Friendly Fires & Theophilus London

Theophilus London opened up the Wednesday, October 26th show at Terminal 5 in New York with the Sara Quin (of Tegan & Sara – QRO spotlight on)-featuring “Why Even Try”, a relatively slow start to the evening that quickly gave way to a dance party.  The Brooklyn rapper showed off his eclectic style in both clothing and musical influences, decked out in a silver sequin-covered shirt and showing off diverse tracks like the chilled-out “Flying Overseas” (produced by Devonté Hynes) and the fast-paced summer single “Girls Girls $”.  Finishing his set by jumping into the crowd, London showed that he has the potential to move his career much, much further since the release of his debut album Timez Are Weird These Days.

London may have seemed like an unlikely pairing with English electro-rockers Friendly Fires, but each act steadily held its own.  Relentlessly energetic frontman Ed Macfarlane made the most of Terminal 5’s spacious stage (QRO venue review) with his signature dancing style, moving along to the trio’s polished-and-proven tracks.  Macfarlane’s sincere delivery, a crucial part of the Friendly Fires sound on record, was even more assertive live.  His emotive voice brought resonance to tracks like “Live Those Days Tonight”, “Show Me Lights”, and “Hurting”, which he noted as his favorite song from sophomore album Pala (QRO review).

With deft performances from guitarist Ed Gibson and drummer Jack Savidge, the dance side of Friendly Fires’ sound didn’t suffer, either.  Bright renditions of “On Board” and “Jump In the Pool” were natural favorites for the loosely packed crowd.  Finishing with 2009’s crisp, spare single “Kiss of Life,” the set felt like a job well done.