By Tim Lambourne
Pop band The Temper Trap and Passion Pit have a knack for running into each other.
The two bands played right after one another at the Big Day Out this year, and both played sold out shows in Auckland this weekend.
The Temper Trap are a Melbourne band that are hitting the right notes, even the high ones.
Their debut album Conditions has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide - no mean feat in the age of digital downloads.
Kiwi fans are clearly enjoying it too. They packed out The Temper Trap’s afternoon slot at the Big Day Out this year, staying around for American pop band Passion Pit, who also dabble in a bit of falsetto.
Passion Pit played a sold out show in Auckland on Friday night but were just as happy with the warm weather.
“I was checking the weather and it was raining and 40 degrees and I was like ‘oh no’...and then we got here and it feels like fall,” says vocalist Nate Donmoyer.
“[It] doesn't even seem like the middle of winter...can't complain.”
Passion Pit put their success down to luck and good vibes.
“Just a lot of luck and for some reason when the shows have mattered we have just felt together in the right ways,” he says.
Although coming from completely different parts of the world, The Temper Trap and Passion Pit appear to mix well together.
“It's good that when we are right next to them, and when we play stages right next to each other - that's happened before - people just kind of look to the left for us and as soon as we go off Passion Pit starts over there,” says The Temper Trap vocalist Dougy Mandagi.
The Temper Trap, who now live in London, have recently recruited their very own Kiwi child star Joseph Greer – known for his role in New Zealand soap Shortland Street.
“I guess the viewers might know him as Maddie Crombie from back in the day,” says Mandagi.
If you want to see Maddy and the rest of The Temper Trap tonight, you're out of luck - the show is completely sold out.
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