It was halftime. The Dallas Mavericks were leading the Miami Heat, 53-51, in the game that could end — and ultimately did end — the NBA Finals. As such, the Dodos had no idea why they had such excellent attendance at their show.
“It’s Game 6!” singer Meric Long exclaimed incredulously as drummer Logan Kroeber asked the audience if anyone had the score. He then asked if anyone was pulling for Miami and received a resounding stream of “no”s. Yet the mass vitriol the crowd spat at LeBron James and Co. was not as loud as their cheers of approval after The Dodos had finished their one-two punch of “Good” and “Black Night” to open the show.
Those two opening songs from their recent release, No Color, set the precedent for the rest of the set. In short: there was a reason why Kroeber’s drum kit sat in the center of the stage. What sets The Dodos apart from every other band with clear roots in folk is their emphasis on percussion. While Kroeber’s expression remained stoic, as if he’d just kicked back for a drink, his sticks fell on every part of the drum — not just the head — for a more distinct and punchier sound that drove their songs. Even Long’s guitar playing often seemed to have a more rhythmic quality and he regularly punctuates his singing with Panda Bear-esque staccato yelps.
This meant that the show started on an intensely energetic pace that the band did not try to maintain for the entire set. Sometimes, their subdued moments were endearing: “Companions” was a soft and sweet break in the action which highlighted Long’s warm tenor. Long also tried to oblige an audience request for “Ashley”, playing a few notes before admitting that he didn’t remember the song. However, not every song on No Color, which populated most of the set, has the warmth of “Companions”, or the immediacy of “Good”, so songs like “Don’t Try and Hide It”, came off as flat by comparison.
That said, the best moments of the show occurred towards the end when the band started pulling out material from their breakthrough 2008 release, Visiter, which, judging by the sing-a-long levels, every person at the 9:30 Club owned. Long pulled out the improvisational stops throughout long jam “The Season”, which ultimately ended in an emotionally charged finished that had even the stoic Kroeber clenching his fists and teeth. This led into a foot stomping rendition of “Fools”, which ended the first set. Then, after a tempo change in “Going Under” brought the audience back up to speed, they actually bested their set bookends with a rousing encore closer of “Jodi”.
It’s an unenviable task to play a 1,100-person venue with an Important Sports Event occurring at the same time, but The Dodos won over the 9:30 Club as handily as the Mavericks ousted the Heat. Plus, with a finishing time of 10:25 p.m., both band and fans could catch the end of the game.
