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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Live Review Au > The Dodos

Posted by Rob Simonsen on Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 3:00 PM

audodo.jpg
A gold dodo! Get it?


The Dodos were great last night.

They really did surpass all the expectations I had for their show, and proved that they are a phenomenal live band. There were a few times, especially during "Jodi" and "Paint That Rust", that the band just transcended the guitar and drums duo thing they have going to make a ton of beautiful, cacophonous noise, with singer Meric Long yelping his way though his second, reverb-driven microphone, and drummer Logan Kroeber pounding away with ridiculous precision and fury. Third man (sorry, I don't know your name) added a ton to the mix, too, with his percussion assistance.

For a "folk" band, they really do some incredible things. I really liked Meric's second microphone, and the reverb-effect that it had on his vocals sounded pretty true to what they do on record. Also, the way he looped his own voice to harmonize with himself was pretty impressive. Hell, as was all he did with the loop pedal, like looping the trombone (it was a trombone, right?) as the back bone of "Eyelids". Also, for sitting down the entire time, they managed to really keep the sold-out crowd fully captivated, which itself is a pretty decent feat.

However, as good as the Dodos were (which they were!), the last two tracks I caught of Au's set completely blew them out of the water. It could have been for a number of reasons (local band versus touring band, pop band versus restrained folk band, etc), but the atmosphere at the Holocene was that of complete jubilation, with Au's music soaring high and everyone smiling along as they went for the ride. It really was fun as all hell, and Au seemed excited to be playing, grinning and clapping and rocking the fractured pop they're so good at creating. Those two songs were as good as I've seen that band, by far, and there was an excellent audience/performer vibe going on that seemed to be feeding both real well.

Had I only seen the Dodos last night, I would've been pretty happy. However, seeing Au made them seem more than a little pale in comparison, which is too bad.

If you're at home keeping score, you can chalk another win up for the home team.

 

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Comments (8) RSS

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1
i only saw the dodos last night, and i was plenty satisfied. i don't think i was expecting them to rock so hard; which is weird, because visiter is a pretty rousing affair. but man, they fucking rocked.
Posted by douglas martin on June 25, 2008 at 6:22 PM · Report
2
No love for Thee Oh Sees?! Shame on you guys. I'll admit that they usually come across a bit better playing on the floor, getting all up in faces, but still... nothing?
Posted by Justin on June 25, 2008 at 8:42 PM · Report
3
I unfortunately got to the venue just as the Ohsees, or Thee Oh Sees, or OCS, or whatever the hell John Dwyer is calling himself these days, ended. Other End Hits-er Ned had nothing but glowing things to say, as did most people I talked to, which makes missing them that much worse. That new record of theirs is pretty fantastic.
Posted by Rob. on June 25, 2008 at 9:07 PM · Report
4
dude. i'll co-sign on thee oh sees. they were pretty outstanding.
Posted by douglas martin on June 26, 2008 at 12:48 AM · Report
5
I wish that I could have seen the Dodos that night, but I was playing the Au show. I got to catch them opening for Akron/Family and they were a pleasant surprise. I'm glad that they had as wonderful a turnout as we did, and I only hope we can join forces out there on the road! Thank you all for the kind words and a fantastic night!
Posted by Dana V on June 26, 2008 at 4:39 PM · Report
6
Wicked
Posted by Loser on June 30, 2008 at 8:23 PM · Report
7
What's wicked?
Posted by Winner on June 30, 2008 at 8:24 PM · Report
8
Go win team!
Posted by Peppy on June 30, 2008 at 8:28 PM · Report

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