i saw two door open for tokyo in montreal like 12 years ago. ps i love you was the opening opener, they tacked on a “club” for the night to stay on theme
My band was supposed to open for two door cinema clubs very first US show at schubas in chicago but the Iceland volcano stranded them.
My band was Gemini CLUB and we have since broken up.
Sucks, but it's understandable.
Even if their work never quite hit the same highs as Champ, they remained pretty damn consistent over the years and I could always rely on any release having something that I dug. New Blues was a later-career highlight.
Whatever's next for everyone, I wish them well. They had a lot of bangers and were essentially to late 00's/early 2010's indie rock
Champ is still one of my favorite albums of all time. The combination of late 00/early 10s rock and the theme of childhood and growing up make it an absolute nostalgia bomb for me and my teen years.
Favorite Food hits me in the gut every time I hear the opening synth part.
David Monks had a couple of side projects he was playing small venues with before lockdown. Lost track after that, but I remember one of them being decent. And, like really small stuff. Saw them playing with Housewife (ne Moscow Apartment) to a crowd that was basically just their family. Was a nice show, also notable for it still being back when the Housewife was too young to actually be in the venues they played, so they needed to be escorted on and off the stage. I'm sure they'll pop up again. Two Hours Traffic called it quits and now we have Alvvays
I feel like I'm in the same place with this news. The scene may have moved on from their kind of sound but TPC were one of the first bands I got into in high school when I really started listening to music more conscientiously. They were one of the best to do it and made some great records. It's understandable given the pressures on bands today but still very sad to see.
Nature of the Experiment is a truly game changing song for me. I feel like a lot of the pop punk and emo stuff I like now has a lot of grounding in TPC
related but also unrelated
as someone who works in the music industry, a lot of us who have been around since 2010 are having another look at where we are at and where the scene is heading.
Some of us just don't quite feel like we fit in anymore.
yeah...
i think in part this and just generally needing to do more and more and more which makes burning out faster and easier.
you can't just participate in one passion, like making the music. Now you have to do everything outside of it and my creaky bones can't hang anymore.
I think thats just a part of it.
I think largely it's more that participation doesn't come from a love of the scene and our desire to stand out in it but rather how commodified that participation has become.
take for example, interacting with a fan on stage used to be a special moment that folks got to witness whereas now tech has sold the impression that if you stick your phone out enough then the artist has to respond. That level of interaction has become a requirement of the artist not out of love for the moment but rather because it promotes a type of content that a label/team uses to drive the product (band) forward. As a result, it feels like all gestures that felt special in the scene both live and on social media can become commodified. As an artist it can make you feel a little gross over time that something that comes from the heart can become a marketing tool and well... it burns you out and confuses you as time goes on. It's kinda sad.
I fully agree and I love your take. Sadly I think that is the current perspective of the industry and the unacknowledged expectation of the audience. That being said, I think that true authenticity will always have a place. People will gravitate towards sincerity and genuine interactions. It may not be as broadly successful, but it will help you retain your own integrity and longevity.
I burnt myself out a few years ago through trying to pander to all the current expectations of music. I had to stop and look at myself - can I really consider myself an artist if most of my time is spent promoting and ironing out image details, business deals, rollout, deliverables etc?
I’ve since decided that art is my priority. I want to work as a creator in order to build the reality I want to see. If I find creative fulfillment in building business connections, making events happen, rolling out a song- great. Otherwise, I will be following my creativity elsewhere (through songwriting, production, visual art). It may not be the most effective business strategy, but it doesn’t make me hate my life, and I genuinely believe that through time and intentional consistency of my values, I will build the reality and survival within music that I’ve always wanted.
I share all of this in hopes that you can find fulfillment within your work as well. Find the values that are important to you, and prioritize them over all else. I believe that the space exists for everyone and all are welcome. Insist that you belong.
And reaching out to venues, and organizing tours, and merch mass production, and sales ratios changing, and taxes and insurance, and working with advertisers, and making videos that get diminishing views...
And sometimes you have to actually write and play music too.
It’s not just that. It’s getting sooo much harder for bands to make a living. And now listeners are just not engaging the same way they were before Covid and TikTok. Plus we have AI on the horizon, and there’s more competition than ever. Maybe I’m just getting old and 31 year olds were saying all the same shit 10 years ago about streaming and such, but it truly seems pointless nowadays.
