St. Louis, June 28^th, 2010

Louis Kwok’s photos

Because nothing I do is disconnected (even if it seems so at the time), the day after the Freelance Whales show I spent an hour on Frenchkiss Records’ website looking for other bands to adore. (Download a copy of their free super sampler on Amazon, you won’t regret it.) I already knew The Dodos from the Visiter album, but I hadn’t yet heard anything from last summer’s Time to Die, with added vibraphone player Keaton Snyder. Meric Long and Logan Kroeber had me hooked from “Red and Purple,” but I truly fell in love with “Fables” & “Longform.” A quick look at their tour page revealed an upcoming St. Louis concert date. Perfection. At The Pageant? What? After swearing I wouldn’t shell out the cash to go to The New Pornographers, I was going to have to eat my bitter, bitter words.

Watching Keaton Snyder tape up his mallet fingers for The Dodos’ last show of this tour, I thought of Ani DiFranco’s black-taped fingertips, the adhesive holding her battered flesh together from months of abusing her acoustic guitar on stage. And it’s not the first time I’ve associated The Dodos and Ani D.

[Ani DiFranco’s “Dilate,” illustrates the same clang on the acoustic that Meric Long pulls]

Last night, Long carefully punished his guitars with equal fervor, and my fondness for all freak folk was further cemented.

Long’s loop pedal and Snyder’s cello bow on the vibes pushed their Animal Collective connection a little closer home, but Long’s vocals were sheer bliss through a soaring version of “Men,” and then the haunting “Jodi” beat the crap out of the Twitter requested “Ashley,” before the first note even sounded.

Often the last shows of a tour wear on a band and they start phoning in performances in a hurry to get home (Don’t you sigh at me,TNP!) but The Dodos were fresh and fierce. The precision of their rhythms was awe-inducing. The audience was thoroughly charmed, and I’ve never seen a crowd so primed for the main act still beg the opener to keep on going. Meric Long sang to each of us individually, our feet tapped right along with Logan Kroeber’s shoe tam, and Keaton Snyder’s bass drum beat with those of our own hearts. Yes, the stage was huge and the venue was enormous, but they swelled to fill it with some serious passion.

Three young men killed at The Pageant and did something nine grown-ass, tour-seasoned musicians couldn’t do mere minutes later: hold my attention. Keep your eyes open for the release of another new album from The Dodos, as yet unnamed (I’ve pestered them on Twitter and I’m waiting for a response).

Setlist

Trades and Tariffs
Men
New Song
New Song
Fables
Jodi
Ashley (Twitter request)
Walking
Red & Purple