I would be doing the New Pornographers a great disservice by trying to review their show at the House of Blues this past Friday night. Sadly, I know little about the band, and I was there that night solely to check out the Dodos (gushing, adoring praise to follow). With over a decade of producing and performing stellar music, the Canadian indie rockers have a large, faithful and enthusiastic following, proven by a packed crowd full of wide grins and eager-to-sing voices.
So while I can’t say much about the show, I will say that it was an admirably tight performance with lovely, earnest, good-times vocals. Clearly, this seven-piece band knows how to write fun music and how to rock a crowd. Also, Neko Case clearly knows how to heckle a heckler, as seen in this hilarious, expletive ridden beat-down on a fan who threw a cd at the stage (almost as hilarious as the House of Blues’ security chomping at the bit to find the guy).
Did I promise gushing, adoring praise? Ah, yes. The Dodos. Goodness gracious, do these boys know how to throw it down. Coming into the show, I had high expectations, considering my love of their albums and past reviewers’ effusive praise; the Dodos exceeded my hopes and then some. First and foremost, their sound is huge with only a guitar, a drum set and a vibrophone. We say this kind of thing a lot (hello, the Antlers!), but let’s be honest. It’s called effect pedals, son - not that difficult to achieve. But not the Dodos. These guys kill it with instruments alone, using a pedal solely for the intro and conclusion of their last song, “The Season,” to add a soupcon of psychedelic. Though their sound is huge, the notes themselves are remarkably clean. Every pop, snap, click, clack and thump of the drums is so clear and precise (and there are lots of pops, snaps, clicks, clacks and thumps). And if it’s possible to shred your guitar with perfect cadence and clarity, that’s exactly what Meric Long does. Did I mention Long’s vocals? Good lord, they’re lovely. Much to my fault, I never appreciated how his tight, melodic vocal contributes to their sound. Live, he sounded like a choirboy leading a rock band, in a truly beautiful and awesome way. Hands down, the Dodos are now one of my favorite current live bands. But don't take my word for it. Check out their fantastic performance of "Longform" from Bonnaroo over at The Music Slut.
I hesitate to discuss the first opener the Dutchess and the Duke, since it seems like someone has an axe to grind with the band and a google-alert in order to do so. Well, here’s my axe: I saw the band two years ago, opening for Fleet Foxes in the tiny Middle East Upstairs. In stark comparison with the stunning, tight, almost ethereal performance by Robin Pecknold and the gang, the duo played a sloppy, repetitive, ugly set, made worse by a miserable Jesse Loritz, suffering from the flu and trying to cure it with whisky (to his credit, this is also how I cure a cold).
As the now three-piece took the House of Blues stage with no introduction, launching into some straight-up 60s folk-pop, I thought, “This sounds like the Dutchess and the Duke, but ten times better.” Sure enough, they introduced themselves mid-set, and I was floored by their matured music and performance: melodic songwriting, energetic playing, dare-I-say charming presence.
Though Loritz didn’t help his reputation as a mild boor with his request for the audience to buy him whisky, Long from the Dodos later called the players “really nice dudes,” and I’ll trust anything that boy says. So, please stay away from the comments section, google-alert axe grinders.