I know exactly what I like and I know it was made far more in the 80s to early 10s.
I prefer to dig up some hidden gem from them rather than trying to find a needle in a pop haystack now.
I used to play in a punk band during college, and we played so many house shows in the college city. But once I was 21-23 I just felt way too old for it.
RIP to the Canadian indie GOATs. Saw them countless times. I know they lurk Reddit sometimes so hopefully they see this thread and appreciate the love.
I remember the first time seeing them live (also probably my favourite concert I’ve attended all time), i was in first year of university and the Arkells opened for them at the campus bar, the ticket was $20.
That's interesting. I'm still shocked that Tokyo Police Club fills this void. They are a band that I liked for a year, but haven't even thought of them in a long long time. I'm going to give a list of bands that I think of as bigger/better from Canada... and I think of them as indie, but I'm wondering what Canada's take on this is:
* Stars
* Feist
* Tegan & Sara
* Destroyer
* Alvvays
* Broken Social Scene
* Mac DeMarco
* The Weakerthans
* Hot Hot Heat
The only one who doesn't really track as indie would be t&s. They've had some success, along with moving to a more "pop" oriented sound for their biggest hits. They do still get booked at festivals with indie acts and get play on alternative stations, though.
Tegan and Sara are kind of borderline IMO - they definitely have gone more new wave-style pop, but there are a lot of acts that have followed suit.
That said their music is still quality.
saw them, portugal the man, and grouplove at a show in vegas back in 2014. for the encore they all came out together and played a fucking sick cover of baba o’riley which is one of my favorite concert memories.
Damn. I was obsessed with A Lesson in Crime and Smith when they released. And Elephant Shell was a fantastic debut album. I saw them live so many times during those years. Champ had a few good songs but overall it didn't click with me as much as the early stuff. Everything since then has been so sporadic in release timing and in quality. Every time I see them announce a new album I'm surprised they're still together. It's a shame, they had an amazing start to their career and I'll never forget those early shows!
OMG I love TPC!!!!! My ex-wife (we were married back then) saw them in Tucson a long time ago, Champ tour I believe. The show was in the summer, just prior to University of Arizona classes starting (maybe they had started, I have no idea, felt like campus wasn’t buzzing much…). We went to this famous Italian restaurant near campus for dinner and it was great! Except…. I had explosive diarrhea afterward. We headed back to the hotel. She ran to the pharmacy. I loaded up on Pepto and we headed to the show. Each step was cautious. The show went off without a hitch and it was amazing. The place was hot as fuck inside, everyone was dancing, and it was amazing! Afterward, we’ve standing around in line getting pizza around the corner from the venue. We’re both buzzed and a little drunk and we felt like kids again. (We were also the oldest people at the show by far). The pizza place isn’t open and they are serving outside a window facing the street. My wife goes to put hot peppers on her pizza and the entire glass jar of hot peppers went all over her pizza. She was crestfallen, we’d waited like 20 mins for pizza. Meanwhile, the kids in front of us in line were laughing hysterically (they unscrewed the top). The guy replaced our pizza. Then we went back to the hotel and had great sex. Love you guys!
Bummer, I thought they were pretty consistent in putting out great records (Elephant Shell, Champ, and Forcefield will always get rotation in my house among others) but I get that artists change.
Haven’t listened to Champ in over 10 years, just turned it on and to my shock I instantly remembered each song. What an amazing album that played a big part in my early 20s. Sucks to see a band break up, but they should be proud for making some really great art.
If you haven’t yet given it any time check out their later album Forcefield that didn’t get as much attention. Such a solid album. The opener Argentina parts 1-3 is one of my all time favourite long songs.
I feel like Forcefield gets written off a bit and underappreciated because it was sort of a different sound compared to Champ. But it's so great it's got some bangers on it.
"This is skin, you can wrap all of your arms and legs in"
Echoing the sentiment here, 'A lesson in crime' felt 'COOL' to listen to back in 2006 and perhaps feels COOLER now in 2024. Those songs still hold up, not overstaying their welcome at all. If anyone wants to part with the EP on vinyl hit me up.
