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Gig Review

The Dodos
Coalition, Brighton

Article written by Alex S - Sep 17, 2008

The Dodos

San Francisco’s Dodos have been equally blessed and cursed with the mantle of saviours of ‘nu-folk’, and so it was Brighton’s finest queued to cop a feel of their golden bollocks. But first a word about Coalition. With venues in Brighton foreclosing faster than a Fanny Mae mortgage, it was intriguing to be somewhere that had just spent shedloads of cash on a refit. Situated on the seafront beneath the arches of the main drag, it has every right to feel confident. Magnificent gothic-like interior, plush seating, purple lighting and cabinets dripping champagne, it had the feel of a 1970’s lounge bar in a Burt Reynolds film. And the voluminous TV’s meant if you couldn’t be arsed you didn’t even have to walk the 20 feet to the stage to watch the band. Geoff Stelling’s ‘Super Soccer Sunday’ for the alternative set. The stage itself looked equally grand, a spider’s web of wires and mikes that looked every bit Abbey Road ‘unplugged’.

Performing songs from both albums, 2006 ‘Beware of the Maniacs’ and this year’s ‘Visiter’ The Dodos were wonderful. Stage right was singer Meric Long, permanently seated and hunched over his guitar. Catch him right and he resembles a geeky Keanu Reeves. Stage left was drummer Logan Kraeber, who joined in 2005 as solo artist Meric morphed into The Dodos the following year. Their music is rooted in folk but offers a great deal more. Finger-picking guitars acquiesce to luscious introductions. These stretch and grow into decorous melodies in turn generating a prodigious and flawlessly beautiful sound. They create a feeling of warmth that washes over the audience, yet combined with a certain pathos. Meric used one Mic to blend his vocal into the songs rhythmic guitars and another when he wanted to be heard, sounding a little like a better-produced Johnny Cash.

This sedate picture was turned upside down somewhat midway through the set. The newest band member crashed on stage, mad as wet hens, and proceeded to smash, crash and thrash his way through just about every percussion instrument known to man, and many not yet discovered. Somehow he manages to make the xylophone sound threatening, and the way his arse pinged like a pneumatic drill on speed as he beat another kettle drum into submission, well, he must be one helluva lover is all. But this is not just hagiography. As the temperature rose and the audience purred it was infuriating that singer Meric ‘refused’ to stand, somehow ‘keeping his distance’. And late in the set song after song ended with a rambunctious raggle-taggle thrash that to this bystander at least sounded disjointed and unnecessary. It’s not a fault; it’s a condition. Too many bands at the minute that rely on melody feel they need to demonstrate their rock and roll credentials at some point in the evening at the expense of quality. Hey ho. All in all though, a cracking band in a fascinating venue. Well done.

Links:
http://dodosmusic.net/
http://www.myspace.com/thedodos