Cousins were already rolling to a small but forming crowd. The duo, male on electric guitar and female on drums, were giving it a good show as they ripped through some rock tunes. He held down the vocals which were were somewhat repetitive but otherwise alright; both took turns at the mic to banter with the crowd and explain the meaning of 'cousins'. Although the music wasn't exactly breaking new sound it was entertaining nonetheless and got the toes tapping and the head bopping of one enthusiastic young fellow who arrived, decided he loved it, showingly acted out his appreciation and realized it was the last song.
Between sets I took in the Lincoln Hall room in Chicago which was really fantastic in all regards. The floor was large but not huge and all spots offered solid sightlines due to the raised stage. To prevent reverberations and echoes the surfaces of the walls, pillars and even plentiful bar space were all made of anechoic materials while even the high ceiling was soft material for the same reason. It was high to allow for the upper floor balcony which also provided great views, not just for those in the short stools up on the rail but also the taller chairs behind and even standing behind that. Truly superb.
And The Dodos matched the room as they stepped out promptly at 10pm - before the house music even completely died away in fact. The trio took up their instruments and began straight into Confidence which hit. The lead guitarist sang into a mic and a reverb mic and did quite well, as did the newest member (and Illinoian) on his guitar while the drummer was excellent as they varied their pace often. He also employed an interesting upside down cymbal on top of a larger cymbal on a song for a different effect. Off the top the opening three numbers were great, though I did notice a small lull in the mid set before the longer haired musician reached to one of the seven guitars lined along stage edge and selected the acoustic. In my opinion they didn't utilize this weapon often enough (but who cares about my opinion that they should have played Jodi too?) After a scant time on stage that ended strongly but far too early they exited. Despite a relatively strong audience during the show, for a medium-sized crowd on a Thursday night, the response to urge an encore was weak. Maybe that is why they only did two more to wrap it up. A worthwhile venture out in a different city that could have lasted longer and pushed harder in the middle but still had more than a few outstanding moments.
No comments:
Post a Comment