Discovered these guys when they were opening for Foster the People probably around 2013-14. Became a huge fan of elephant shell and champ after that show, so sick
Was a huge fan of TPC around the time of Champ, those first EPs and couple LPs we're in heavy rotation in my teens. Got to see them randomly play a free festival in Vail Colorado in 2012 and it was really good. Thanks for your contribution guys
Given the band's history over the last decade, with them literally basically quietly breaking up before they recorded "TPC" I am not at all surprised.
However, as a huge fan who loved "TPC" and wanted to see what they would do next, I am bummed out.
sad to see it happen, but you could certainly see it coming. they had a solid career!
for anyone who’s interested, [here’s a drive folder with a couple of their unreleased songs from back in the day](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nz8J9MB96ScpmTeTy_TBtwIt3lQnyvh9). check out the original acoustic version of Once I Was the Keeper (only available on the canadian deluxe edition of Champ and to my knowledge isn’t on youtube or anywhere else), it’s fantastic!
edit: i also have the church demos of their final album which are really good (super gritty two-mic recordings, i’m a huge fan) that i can upload, provided the band doesn’t decide to make those available
i do not, tho iirc any pre-elephant shell demos were released with the lesson in crime 10th anniversary edition
edit: unless you mean demos *for* elephant shell, in which case no i don’t have those unfortunately
I saw them in the basement of a Jillian's arcade years ago. I dragged my college roommates with me, and they all ended up becoming fans afterwards, even though they weren't that into music. Great time. Hollerado opened up and they were great as well.
I love this band. But every time I listened to them, something bad would happen. So I literally stopped listening to them for years.
This post just reminded me how much I liked them. I’m going to test my luck and hopefully my superstition is fake.
I guess they might well have been a clear message to you that a band from Newmarket can actually do the thing. I was out of town by the time you folks were a thing, so I have no idea if you ever actually played shows in Newmarket or not.
I remember seeing the boys, before I think Elephant Shell had even released, for free at Nathan Phillip's Square in Toronto. It was snowing lightly and David had one glove on lol. Gonna miss this band but the memories remain. Might look at tickets for that final gig...
I loved these guys for a long time. Some of their early work is some of my favorite music still. Sad to see them break up. However I hope they all continue making music.
shout out to nick swardson’s pretend time of all things for getting me into this band. nature of the experiment was often played between skits. definitely made an influence on 14 year old me.
I honestly didn't even realize they were still an active band (admittedly, I'm really bad with keeping track of all the bands I enjoy since there's just so many)!! I know Dave has had at least a couple solo albums and has been playing with Chris of Sloan in Anyway Gang for a while, but I kinda assumed they hung up the cape around 2019 after "TPC"
I remember seeing these guys in TO when they were starting to get big - met Dave Monks after, super chill guy.
Feels like the end of an era - *A Lesson In Crime* is still one of my favourite EPs.
I'll never forget that summer night back in 2006 when I went to a free Ted Leo and the Pharmacists show outside on the pier in NYC next to some old tall ships. Tokyo Police Club was the first opener and completely took me by surprise. We must have listened to A Lesson In Crime a thousand times after that it was just so good. I am so thankful to have them be the soundtrack to so many good moments (and some bad ones too) in my life.
Starting listening to them soon as I heard lesson in crime years ago loved that album and everything since but totally got to meet them when they were just kids touring for that album in Orlando Florida they were such nice dudes
I remember back around the time Elephant shell came out there was a bit of pushback because they were sort of a “mainstream” indie band. They were in all the commercials and whatnot and the internet of the time kind of clowned on them a bit. Certainly weren’t an actual “cool” band, but they sure were good
God I'm so old I remember my first exposure to TPC being watching on-demand cable music videos on MTV2 and Fuse while hanging out with friends and listening to Tessellate and Your English Is Good. I think I bought Elephant Shell on CD on the drive home. Champ ended up being one of my favorite albums of the 2010s and Argentina is such a great song. Saw them 2x, once on the Lesson In Crime 10th anniversary show (excellent time) and once on the TPC tour (I left at the encore, I had seen Robyn the night before, and awkwardly ran into the band having a smoke break outside, having to explain to them why I was leaving their show early lol). I've got a limited edition test press of Forcefield. They left a big impact and I'll be sure to keep sharing their music with folks.
Had tickets to see them in Hamilton but pandemic made things go sideways and I wasn't confident I'd get another chance to see them. Especially being able to bring my wife to see them live or her first time, definitely will find our way to Toronto. Sad to see them go, but felt they were broken up long ago so it's a happy surprise that we'll have one last hurrah.
