I’m not gonna lie, I would probably call myself a ‘casual’ fan of Tokyo Police Club. I’ve always liked their singles, seen them live a few times, but never really done a deep dive on the band, y’know? But even with that said, I was still bummed out when the Newmarket foursome announced after nearly twenty years, they were calling it a day. And so with one last tour, I knew had to see them one final time.

Opening the night was long-time friends of the band, Born Ruffians (how long? they joked they were in each other’s MySpace Top 8). Starting off with “Foxes Mate for Life”, Luke Lalonde’s distinctive voice rang through the ballroom. Throughout the set, all four members were bubbling over with energy, even when not playing their instrument -- especially if they weren’t playing their instrument, in the case of Maddy Wilde on keys, who I don't think stood still for more than two seconds in a row throughout the show! Highlights included the frenetic “Hummingbird” and “Needle”, as they capped it off appropriately enough with “Fade To Black”.

After a quick break, the lights dimmed and David Monks, Graham Wright, Josh Hook, and Greg Alsop took the stage starting as Tokyo Police Club started hot with “Favourite Colour”, the crowd instantly singing along.

From there, the band reminded the sold out room how many hits they had, spanning their whole career, from “Nature of the Experiment” off their debut EP A Lesson in Crime to the chaotic “Bambi” and the anthemic “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)” off Champ, up to “Simple Dude” off what turned out to be their final album, TPC. They didn’t say much throughout the set, letting the music speak for itself, but a few times David thanked the crowd, and even assigned “New Blues” the designated sad song, for everyone to mourn.

After about an hour, the band took a quick break for Monks to do a couple acoustic songs; crowd favourite “Tessellate” as well as “Ready to Win”, before the rest returned for a few more songs, capping off the main set with “Hot Tonight”.

But of course, they weren’t done as the crowd clamoured for more, and the band returned first with the winding “Argentina (Parts I, II, III)”, then doing another quick encore fakeout, and coming back with another version of “Tessellate” — full band this time — and ending off the night with another huge singalong to “Your English Is Good”.

My only disappointment in the set was the absence of “Cheer It On”, which just goes to show how many bangers the band has. But even with that, it was still a very fun show. As sad as it is to see someone like Tokyo Police Club end, I always appreciate it when a band actually has some sort of farewell, instead of just dissipating into the ether (leaving you to wonder…?), and this night was a perfect way to celebrate their career.

TPC setlist
Favourite Colour
Box
Not My Girl
Nature of the Experiment
Citizens of Tomorrow
Shoulders and Arms
Be Good
New Blues
Simple Dude
Tunnel Vision
Hands Reversed
End of a Spark
Bambi
Frankenstein
Wait Up (Boots of Danger)
Tessellate (acoustic)
Ready to Win (acoustic)
Favourite Food
Graves
Way Back When
In a Cave
Hot Tonight
(encore)
Argentina (Parts I, II, III)
(second encore)
Tessellate (band)
Your English Is Good