The Dodos bring marvelously mediocre show to the Rickshaw

By Kristi Alexandra
[culture editor]

The time for self-satisfied indie-rock has passed in favour of a music culture of beefy songwriting with blues inclination – which is why March 31’s sparsely attended show at the Rickshaw represented a dying crowd of indie-devotees.

Opening act Reading Rainbow, a two-piece from Philidelphia, seemed a little behind the times with songs that featured just a floor tom and quick, shrill guitar riffs that had their set sounding like one homogenous jam.

The crowd was clearly divided; one half of the audience jumping around near the stage for the bland indie-pop duo and the other half restricted to their seats, yawning behind their beers.

We hoped for more excitement when The Dodos, the San Francisco duo we’d all been waiting for, hit the stage at nearly 11 p.m.

Being a long-time Dodos fan, I’d seen the boys perform live a couple times before – both times, their set was marked by poorly set-up audio, losing the impact of a live performance from the talented gents.

Unfortunately, like Reading Rainbow, the guys have fallen into the trap of sounding exactly like themselves. After four albums, their recent disc, No Color, boasts nothing different than the catchy discs they’ve released in the past.

There’s no doubt that vocalist/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber have perfected their sound – the singer’s clear vocal tone shone at the Rickshaw, and Kroeber’s once erratic beat-keeping was impeccable at the show – but it definitely hasn’t grown.

The 10-track disc features vocal contributions from fellow musician Neko Case on a few songs, with their biggest hit being “Don’t Try and Hide It,” a mid-tempo ballad with repetitive guitar patterns and harmonzing vocals.

“Companions,” a slow arpeggiated song gives the album a much-needed sliver of diversity in an otherwise predictably uptempo, repetitious indie-rock collection.

I found myself drifting in and out of the concert, perhaps because of the unchanging tone of the show, or perhaps because of a few too many PBR beers – the essential indie-hipster staple of the night. That was until The Dodos got back into some older, more familiar songs like the triumphant “Ashley,” and the sunny, Fleet Foxes-esque “Fools” from their 2008 release Visiter.

With very few “pick me up” moments in the night, I left feeling ripped-off, tired and uninspired. Though The Dodos did switch up their set from previous ones by adding a bassist this time, the fate of The Dodos might just follow in the footsteps of the animal they take their name from – when you can’t adapt to your environment, you’re getting dangerously close to going extinct.