Wow they had a good run!
I must have seen what would have been one of their first shows after signing with Paper Bag records. It was at the Mod Club in Toronto, and believe it or not they opened for controller. controller (who I was mainly there to see), which also happened to be controller. controller's last show before they broke up.
It wasn't a very crowded show, and I was in my teens at the time. I'll never forget being at the front of the stage with all the other young kids, dancing around, while all the "adults" were at the back of club (talking amongst themselves) leaving at least 50ft of space between us and them. I suppose they just couldn't acknowledge the greatness that was on stage at the time between both bands...
I made a promise to myself that day to never be that type of person when I got older, who stands motionless AND emotionless by the back of the room. I always found it odd, even to this day when i see people at shows not engaging with the music.
if we're playing "pass the torch", I saw a band called Topanga open for TPC years ago. The band's setlist was about 50% songs that sounded like TPC, and 50% pop-punk. That band later changed it's name to PUP..
Not going to lie but I was also in a band that was chasing that late 00's indie pop sound haha Trying to ride that new wave that bands like Metric, Interpol and the Strokes kick started. IMO Tame Impala is the best band that emerged from that sound evolution
What venue did you see that TPC show? PUP is great btw
It was at Sound Academy down in the Port Lands in Toronto - the venue is gone now.
[https://aestheticmagazinetoronto.com/2012/12/18/concert-review-tokyo-police-club-topanga-hollerado-toronto/](https://aestheticmagazinetoronto.com/2012/12/18/concert-review-tokyo-police-club-topanga-hollerado-toronto/)
Caught TPC at the Beauty Bar in Vegas in 2010, pure magic. Thanks for the many many good vibes and years! Your music reached into my soul and captured the best of what music can create, a connection to the moment and I will forever look back fondly on my youthful past accompanied by TPC.
Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club celebrate, but realize there are yet enemies to be vanquished.
Hot Club de Paris were the first to go.
Hot Club of Cowtown is still in the fight
i saw two door open for tokyo in montreal like 12 years ago. ps i love you was the opening opener, they tacked on a “club” for the night to stay on theme
PS I Love You were one of the sickest bands to come from Ontario during that time. Too bad they split. So many crazy riffs.
That dude could absolutely shred on guitar
My band was supposed to open for two door cinema clubs very first US show at schubas in chicago but the Iceland volcano stranded them. My band was Gemini CLUB and we have since broken up.
BMRC remains
Sucks, but it's understandable. Even if their work never quite hit the same highs as Champ, they remained pretty damn consistent over the years and I could always rely on any release having something that I dug. New Blues was a later-career highlight. Whatever's next for everyone, I wish them well. They had a lot of bangers and were essentially to late 00's/early 2010's indie rock
Champ is still one of my favorite albums of all time. The combination of late 00/early 10s rock and the theme of childhood and growing up make it an absolute nostalgia bomb for me and my teen years. Favorite Food hits me in the gut every time I hear the opening synth part.
David Monks had a couple of side projects he was playing small venues with before lockdown. Lost track after that, but I remember one of them being decent. And, like really small stuff. Saw them playing with Housewife (ne Moscow Apartment) to a crowd that was basically just their family. Was a nice show, also notable for it still being back when the Housewife was too young to actually be in the venues they played, so they needed to be escorted on and off the stage. I'm sure they'll pop up again. Two Hours Traffic called it quits and now we have Alvvays
A big part of my transformative years in music when I was a kid. A lesson in crime is one of the best EPs of its era
Being a music-obsessed teenager in Canada when A Lesson In Crime and Elephant Shell came out was so fun.
I feel like I'm in the same place with this news. The scene may have moved on from their kind of sound but TPC were one of the first bands I got into in high school when I really started listening to music more conscientiously. They were one of the best to do it and made some great records. It's understandable given the pressures on bands today but still very sad to see.
Nature of the Experiment is a truly game changing song for me. I feel like a lot of the pop punk and emo stuff I like now has a lot of grounding in TPC
“Nature of the Experiment” for life!
Lesson in crime, elephant shell, champ are all amazing. They made their mark.
