The Dodos put out one of my favorite albums of 2008, "Visiter," and I've never seen them live before, so I was eager to finally check them out in action. I was not disappointed. They played an inspired and exhausting hour-long set. What struck me most though, is how each musician plays his instrument in a wholly unique way. The drummer, with his precise rhythm patterns, duct tapes a tambourine to the bottom of his left shoe, and plays without a kick drum, which is replaced by an extra tom or three. The vibraphonist, while often playing with a set of mallets, sometimes uses a violin bow for some lovely musical swells. One couldn't help but be impressed by the lead singer Meric Long. Clearly a lot of concentration, confidence and precision is required to simultaneously sing and play those intricate fingerpicking guitar lines in front of a crowd of hundreds. As opposed to the shoddy sound job done at the Sunset Rubdown show, the sound for The Dodos was excellent, and a joy to hear.
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