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Review Wed Oct 21 2009
Live Review: The Dodos @ Bottom Lounge
Shame on me for not being familiar with The Dodos--especially when they're filling Bottom Lounge on a Monday night. I had certainly heard of them... I was told I would like them when they played Pitchfork Music Festival two years ago, and I remember a friend telling me she was a big fan around that same time. Even yesterday as I was searching for an email, I came across one from almost exactly a year ago from another friend inviting me to one of their shows (but I was already seeing Jamie Lidell that night).
Through all of this, I still managed to never hear or see The Dodos--that is until I recently happened upon their new album Time To Die streaming on their webpage. Their sound reminds me a lot of when indie rock really started to seep into the mainstream, the days when Death Cab was still indie and everybody was really into The Shins (Hey, remember The Shins?). There's innocence and hopefulness there with a driving beat and attention to melody.
They opened Monday's show in much the way I would describe them: surprisingly hard on the rock and heavy on the drums. There's no kick drum, just a bunch of toms making up drummer Logan Kroeber's set, hence the tribal sound. Keaton Snyder, the most recent addition to the band, is responsible for a lot of the trio's whimsy as the vibraphone player. He often played the vibes with a bow, making a beautiful screeching and humming sound that you might gloss over without the visual. Someone near me during the show noted the instrumental irony there stating "I like the vibes as a rock instrument."
One song was played in the dark with what I'm going to assume were light-up rings on their fingers, reminding me why glowlights were so popular in the electro scene. Kroeber was the most interesting to watch during this portion (obviously with the most arm movement), with vibes close second. They closed their set with an extended jam session at the end of what I think was the song "Jodie" (forgive me for not being more detailed with the setlist, as I said I am just now getting familiar with the group and their catalog). Lead Meric Long even took to a second mini drumset in the back to jam for a bit. During the encore, the crowd went crazy for what must be their most popular song, "Red and Purple." A nice way to start off an October week.