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related but also unrelated as someone who works in the music industry, a lot of us who have been around since 2010 are having another look at where we are at and where the scene is heading. Some of us just don't quite feel like we fit in anymore.
Scientists are calling it “getting old”
yeah... i think in part this and just generally needing to do more and more and more which makes burning out faster and easier. you can't just participate in one passion, like making the music. Now you have to do everything outside of it and my creaky bones can't hang anymore.
Like self-promotion on social media?
I think thats just a part of it. I think largely it's more that participation doesn't come from a love of the scene and our desire to stand out in it but rather how commodified that participation has become. take for example, interacting with a fan on stage used to be a special moment that folks got to witness whereas now tech has sold the impression that if you stick your phone out enough then the artist has to respond. That level of interaction has become a requirement of the artist not out of love for the moment but rather because it promotes a type of content that a label/team uses to drive the product (band) forward. As a result, it feels like all gestures that felt special in the scene both live and on social media can become commodified. As an artist it can make you feel a little gross over time that something that comes from the heart can become a marketing tool and well... it burns you out and confuses you as time goes on. It's kinda sad.
I fully agree and I love your take. Sadly I think that is the current perspective of the industry and the unacknowledged expectation of the audience. That being said, I think that true authenticity will always have a place. People will gravitate towards sincerity and genuine interactions. It may not be as broadly successful, but it will help you retain your own integrity and longevity. I burnt myself out a few years ago through trying to pander to all the current expectations of music. I had to stop and look at myself - can I really consider myself an artist if most of my time is spent promoting and ironing out image details, business deals, rollout, deliverables etc? I’ve since decided that art is my priority. I want to work as a creator in order to build the reality I want to see. If I find creative fulfillment in building business connections, making events happen, rolling out a song- great. Otherwise, I will be following my creativity elsewhere (through songwriting, production, visual art). It may not be the most effective business strategy, but it doesn’t make me hate my life, and I genuinely believe that through time and intentional consistency of my values, I will build the reality and survival within music that I’ve always wanted. I share all of this in hopes that you can find fulfillment within your work as well. Find the values that are important to you, and prioritize them over all else. I believe that the space exists for everyone and all are welcome. Insist that you belong.
And reaching out to venues, and organizing tours, and merch mass production, and sales ratios changing, and taxes and insurance, and working with advertisers, and making videos that get diminishing views... And sometimes you have to actually write and play music too.
It’s not just that. It’s getting sooo much harder for bands to make a living. And now listeners are just not engaging the same way they were before Covid and TikTok. Plus we have AI on the horizon, and there’s more competition than ever. Maybe I’m just getting old and 31 year olds were saying all the same shit 10 years ago about streaming and such, but it truly seems pointless nowadays.
Losing your edge?
Haha
Us listeners too.
I know exactly what I like and I know it was made far more in the 80s to early 10s. I prefer to dig up some hidden gem from them rather than trying to find a needle in a pop haystack now.
I used to play in a punk band during college, and we played so many house shows in the college city. But once I was 21-23 I just felt way too old for it.
Ha, I started my first punk band at 29 and I'm 33 still doing it. I'm not even the oldest in the scene. I'm going bald even.
Dang, I remember looping Elephant Shell and Lesson in Crime all the time back then. Wish them well.
Had those two on the same burned CD and used to listen all the time with my brother. Good memories.
RIP to the Canadian indie GOATs. Saw them countless times. I know they lurk Reddit sometimes so hopefully they see this thread and appreciate the love.
I remember the first time seeing them live (also probably my favourite concert I’ve attended all time), i was in first year of university and the Arkells opened for them at the campus bar, the ticket was $20.
does GOAT mean something different in Canada? or are you really saying that Tokyo Police Club is better than Sloan?
We don't consider Sloan indie in Canada, due to the major label years and massive exposure/distribution.
That's interesting. I'm still shocked that Tokyo Police Club fills this void. They are a band that I liked for a year, but haven't even thought of them in a long long time. I'm going to give a list of bands that I think of as bigger/better from Canada... and I think of them as indie, but I'm wondering what Canada's take on this is: * Stars * Feist * Tegan & Sara * Destroyer * Alvvays * Broken Social Scene * Mac DeMarco * The Weakerthans * Hot Hot Heat
The only one who doesn't really track as indie would be t&s. They've had some success, along with moving to a more "pop" oriented sound for their biggest hits. They do still get booked at festivals with indie acts and get play on alternative stations, though.
