Dodos at the Bluebird Theater in Denver (photos, review)
By Billy Thieme Mar 17, 2015, 5:05 pm
San Francisco's Dodos seem to have proven once and for all that in rock today, the number of band members means nothing. These two musicians played what could have been a sparse, minimalist 55 minutes at the Bluebird Theater on Monday – and that would've been just fine. But, instead, they walloped a huge sound on a half-filled house, mercilessly pounding out more noise than most bands with twice, even three times their members. Better noise through sound effects, pedals and fancy footwork? Maybe, a little. More likely, in this case, their huge blast was a result of dogged commitment and loads of talent.
Meric Long (guitars loops, vocals and effects) split the almost bare stage with Logan Kroeber (spectacular drums work) for the evening. The two stood in front of a simple string of bare bulbs draped over a pole, a stack of amps and a few mics. Kroeber was a machine — modeling polyrhythms that found parts of his drum kit most drummers never use, and never slowing down (likely a result of experience with metal bands in his distant past), while Long thrashed his guitars and danced between vocals and foot pedal work.
The two were hugely personable onstage — even improvisational. They quipped about eating too many tacos before the show, and commented constantly on how impressed they were with the Bluebird audience (perhaps because it was a Monday night?). During their encore, after apparently having run out of rehearsed songs, they fooled around onstage, and even sheepishly asked for requests – and Kroeber performed an impromptu rap dedicated to – and about – the night's opening band.
Their music resembled the mathiness of Alt-J and Tame Impala, but with a roughly passionate, stiff shot of Japandroids' noisy flagrance added on. The mix worked — it gave the pair a solid respectable pop, with an impressive assault that added a little welcomed mess. "Competition," one of their more popular early tunes, came early in the set, a powerful trend setter. Later "Confidence," a new single, built on their howls, followed by the train ride rhythm of "The Tide." "Red and Purple" started slow and folky, and built into one of the night's rowdiest highlights – at times it could've been a new Woody Guthrie tune. Their final encore was a joyful, teeming mess with the members of Spring Carnivore, helping them with a hippy, almost silly "Don't Try and Hide It."
"We wanted to end this tour on a high note," quipped Long (the duo will perform one more time in SXSW this week, before hitting a stint in Europe beginning in April). "I think we found it, right here in Denver!"
Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver's vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy's explorations at DenverThread.com, and his giglist at Gigbot.
Ty Hyten is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb.
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