Roskilde 2010: The Temper Trap

It’s always interesting to talk to people here in America and ask them how they found out about a band, because I’ve usually found out about them a completely different way (UK radio or media). In the case of the Temper Trap, it was amusing to discover from two new Swedish friends that just like in the UK and America, the Australian band’s ‘Sweet Disposition’ had become a massive hit in Scandinavia, no doubt thanks to its radio-friendly poppiness. But that song isn’t at all representative of the band’s debut album ‘Conditions’, as I learned last April when I caught them on their tour of North America. Or the power of their live show.

The Temper Trap have the unfortunate task of playing late at Odeon on the last day of Roskilde 2010 and right before festival closer Prince, whose faithful had already started queueing up early in the afternoon over at Orange Stage. The masses that had gathered for dance pop band Miike Snow depart before the Aussies’s set, which is slightly worrying. Perhaps lead singer / guitarist Dougy Mandagi rallied his troops before the show, saying to them that if they were keep their audience and not lose them to the sultry Detroit singer, they would have to give the performance of their lives. And that’s exactly what they do.

‘Fader’ launches the punters sky high, the crowd jumping to the rhythm while singing along with the infectious ‘whoo whoo whoos’, Lorenzo Sillitto’s lines nothing short of amazing. ‘Down River’ is similarly charged, the audience shouting back ‘down river, down river!’ at a pleased Mandagi. A change of pace with songs like ‘Love Lost’, ‘Fools’ and ‘Soldier On’ display Mandagi’s falsetto. One of the Swedes grins and describes these as ‘beautifully fragile’. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Rather than detract from the traditional rock show, songs like these showcase the band’s versatility and potential longevity.

Throughout the set, Mandagi plays to the crowd, calling them ‘beautiful’ every chance he gets. A singer ingratiating himself with the audience sometimes feels false, but you get the sense that Mandagi says it with love and mostly because he’s happily bashful from all the love he’s feeling back from the Danish. He says ‘tak’ several times (the Danish word for thank you) but apologises that he’s afraid any other attempts at Danish would embarrass himself. Bless.

The instrumental ‘Drumming Song’ turns into a wild dance party as their longtime touring mates, local heroes the Kissaway Trail, join them onstage to sing along with Mandagi and provide additional percussion with tambourines and hand drums. The crowd is bouncing up and down to the beats and in their bliss, they seem to have forgotten about having to leave early for another act. Adorable are the bear hugs the two bands give each other, after weeks of legging around the world together and becoming good friends. It’s heartwarming.

The last two songs, my personal favourite ‘Science of Fear’ and the aforementioned ‘Sweet Disposition’, are a study of contrasts in mood but both are testament to the band’s talent for writing both engaging rock and pop. If they can keep this up, the sky’s the limit for these rockers from Melbourne. Overall, a blinding performance and a far better end to Roskilde than that bloke who did ‘Purple Rain’ years ago.