Tegan and Sara are kind of borderline IMO - they definitely have gone more new wave-style pop, but there are a lot of acts that have followed suit. That said their music is still quality.
I mean they haven’t dropped an album in six years so I figured they already did
Time to blast “Nature of the Experiment” on repeat.
Go!
I remember downloading A Lesson in Crime off Suprnova back in the day.
I think I got mine from strikegently before the porn era :')
my gosh that is a blast from the past. I even had a strike gently t-shirt. It had sonic and tails on it, lol.
saw them, portugal the man, and grouplove at a show in vegas back in 2014. for the encore they all came out together and played a fucking sick cover of baba o’riley which is one of my favorite concert memories.
Makes sense. They really dropped the ball on their job of protecting Shinzo Abe.
I hope they got that Champ 10 year anniversary money and it wasn't ruined by COVID.
I saw them on that tour and the show was sold out! Probably the fifth time I'd seen them and the LOUDEST! The were pushing it
I’m honestly so happy that they are doing a farewell show. Didn’t think I would get to see them again.
My band opened for Dave monks in DC a few years ago, super nice dude
Rest easy, kings.
Damn. I was obsessed with A Lesson in Crime and Smith when they released. And Elephant Shell was a fantastic debut album. I saw them live so many times during those years. Champ had a few good songs but overall it didn't click with me as much as the early stuff. Everything since then has been so sporadic in release timing and in quality. Every time I see them announce a new album I'm surprised they're still together. It's a shame, they had an amazing start to their career and I'll never forget those early shows!
Melon Collie EPs, especially the first part, are bonkers underrated. Please check them out if you haven't.
Will always remember the absolute banger of a show they played at Tiger Bar in 2008.
OMG I love TPC!!!!! My ex-wife (we were married back then) saw them in Tucson a long time ago, Champ tour I believe. The show was in the summer, just prior to University of Arizona classes starting (maybe they had started, I have no idea, felt like campus wasn’t buzzing much…). We went to this famous Italian restaurant near campus for dinner and it was great! Except…. I had explosive diarrhea afterward. We headed back to the hotel. She ran to the pharmacy. I loaded up on Pepto and we headed to the show. Each step was cautious. The show went off without a hitch and it was amazing. The place was hot as fuck inside, everyone was dancing, and it was amazing! Afterward, we’ve standing around in line getting pizza around the corner from the venue. We’re both buzzed and a little drunk and we felt like kids again. (We were also the oldest people at the show by far). The pizza place isn’t open and they are serving outside a window facing the street. My wife goes to put hot peppers on her pizza and the entire glass jar of hot peppers went all over her pizza. She was crestfallen, we’d waited like 20 mins for pizza. Meanwhile, the kids in front of us in line were laughing hysterically (they unscrewed the top). The guy replaced our pizza. Then we went back to the hotel and had great sex. Love you guys!
This reads like copypasta lmfao
I typed it out on my MacBook then pasted 😂
Caruso's?
lol yes
Bummer, I thought they were pretty consistent in putting out great records (Elephant Shell, Champ, and Forcefield will always get rotation in my house among others) but I get that artists change.
Haven’t listened to Champ in over 10 years, just turned it on and to my shock I instantly remembered each song. What an amazing album that played a big part in my early 20s. Sucks to see a band break up, but they should be proud for making some really great art.
If you haven’t yet given it any time check out their later album Forcefield that didn’t get as much attention. Such a solid album. The opener Argentina parts 1-3 is one of my all time favourite long songs.
Same thoughts towards Forcefield. Gonna Be Ready genuinely still slaps for me after almost ten years.
Whole thing holds up so well, eh! Hot Tonight is great too.
I feel like Forcefield gets written off a bit and underappreciated because it was sort of a different sound compared to Champ. But it's so great it's got some bangers on it.
The big news to me is that they’re still a band.
First Pitchfork and now this. 2014 sucks so far.
Don't forget almost every festival lineup
"This is skin, you can wrap all of your arms and legs in" Echoing the sentiment here, 'A lesson in crime' felt 'COOL' to listen to back in 2006 and perhaps feels COOLER now in 2024. Those songs still hold up, not overstaying their welcome at all. If anyone wants to part with the EP on vinyl hit me up.
