Correction appended
Rising indie rock duo The Dodos stopped at the Black Cat for a rousing performance of alt-rock tunes and California-branded, easy-going fun on Oct. 1.
Opening act Dustin Wong started out with an unbelievable thrill ride. Surrounded by a ring of more than a dozen delay pedals, Wong added layer after layer of electronic and orchestral sounds to create a full ballad of atmospheric and ambient music. He’s best compared to Brian Eno with a distinctly Japanese tang, which the audience adored.
The Dodos – made up of creative pair Meric Long and Logan Kroeber, along with guest guitarist Joe Haege – exploded onstage with energetic passion in every song they played. The crowd went wild, between content off of “Carrier,” such as “Confidence” and throwing in older favorites “Red and Purple” and “Black Night.” The three guys were having the times of their lives, and in the end the audience couldn’t get enough of them. They returned for two separate encores, with Kroeber proclaiming, “Man, I don’t know what else to play!”
It would be a lie to say, though, that the night went without its flaws. Meric and Joe initially played so loudly that they overpowered their amps, making the first four songs sound like a massive tsunami of distortion. Eventually, somebody fixed it so that the audience could actually make out the music. However, it’s best to point the blame on whoever set up the equipment, which was not the band itself.
With that being said, the highlights of the night overshadowed all the mishaps. Few bands carry the type of energy that The Dodos’ music embodies. Here’s to hoping that the big stage will be the next step for this band.
Correction: A former version of this story incorrectly identified Tam Sackman as the author instead of the corrected Alejandro Alvarez.
