The Temper Trap, Birmingham O2 Institute - review

Opening the show were Australian psych-pop group Tempesst, who did well to set the tone for the evening with their groove laden tracks led by vocalist Toma Banjanin's falsetto harmonies. Due to James Arthur playing in an upstairs room, it took the majority of the bands set for the room to fill up, however by the end Tempesst held the attention of a room packed to its brim.

Shooting to fame with hit single 'Sweet Disposition' back in 2008, it's obvious that the majority of the crowd were watching to hear songs from debut album 'Conditions' and they were not disappointed from The Temper Trap.

Tracks such as 'Science of Fear' and 'Love Lost' were met with huge applause, whilst 'Fader' got its first live airing since 2014. Lead vocalist Dougy Mandagy's voice soared in the intimate venue, highlighted best on tracks such as 'Soldier On' and 'Rabbit Hole'.

There were moments within the set that the audience's attention wavered, in part due to successions of slow songs and also the fact the band's sound didn't sound as full as recorded. That said there was certainly a professionalism and craft to the evening's performance, with the sunny fields and cider laden hands of festivals most certainly suited to the bands aesthetic.

As it was the last night of tour, as both guitarists returned after the encore they were greeted with their guitars being wrapped in Christmas paper much to their surprise. And as The Temper Trap drew to a close on their final show of 2016, 'Sweet Disposition' lit up the crowd and saw the band leave the stage to a rapturous applause.