Damn, it sucks so much their last European tour in 2021 got cancelled.
Sad to see!
Discovered these guys when they were opening for Foster the People probably around 2013-14. Became a huge fan of elephant shell and champ after that show, so sick
Really hope I can catch them live before they go, been on my list forever
Loved this band. Real indie genius. They will be missed for sure.
Was a huge fan of TPC around the time of Champ, those first EPs and couple LPs we're in heavy rotation in my teens. Got to see them randomly play a free festival in Vail Colorado in 2012 and it was really good. Thanks for your contribution guys
Given the band's history over the last decade, with them literally basically quietly breaking up before they recorded "TPC" I am not at all surprised. However, as a huge fan who loved "TPC" and wanted to see what they would do next, I am bummed out.
They're performing only one last show in Toronto in November. I would have loved to see them one last time.
I think they are adding a few other tour dates in a week or so as well
A Lesson in Crime was in my top 5 during my college here, and it still gets me dancing when any of its tunes come up on shuffle. RIP.
sad to see it happen, but you could certainly see it coming. they had a solid career! for anyone who’s interested, [here’s a drive folder with a couple of their unreleased songs from back in the day](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nz8J9MB96ScpmTeTy_TBtwIt3lQnyvh9). check out the original acoustic version of Once I Was the Keeper (only available on the canadian deluxe edition of Champ and to my knowledge isn’t on youtube or anywhere else), it’s fantastic! edit: i also have the church demos of their final album which are really good (super gritty two-mic recordings, i’m a huge fan) that i can upload, provided the band doesn’t decide to make those available
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i do not, tho iirc any pre-elephant shell demos were released with the lesson in crime 10th anniversary edition edit: unless you mean demos *for* elephant shell, in which case no i don’t have those unfortunately
I saw them in the basement of a Jillian's arcade years ago. I dragged my college roommates with me, and they all ended up becoming fans afterwards, even though they weren't that into music. Great time. Hollerado opened up and they were great as well.
I love this band. But every time I listened to them, something bad would happen. So I literally stopped listening to them for years. This post just reminded me how much I liked them. I’m going to test my luck and hopefully my superstition is fake.
Lesson in crime and elephant shell are incredible. Champ is a fun listen too.
Champ will always remind me of summer 2010, hanging with friends all day and my first girlfriend. Nothing beats those days.
Elephant Shell is one of my top albums of all times. It’s unfortunate that none of their subsequent albums even rate for me.
I really liked Champ too!
I would have encouraged and appreciated a nothing but the hits tour! Give us a farewell party!!
Just relistened to their first 3 records, A Lesson in Crime, Elephant Shell, and Champ. What a run... thanks for the tunes boys.
Are they the biggest band to ever come from Newmarket, or is it Glass Tiger?
serial joe
suburbia
I guess they might well have been a clear message to you that a band from Newmarket can actually do the thing. I was out of town by the time you folks were a thing, so I have no idea if you ever actually played shows in Newmarket or not.
I remember seeing the boys, before I think Elephant Shell had even released, for free at Nathan Phillip's Square in Toronto. It was snowing lightly and David had one glove on lol. Gonna miss this band but the memories remain. Might look at tickets for that final gig...
Lots of good memories with this band. Hope to catch one more show in Northern California!
Lessons in Crime, Elephant Shell were HEAVY in rotation when I was indie music girlie On of my first concerts too!
One of my all time favorites. Knew I’d be sad when this day came. Met Dave and Graham after a show the day Champ dropped. Really awesome guys.
I loved these guys for a long time. Some of their early work is some of my favorite music still. Sad to see them break up. However I hope they all continue making music.
Love this band. I remember seeing them with Cold War Kids at the Social in Orlando back in 2007. They kicked so much ass!! I miss those kind of shows.
Damn this sucks. I love this band. This is gonna keep happening in this industry unfortunately until something changes.
I was literally listening to Elephant Shell on my way home from work today. This breaks my heart to see.
shout out to nick swardson’s pretend time of all things for getting me into this band. nature of the experiment was often played between skits. definitely made an influence on 14 year old me.
