem like a myth - but then again, Sundara Karma are no ordinary band. Greeted with a reaction that most headliners would dream of, Oscar and the lads deliver a set that nestles perfectly within the huge pillars and corridors of Alexandra Palace. ‘Youth Is Only Ever Fun In Retrospect’ is a record that deserves the biggest stages, and on the form of tonight - they’ll get it. There’s already a touch of the iconic about frontman Oscar Pollock, commanding the stages that his band were born to fill as they weave between the swaggering ‘Flame’, the instant punch cries of ‘Olympia’ and the arena-sized refrains of ‘Happy Family’ with ease. After the heavyweight grooves of ‘She Said’ and ‘Loveblood’ there’s little doubt about the stages Sundara Karma are destined to fill. To describe Alexandra Palace as a ‘warm-up’ is an odd one but for Circa Waves their slot tonight is a moreish nugget of what’s to come. Heading straight out the traps with ‘Wake Up’, they trigger a punch to the system. Cuts from incoming album ‘Different Creatures’ bolster up ‘Young Chasers’ most sun-filled cuts. Uncompromising and delivering the modern classics of ‘So Long’, ‘Fossils’ and ‘Stuck In My Teeth’, there's a wink and a nod to the grand rooms they’re about to fill. Latest cut ‘Fire That Burns’ rips its own level in the Banger Hotel - whilst the Queens Of The Stone Age-spit of ‘Goodbye’ points to a future where Circa Waves takes those big stages and turns them into their own haven of monster-sized memories. Watch this space, Circa Waves are about to confirm how essential they are. Topping a lineup like this would seem daunting for most but with Two Door Cinema Club, there’s never been any doubt laid upon the coronation of indie-pop’s true kingpins. From the get-go, Two Door deliver. Each and every song is as enthusiastically received as the next and their electric fizzed-pop fusion dives straight to the core and refuses to let go for 90 minutes. Tonight Ally Pally bears witness to the fully-fleshed, fully-realised Two Door Cinema Club that’s always been teased. Latest album ‘Gameshow’ not just gives some new directions, but new life across the board. Cuts from debut album ‘Tourist History’ are met with such a fevered response that you’d mistake them for national anthems but they still find space to breath new life into everything that they’ve created (with a hint to the future with Laura from Anteros jumping on stage for a mesmerising version of ‘The World Is Watching’). There’s joy written across every face as the importance and relevance of a band who defined a moment in time comes right to the forefront. Digital twitches, untouchable moments that become second nature and a higher banger ratio than any band could ever dream of - Two Door Cinema Club’s crowning moment is a realisation of everything they’ve been promising for years. Guitar bands eh?! Times have never sounded so sweet and the celebrations are only just getting started. <em>Photos: Corinne Cumming </em>