Citadels, Two Door Cinema Club - O2 Academy Oxford

19th March 2010

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With comparisons made to the likes of the Flaming Lips and the mighty MGMT, Citadels were welcomed onstage with bated breath at the compact upstairs room of Oxford’s O2 Academy. The trio have embarked on a mission to add pizzazz to the musical offerings that were to appear soon after; namely Two Door Cinema Club who it turns out were less interesting than watching paint dry (more on that disappointment later). When London’s Citadels royally took the stage they were greeted with a sea of plaid shirts and flattened collars, all tip-toeing like spooked meerkats, eagerly wanting to catch a glimpse of the musical offering in front of them.

Their eyes were met with a synth set-up commanded by Lucy Taylor, a blonde-haired electro rocker that looked casual yet practical in a vibrant yellow anorak. Next to her was front man Stefan Ferguson whose constant stage-strut engineered a crowd reaction to the contagious hand-clapping that infects nearly all of the Citadels’ tracks. Then there was the rather enthusiastic guitarist-come-keyboardist-come-drummer Jimmy Lazers, who thrust his wand of talent all over the stage (Oo er, Frankie Howard-esque Ed.), creating an energetic performance that never left your eyes (or ears for that matter) feeling bored. The disco ball that hung sparkling in the centre of the venue then reflected this musical menagerie in every corner and on every wall, mirroring the euphoria onstage.

It was after the first track that the heat really started to turn up. The vocals were no longer drowned out by the heavy tones of drums and guitars, and were instead brought to the fore with help from the synth work and of course the all-important presence of a flute. The lights above even started flashing which was a nice touch, although it has to be said that the focus was purely on the music and not on the light show. In fact, they ‘broke it down’ with so much force that afterwards Stefan got walloped in the face by his mic stand. He then insistently blamed the microphone malfunction on his fellow guitarist, stating “that’s what you get between lovers”.

Before launching into ‘Sons of Clovis II’, a B-side to next floor-shaking single ‘Golden Islands’, Ferguson announced that they were going to “take it up a notch”. I personally didn’t think this was possible, my ears already felt like they’d been stuffed with cotton balls. Nevertheless, it was Taylor’s turn to take the helm, and my oh my did she steer it well. Her haunting vocals captivated all in the room, creating technicoloured sound waves that carried the Citadels’ electronic splendour into every ear.

The magical mystery tour that was the Citadels’ set reached its climax with ‘The Chemical Song’, an infectious track that featured a slow beat transported by heavy drums into an unknown world; a world where there’s blonde girls in yellow anoraks, and a man who looks like your Uncle on the drums. Like its counterparts, it contained happy beats and a gorgeous melody that made you sing along even if you don’t know the words, deservedly gaining the best reaction of the night.

It was most definitely refreshing to both see and hear a band that wasn’t scared of moving things around a bit. It added not only diversity, but also intrigue into what on earth they couldn’t do.

I wish the same could be said for Two Door Cinema Club who merely ticked one song off after another, coming onstage with a rock pop swagger that wasn’t seen through to the end. Although they provided entertainment in the form of jaunty dancing, they just couldn’t compete with the Citadels in terms of both volume and strut. Unsurprisingly though their tracks were well received particularly by those at the front, who continuously blurted out the lyrics like a well-rehearsed choir, with the crowd putting in more effort than the band.