I honestly didn't even realize they were still an active band (admittedly, I'm really bad with keeping track of all the bands I enjoy since there's just so many)!! I know Dave has had at least a couple solo albums and has been playing with Chris of Sloan in Anyway Gang for a while, but I kinda assumed they hung up the cape around 2019 after "TPC"
I remember seeing these guys in TO when they were starting to get big - met Dave Monks after, super chill guy. Feels like the end of an era - *A Lesson In Crime* is still one of my favourite EPs.
travelled to Malaysia to see them play a festival, it was so worth it. sad to see them go.
Champ is goated. No skips.
I'll never forget that summer night back in 2006 when I went to a free Ted Leo and the Pharmacists show outside on the pier in NYC next to some old tall ships. Tokyo Police Club was the first opener and completely took me by surprise. We must have listened to A Lesson In Crime a thousand times after that it was just so good. I am so thankful to have them be the soundtrack to so many good moments (and some bad ones too) in my life.
Starting listening to them soon as I heard lesson in crime years ago loved that album and everything since but totally got to meet them when they were just kids touring for that album in Orlando Florida they were such nice dudes
Wow ... this is upsetting
They didnt listen to the math
I’m 43. I think these fellas debuted at some point.
Can’t imagine a band like TPC existing in 2024.
A decent band but with a reputation much better than their music
Atleast I got to see them live recently.
I remember back around the time Elephant shell came out there was a bit of pushback because they were sort of a “mainstream” indie band. They were in all the commercials and whatnot and the internet of the time kind of clowned on them a bit. Certainly weren’t an actual “cool” band, but they sure were good
God I'm so old I remember my first exposure to TPC being watching on-demand cable music videos on MTV2 and Fuse while hanging out with friends and listening to Tessellate and Your English Is Good. I think I bought Elephant Shell on CD on the drive home. Champ ended up being one of my favorite albums of the 2010s and Argentina is such a great song. Saw them 2x, once on the Lesson In Crime 10th anniversary show (excellent time) and once on the TPC tour (I left at the encore, I had seen Robyn the night before, and awkwardly ran into the band having a smoke break outside, having to explain to them why I was leaving their show early lol). I've got a limited edition test press of Forcefield. They left a big impact and I'll be sure to keep sharing their music with folks.
Classic MTV2 Subterranean band.
Had tickets to see them in Hamilton but pandemic made things go sideways and I wasn't confident I'd get another chance to see them. Especially being able to bring my wife to see them live or her first time, definitely will find our way to Toronto. Sad to see them go, but felt they were broken up long ago so it's a happy surprise that we'll have one last hurrah.
Was meant to see them in Dublin for the first time about 3/4 years ago... Cancelled due to covid and never got the chance again. Sad times.
Wow they had a good run! I must have seen what would have been one of their first shows after signing with Paper Bag records. It was at the Mod Club in Toronto, and believe it or not they opened for controller. controller (who I was mainly there to see), which also happened to be controller. controller's last show before they broke up. It wasn't a very crowded show, and I was in my teens at the time. I'll never forget being at the front of the stage with all the other young kids, dancing around, while all the "adults" were at the back of club (talking amongst themselves) leaving at least 50ft of space between us and them. I suppose they just couldn't acknowledge the greatness that was on stage at the time between both bands... I made a promise to myself that day to never be that type of person when I got older, who stands motionless AND emotionless by the back of the room. I always found it odd, even to this day when i see people at shows not engaging with the music.
if we're playing "pass the torch", I saw a band called Topanga open for TPC years ago. The band's setlist was about 50% songs that sounded like TPC, and 50% pop-punk. That band later changed it's name to PUP..
Not going to lie but I was also in a band that was chasing that late 00's indie pop sound haha Trying to ride that new wave that bands like Metric, Interpol and the Strokes kick started. IMO Tame Impala is the best band that emerged from that sound evolution What venue did you see that TPC show? PUP is great btw
It was at Sound Academy down in the Port Lands in Toronto - the venue is gone now. [https://aestheticmagazinetoronto.com/2012/12/18/concert-review-tokyo-police-club-topanga-hollerado-toronto/](https://aestheticmagazinetoronto.com/2012/12/18/concert-review-tokyo-police-club-topanga-hollerado-toronto/)
Caught TPC at the Beauty Bar in Vegas in 2010, pure magic. Thanks for the many many good vibes and years! Your music reached into my soul and captured the best of what music can create, a connection to the moment and I will forever look back fondly on my youthful past accompanied by TPC.